Frank Anderson, Tandy Cronyn, Thomas Leverton, Robert Meksin, and Jenne Vath Join The Cast Of THE DIAMOND EATER

The 29th Street Playwrights Collective NEW WORKS SERIES 2018 presents a staged reading of THE DIAMOND EATER, by award-winning designer/playwright Carrie Robbins, for one night only on Monday, May 14, at 7:30pm at the Bernie Wohl Center.

THE DIAMOND EATER begins in 1980 when an old man walks into a proctologist's office (this sounds like the set-up for a bad joke, but it's not) with symptoms dating back 35 years. The doctor is amazed by the story the patient reveals: a harrowing tale of three men in a German concentration camp - a surgeon, a jeweler, and a Nazi squad leader who considers himself the raw material of a brilliant and prescient scientific mind. The Nazi, Oberschaarfuhrer Dietz, wonders: Can a Gypsy's kidney be transplanted into a Jew and the Jew survive? Based on true events told to R.D. Robbins, MD.

THE DIAMOND EATER, along with its companion piece SAWBONES, was a semi-finalist in the Theater at the 14th Street Y's 2018 - 2019 season's juried competition themed WAR + PEACE.

Critics have said of THE DIAMOND EATER "...a spectacular showcase of storytelling ... the poignancy of each individual situation is mixed fluidly with the harsh reality of an incredibly dark period in time ..." (Milo Jordan, Berkshire On Stage & Screen), "This one is exceptional." (Louie Zorich, Actor), "...Ms. Robbins' dialogue is witty, fast-paced, and completely intriguing. In a year of mostly badly written plays ... The Diamond Eater stands out." (Suzanna Bowling, Times Square Chronicles), and "Pretty damn good." (John Simon, New York Magazine).

This earlier version of THE DIAMOND EATER (HERE) received six NY Innovative Theatre Award (NYITA) nominations, more than any other production in 2014. The play has since been revised and expanded.

The role of Dr. Polsky, a surgeon prisoner whose lost will is revived by the chance to outfox the Nazis, is played by Frank Anderson whose extensive credits include Hal Prince's ShowBoat, The Iceman Cometh with James Earl Jones, and The Return of Peter Grimm, for which he was awarded the NY Innovative Theatre Award as Outstanding Actor in a Lead Role. Film and TV credits include Law & Order and Great Performances "The Prince of Homburg" with Frank Langella.

Tandy Cronyn plays Oberschaarfuhrer Dietz's date for the medical procedure who finds her appetites stimulated by the spectacle. Tandy's solo show, The Tall Boy, won The United Solo Festival's award for Best Adaptation in 2014. In the 2013 NY Fringe Festival she was nominated for a NYIT award for Nat Cassidy's Old Familiar Faces. On the Internet she serves as Artistic Director of www.PoetryTheatre.org, an online site for great poems read by distinguished actors.

Thomas Leverton plays Hans Weber, a boyish German soldier seduced into the machinations of the Third Reich. Tom trained at The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. He recently played Viola in Twelfth Night in the first-ever professional production of original practices in the United States at Orlando Shakespeare Theatre. Past credits include the title roles of Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet (Jean Darlymple Acting Award), and Macbeth (Jean Darlymple Acting Award. Also Red (TheatreWorks, Hartford) and Shakespeare in Love (Orlando Shakespeare Theatre).

Robert Meksin, narrates. Robert's credits include Off-Broadway, Regional, and Festival appearances including Great Lakes Theatre Festival, Cleveland Play House, Virginia Shakespeare Festival, NYC Fringe, and West Village Musical Theatre; Film and TV work include the lead role in Blind Date, winner of the Alliance Media Northeast award. Robert is a member of The WorkShop Theater, in NYC.

Jenne Vath plays the unlucky Gypsy Woman chosen to "donate" a kidney to prove Dietz's theory. Jenne performed in the award-winning production of Carrie Robbins' Sawbones and The Diamond Eater at HERE (directed by Tazewell Thompson) & received a NYIT Nomination for Best Featured Actress. She also appeared in Robbins' Obsessions Of An Art Student and Le Wedding Dress. Jenne's most recent work includes La MaMa, Regeneration Theater, and Yorick Theater where she performed in Much Ado About Nothing directed by Everett Quinton.

THE DIAMOND EATER will receive a single staged reading on Monday, May 14, 2018.

29th Street Playwright Collective is dedicated to developing the voices of emerging, mature playwrights through weekly craft discussions and to fostering new work for the stage, with a commitment to gender parity in theatre.

Funding for NEW WORKS SERIES 2018 is made possible by the Puffin Foundation and the friends and members of the Collective.

THE DIAMOND EATER is produced in cooperation with Days of the Giants LLC.