Funny...Sheesh Presents LOVE ME, Now thru 5/16

FUNNY...SHEESH has announced the production of Jason S. Grossman's LOVE ME, directed by Rachel Klein. LOVE ME will play a limited engagement at The 4th Street Theatre, (83 East 4th Street, New York, NY). Performances begin tonight, April 30 and continue through Saturday, May 16. Opening Night is Saturday, May 2 (7:30 p.m.).

See and hear what's going on inside Charlie Styptic's head in LOVE ME, a self-conscious comedy in three acts!

It's the mid-1990s in New York City, and underachieving writer/motivational speaker Charlie Styptic is mired in a lifelong love life slump. Forever lovesick, he's haplessly counseled by a simpleminded sidekick and a womanizer he's just befriended. Will he ever find love? Or will he be eternally controlled by the incessantly critical voice in his head?

Over 15 years in the making, LOVE ME is an extreme comedy about the never-ending search for love and artistic fulfillment in an unforgiving world. It's 44 furiously fast scenes of belly slaps, belly laughs and acute cognitive dissonance.

The production stars Carlotta Brentan (Six Passionate Women) as Susan/Kate, Amy-Helene Carlson (Blogologues) as Carol, Chris Chirdon(Epic History of Everyday Things) as Tom, Sarah Elizabeth Grace (Law and Order: SVU) as Sara, Mary Orzano(Food Detectives, Forensic Files) as Wendy, Zal Owen* (Fiddler on the Roof national tour, opposite Harvey Fierstein) as Charlie, Michael Perrie (The World Wars) as Charlie's Head, and J. Andrew Young* (30 Rock) as John.

The production features scenic design by Brian Dudkiewicz, costume design by Rachel Klein, and lighting design by Jonathan Hartley. Jaime McWilliams* is the Production Stage Manager. (*Member AEA)

JASON S. GROSSMAN (Playwright) Artistic Director of Funny...Sheesh Productions. Writer: The Ballad of Rodrigo; Doubles Crossed; A$$holes & Idiots; Love Me (winner, Outstanding Playwriting for a New Script in Planet Connections Festivity; play published in NYTE's Plays and Playwrights 2011); How to Fold a Map?; You Happy Now?; King of the Mountains (screenplay); The Guy of 2Z (screenplay). Since 2000 he has performed the critically-acclaimed It's a Wonderful One-Man-Show Life! (co-created with director Sharon Fogarty) throughout the Northeast, Washington and British Columbia. He has also taught improv, comedy writing and the motivational course The Art of Socializing and Networking at several NYC Colleges. He has written for Amios, Mind the Gap, New Light Theatre Project's Darkroom Series, 3 Voices Theatre, the Shortened Attention Span Festival and TV Land's Ultimate Fan Search. His new plays Blood on the Pages and Keep It To Yourself are coming in 2015-16. His plays are available online at www.indietheaternow.com.

RACHEL KLEIN (Director) is an NYC based director, choreographer, and Artistic Director of the Rachel Klein Theater Ensemble. Off-Broadway Direction: The Anthem (starring Jason Gotay, Remy Zaken, Jenna Leigh Green, and Randy Jones, the Original Cowboy from the Village People); Around the World in 80 Days; Gay Bride of Frankenstein (At the iStar Theatre Lab). Selected NYC Theater: Coming: A Rock Musical of Biblical Proportions (Fringe NYC; starring American Idol's Ashanti J'aria); Grindr the Opera; Symphony of Shadows (Jerome Robbins Foundation Commission); The Tragedy of Maria Macabre (Tides Foundation Commission); Circus of Circus (Innovative Theater Awards nominee for Outstanding Director of a Play); Carrie: Blood, Fire, & Ballet (with the Love Show dancers); The Dead Dream Machine (featuring performances by Constantine Maroulis, Justin Vivian Bond, Michael Musto, Lady Rizo, and Rob Roth); Go-Go Killers!; All Kinds of Shifty Villains (written by Robert Attenweiler, NYTheatre.com's Person of the Year, 2008). Upcoming works in development include The Severed Hand of Neverland; Roswell: the Musical; The Masque of the Red Death. Regional: Super (George Street Playhouse); A Midsummer Night's Dream (New Brunswick Shakespeare Festival). Miss Klein's choreography has been seen all over the city including at the House of Yes, (le) Poisson Rouge, the Highline Ballroom, the National Arts Club (alongside F. Murray Abraham and Austin Pendleton), La MaMa, and the Slipper Room. Rachel holds a BA in theatrical directing from Columbia College, is an SDC Associate, and an alumnus of the International Directors Symposium in Spoleto, Italy.

FUNNY...SHEESH PRODUCTIONS isan independent theatre company whose artists wear numerous hats, both onstage and off. Since the early 90s, they have been producing original plays, variety festivals and comedy shows throughout NYC. In 1994, they launched their Serious Comedy series and in 1997, they debuted the Funny...Sheesh Comedy Game Show, a monthly improv show. In 2000, they created the critically hailed It's a Wonderful One-Man-Show Life! (directed by Sharon Fogarty) which has since been performed throughout the Northeast, Washington and British Columbia. Two years later they launched The Funny...Sheesh Alternative Variety Fest, a recurring showcase of artists performing original work on two stages simultaneously. Over the next several years, they branched out and conducted innovative classes on networking, creative writing and improvisation. In 2011, their showcase of short plays How to Fold a Map? (directed by Shaun Peknic and Amber Gallery) played to sold-out houses. In 2012, they began their neo-noir play series with Doubles Crossed (directed by Amber Gallery). The production was praised by Theateronline.com as "a comedic noir nouveau...with great performances" and by NYTheatre.com which said it "delivers on all counts...qualifies as a splendidly satisfying thriller." Last year, their play The Ballad of Rodrigo also garnered raves, being called "...both compelling and a thinker" (Examiner.com). TheaterScene.net praised director Amber Gallery's "assured staging [and] inspired visual flourishes," and said, "there are a myriad of engrossing twists and turns that build to a riveting finale."