Bay Street Theatre Announces 2007 Readings Series

The Readings at Bay Street Theatre 2007 series will begin Saturday, April 7 at 3 pm with two plays, 365 Days/365 Plays, by Suzan-Lori Parks and directed by Tom Caruso and Save Me, by Stefanie Zadravec, also directed by Tom Caruso. Bay Street Theatre, located in Sag Harbor, Long Island, continues its tradition of giving life to both new plays and classics with staged readings also planned for April 14 (3 pm), May 5 (3 pm), May 12 (3 pm), September 29 (3 pm) and October 13 (8 pm).

The schedule is as follows:

April 7 at 3 pm - 365 Days/365 Plays is a play written by Suzan-Lori Parks to provide a play a day for an entire year. Theatres around the country are participating in this unique and original form of playwriting. "We're performing plays dated April 2 – 8 since it coincides with our first playreading date for 2007," says Murphy Davis, Co-Artistic Director for Bay Street Theatre. Save Me, by Stefanie Zadravec will also be read on April 7. Both plays are directed by Tom Caruso.

April 14 at 3 pm - Place Setting will be read on April 14. The play is written by Jack Canfora and will be directed by Evan Bergman. "A dinner party with a group of siblings, spouses and friends reveals more than any of the guests would have expected in this contemporary comedy/drama.  Laughter and heartbreak abound, with insights into the 30-something mind," state press materials.

May 5 at 3 pm - New River Dramatists' Masterpiece, by M.Z. Ribalow. "A new play based on the actual events of the 20th century's most notorious art forgery scandal, this mesmerizing thriller explores questions of reality and illusion, what is great art and who gets to decide, and the relationship between love, passion and truth. "

May 12 at 3 pm – The Julia Wars, by William Wright; directed by Anthony Harvey. "Three Dynamic Women. Lillian Hellman.  Mary McCarthy. Muriel Gardiner…go head to head in the fight of their lives.  Come watch the fireworks in this play by the author of the biography Lillian Hellman  – The Image. The Woman."

September 29 at 3 pm – Road Rage, by Wendy Hammond; directed by Murphy Davis. "A woman on the run from urban America…runs into a man…and his group of friends in rural mid-America whose lives and relationships have been fractured by an event that none have come to terms with.  It's high octane on every level."

October 13 at 8 pm – Men's Lives, by Joe Pintauro; directed by Emma Walton. "A full production of this play made its World Premiere at Bay Street Theatre and was the first play presented on stage at Bay Street Theatre in 1992."

The Readings at Bay Street Theatre offer established and emerging playwrights an opportunity to hear their plays in front of an audience.  It is also a forum for Bay Street's artistic team to determine a play's readiness and suitability for possible production on the Theatre's Mainstage. The Readings series gives audiences the opportunity to see the creative process in action with plays read by professional actors in an intimate setting. Over the years, the Series has included the plays of Jon Robin Baitz, Joan Ackerman, Aaron Sorkin, Roger Rosenblatt, James Kirkwood, Charles Busch and Frank McGuinness, among others. Gross Points starring Alec Baldwin, first read in the 2000 Series, was part of the following 2001 Mainstage Season, and last fall's Eudora Welty, by Jan Buckaloo, was produced on stage at Bay Street Theatre, which was one of the readings in 2005. 

Admission is free to the public and may be ordered by calling the Box Office at 631-725-9500.  Seating is general admission.  The Bay Street Box Office is open 11am – 6pm. Log on to www.baystreet.org for all the latest information on Bay Street Theatre.