RareMedia Productions has announced the world premiere of Judgment Day, a new comedy by Maria S. Schlatter, starring Donald Corren (Souvenir, Old Jews Telling Jokes) whom The New York Times calls "a chameleonic wonder" as part of this summer's New York International Fringe Festival. Performances begin tonight, August 9th (playing through August 25th) at The Players Theatre (115 MacDougal Street). Michael Schwartz directs.
In Judgment Day, Broadway's
Donald Corren gives a tour-de-force performance as eight wildly different characters navigating the final hours of what may be mankind's Last Day on Earth. From a live end-of-days newscast in Sioux Falls, South Dakota to a glittering rapture-themed ball in Manhattan, these disparate souls struggle to take stock of their lives as the clock ticks down to midnight.
The performance schedule for Judgment Day is: tonight, August 9 at 7:15pm; Tuesday, August 13 at 7:45pm; Wednesday, August 14 at 9:30pm; Friday, August 23 at 2:30pm; Saturday, August 24 at 12pm. Tickets are $15-$18 and may be purchased online at
www.fringeNYC.org. For more information visit
www.judgmentdayonstage.com.
Maria S. Schlatter (Playwright) is an Emmy Award-winning television producer and writer. She began her career working for her father
George Schlatter in the mailroom of "Real People." After working her way up the production ladder, she became a network executive for Variety Series and Specials at ABC. She went on to produce and write for many comedy, music, and variety specials and series for the top performers in entertainment including
Frank Sinatra,
Sammy Davis, Jr., Muhammed Ali and Roseanne, as well as writing original comedy material for geniuses such as
John Cleese,
Drew Carey and
Eddie Murphy. Maria has recently branched out into live theatre, where her political satire sketch comedy was used on the New York stage in Blow Me: A New Revue and in "Zipper" a stand-up and sketch comedy revue. In addition to Judgment Day, she has written the librettos for two new musicals:Pandora's Box, which premiered at the New York New Musical Festival, and The Five Thousand Fingers of Dr. T based on a film by
Theodor Geisel - both with composer and lyricist
Glen Roven.
Donald Corren (Performer) created the role of
Cosme McMoon opposite
Judy Kaye's
Florence Foster Jenkins in the original Broadway production of Souvenir directed by
Vivian Matalon. Also on Broadway, he starred in
Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy, a performance which earned him both the Los Angeles and San Francisco Drama Critics' Circle Awards while on tour. Off-Broadway appearances include Old Jews Telling Jokes (current), The Soap Myth, Dietrich & Chevalier, The Last Sunday in June,
Stephen Sondheim's Saturday Night and the original NY production of Tomfoolery. Trained at Juilliard, his regional appearances include Superior Donuts (Pittsburgh Public Theatre), Black Comedy (Pioneer Theatre Company), The Two Gentlemen of Verona andThe Winter's Tale (The Shakespeare Theatre), Animal Crackers (
Arena Stage), and A Life in the Theatre (The
Goodman Theatre). From 1991-99, Donald was Forensic Technician Medill on NBC's "Law & Order" and has appeared on "Rescue Me", "Law & Order: Criminal Intent", and "Law & Order: Trial by Jury."
www.donaldcorren.com.
Michael Schwartz (Director) is a graduate of the USC Schools of Theatre and Cinema/Television in Los Angeles, and the British American Drama Academy in London. He has directed
Theatre Projects at Yale, The Old Vic, and A.C.T., as well as special events at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium and The American Museum of Natural History in New York. Michael is a California Arts Scholar and a member of SDC, Lincoln Center Director's Lab, and Old Vic New Voices.
Peter Hauser (Producer - RareMedia Productions) co-produced the Off Broadway hit
Howard Crabtree's When Pigs Fly, which won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical Review. Most recently, Peter has commissioned a variety of new work including a ballet based on A Midsummer Night's Dream and an innovative3D ambisonic audio story telling project called "Earfilms" which recently showcased in New York and premiered at the Brighton Festival in May 2013.
For more information, go to:
www.judgmentdayonstage.com or
www.fringeNYC.org.
