Dana Ivey Directs Rare Sci-Fi Comedy For One-Night Only Reading

The Acting Company (Ian Belknap, Artistic Director; Elisa Spencer-Kaplan, Executive Director) will continue its 2016-2017 John McDonald Salon Series with a reading of Karel Capek's influential science fiction comedy R.U.R. on Monday, February 13th at 7 PM at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater at the West Side YMCA, 10 W. 64th Street, New York, NY.

The social satire that introduced the word 'robot' to the world, R.U.R. chronicles a mechanized creation's revolt against its inventors. Under the direction of five-time Tony nominee Dana Ivey, this classic play finds new relevance in an age in which technology-both its promise and its pitfalls-is an increasingly inescapable part of our lives. Single tickets are $15-$35 and include a post-show reception with the cast. Purchase at www.theactingcompany.org or call (212) 258-3111.

Tony Award nominee Dana Ivey directs a cast including Matthew Amendt (Coriolanus, Red Bull Theater), Freddy Arsenault (The Royal Family), Rebecca Brooksher (The Real Thing), Caleb Carlson (Julius Ceasar, The Acting Company), Todd Cerveris (South Pacific, Twentieth Century), Ian Gould (Rosencrantz & Guildenstern..., The Acting Company), Patricia Hodges (Born Yesterday, The Best Man), Carl Howell (Peter & The Starcatcher First National Tour), Angela Janas (Macbeth, The Acting Company), David Lansbury (War Horse, Hedda Gabler), David Manis (The Curious Incident..., War Horse), Lisa Tharps (King Hedley II), Richard Topol (Fish in the Dark, The Normal Heart), Andrew Weems (Born Yesterday, Inherit the Wind) and Daniel Joseph Yaiullo (Macbeth, Park Avenue Armory). Mark Vietor will be reading stage directions.

The Salon Reading Series will continue on March 20 at Culture Project's Lynn Redgrave Theater with a reading of Marcus Gardley's A Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes, or The Gospel of Tartuffe. Additional dates include an April 24th reading of Dollhouse by Rebecca Gilman, directed by Acting Company Artistic Director Ian Belknap, and rising playwright Meg Miroshnik's Lady Tattoo, directed by Devin Brain, on May 15th.

2017 marks the 21st year of The Acting Company's John McDonald Salon Reading Series. The Salon Series offers New York audiences a range of works that are thematically linked to the company's repertory season, rarely produced, or provide a first opportunity to see new plays and other works that are being considered for future production.

The Salon Series is running concurrently with The Acting Company's national repertory tour, which features the commissioned world premiere of X: Or, Betty Shabazz v. The Nation by Marcus Gardley, a new play that adapts the structure of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar to tell the story of the assassination of Malcolm X. Ian Belknap directs. Gardley's play is running in repertory with a new production of Julius Caesar directed by Devin Brain. The tour began in Phoenix, AZ on January 31, 2017 and will play up to 60 performances across the country before closing in Clinton, NY on April 2, 2017. The productions will run in New York City at The New Victory Theater from March 15-26, 2017. Complete tour information is available at www.theactingcompany.org or (212) 258-3111.

Founded by John Houseman and Margot Harley in 1972, The Acting Company has toured to 48 states and 10 foreign countries, reaching more than 4 million people with 143 classic and new works while earning a Tony Award for Excellence in Theater, Obies, Audelcos and Los Angeles Critics Circle Awards. Kevin Kline, Rainn Wilson, Patti LuPone, Frances Conroy, Jeffrey Wright, Harriet Harris, David Ogden Stiers, Keith David, Hamish Linklater and Jesse L. Martin are among the more than 400 performers who began their careers on tour with The Acting Company. The Company serves a dual mission of developing early-career theater artists and building a discerning audience for theater across the country, often in communities that would otherwise lack access to high-quality professional arts programming.