Ivey Signs On to Second Stage Uptown Fest; Begins May 24

Second Stage Theatre has announced new performance and opening night dates for its acclaimed Second Stage Theatre Uptown Festival this summer.

The festival will kick off on May 24 with the world premiere comedy The Butcher of Baraboo, written by Marisa Wegrzyn and directed by two-time Tony Award winner Judith Ivey (who is replacing the previously announced Carolyn Cantor).  The Butcher of Baraboo will officially open on Monday, June 11 and run through June 30.  The festival's second world premiere is Josh Tobiessen's comedy Election Day, directed by Jeremy Dobrish.  Election Day will begin previews on July 16 and will officially open on Wednesday, August 1.  The comedy runs through August 25.  Both Wegrzyn and Tobiessen are making their New York debuts with this festival.

The plays will be presented at Second Stage Theatre's uptown home, the McGinn/Cazale Theatre on Broadway at 76th Street. 

Created as a program to help develop and provide exposure for the voices of a new generation of theatre artists, the Second Stage Theatre Uptown Festival has helped launch and advance the careers of several up-and-coming playwrights, including Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (whose play, Based on a Totally True Story, was produced last year at Manhattan Theatre Club), Adam Bock (whose Second Stage Uptown 2005 play Swimming in the Shallows, as well as last year's The Thugs, produced by Soho Rep, were both named one of Time Out'sTop Ten Plays of the Year), and Dan O'Brien (who recently received the prestigious 2006/07 Princeton University Hodder Fellowship).  Both Mr. Aguirre-Sacasa and playwright Rajiv Joseph (whose play All This Intimacy was part of last summer's Uptown Festival) recently received one of the prestigious Time Warner Commissions from Second Stage Theatre," state press notes.

"The festival seeks to develop the skills of emerging playwrights, to provide early-career artists with the support of a major artistic institution, and to create new plays for the American Theatre.  Each show has a limited rehearsal period, as well as a streamlined budget."

The line-up follows:

Play #1:
The Butcher of Baraboo
World premiere
Written by Marisa Wegrzyn
Directed by Judith Ivey (director of Fugue, Tony Awards for Steaming and Hurlyburly)
May 24 - June 30

"Valerie is the butcher of Baraboo, Wisconsin.  Her husband has gone missing and everyone suspects she played a hand, especially her nosy sister-in-law  who just happens to be the town sheriff.  And her daughter, a drug-pushing pharmacist, might know more than she lets on.   The Butcher of Baraboo is a black comedy about a butcher, a secret, and one perfectly polished meat cleaver."

Marisa Wegrzyn's other plays include Killing Women, Psalms of a Questionable Nature, Ten Cent Night, and Hickorydickory.  Her work has been produced or read at Steppenwolf, Geva Theatre Center, Chicago Dramatists, The Women's  Project, Centerstage, and The Magic Theatre.  She has a B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis.

Play #2:
Election Day
World Premiere
Written by Josh Tobiessen
Directed by Jeremy Dobrish (Drift at NYMF)
July 16 - August 25

"It's Election Day, and Adam knows his over-zealous girlfriend will never forgive him if he fails to vote. But when his sex starved sister, an  eco-terrorist, and a mayoral candidate willing to do anything for a vote all show up, Adam finds that making that quick trip to the polls might be harder than he thought.  Election Day is a hilarious dark comedy about the price of  political (and personal) campaigns."

Tobiessen's plays have been produced in the Baldwin New Play Festival at USCD and in Ireland in the Galway Arts Festival and Dublin
Fringe Festival.  He has studied at the Improv Olympic Theatre in Chicago,  and the National University of Ireland. He has a B.A. from Grinnell College and is currently completing his final year of the M.F.A Playwriting program at UCSD.

The Butcher of Baraboo will be performed at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre (Broadway and 76th Street, above The Promenade) from Monday, May 24 - Sunday, June 30 on the following schedule:  Tuesday-Friday at 8:00pm, Saturday at  2:00pm and 8:00pm, Sunday at 3:00pm.  NOTE: There are additional 2pm matinees on Wednesday, June 13, June 20, and June 27.

Election Day will be performed at the McGinn/Cazale Theater (Broadway & 76th Street, above The Promenade) from Monday, July 16 - Saturday, August 25 on the following schedule:  Monday-Friday at 8:00pm, Saturday at 2:00pm & 8:00pm.  NOTE: There are additional 2pm matinees on Wednesday, August 8 and  August 15.

Tickets for performances of both plays can be purchased at the Second Stage Theatre Box Office (307 West 43rd Street) or by calling (212) 246-4422. Advance tickets are not available at the McGinn/Cazale Theater.  Single  tickets are $30; advance youth tickets (age 25 and under) are $20; and student rush tickets are $10 (available 30 minutes prior to curtain).  A 2-play subscription is available for $40.

For more information, please visit www.secondstagetheatre.com.