J.B. Priestley's CORNELIUS Receives NY Premiere at Brits Off Broadway at 59E59 Theaters

59E59 Theaters will welcome the Finborough Theatre production of J.B. Priestley's CORNELIUS, directed by Sam Yates, to Brits Off Broadway. Produced by Jagged Fence, Handsome Dog and 31 Productions, CORNELIUS begins performances on Saturday, June 1 for a limited engagement through Sunday, June 30. Press opening is Tuesday, June 11 at 7 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7 PM; Friday at 8 PM; Saturday at 2 PM & 8 PM; Sunday at 3 PM & 7 PM. Single tickets are $70 ($49 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or go to www.59e59.org. For more information, visit www.britsoffbroadway.com.

As bankruptcy looms, the ever-optimistic Jim Cornelius, partner at import firm Briggs and Murrison, is fighting to keep his creditors happy and his spirits up. Tensions rise with the arrival of Judy, the beautiful, young typist who shows Cornelius the life he could have led. A forgotten masterpiece by one of Britain's greatest dramatists.

This production of CORNELIUS was originally produced in association with Neil McPherson at Finborough Theatre as part of their 2012 rediscoveries season, where it received monumental accolades from the London critics, called "monumental" (The Guardian), "a superb revival" (Evening Standard), and "piercingly relevant, compassionate and delivers, like Cornelius' bons mots, with great style" (The Times, London).

The cast features Emily Barber, Alex Bartram (Hedda Gabler, Duke of York/Almeida), Robin Browne (House and Garden, National Theatre), Pandora Colin (Design for Living, dir Peter Hall, Bath Theatre Royal), Alan Cox (The Caretaker, BAM), David Ellis (The Ballad of the Copper Revolution, Old Vic Tunnels), Andrew Fallaize (The Prince of Homburg, Royal Shakespeare Company), Col Farrell (The Dresser, Duke of York's Theatre), Beverley Klein (Les Miserables, Royal Shakespeare Company, Barbican Theatre and Palace Theatre), Jamie Newall (The Alchemist, National Theatre), Xanthe Patterson, and Simon Rhodes (Accomplice, Menier Chocolate Factory).

The production designer is David Woodhead; the lighting designer is Howard Hudson; the composer is Alex Baranowski.

Sam Yates (director) trained with directors Michael Grandage, Phyllida Lloyd, Trevor Nunn, Josie Rourke, and Jamie Lloyd. Highlights as associate director include Hamlet starring Jude Law (dir. Michael Grandage, Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway); One Man, Two Guvnors (dir. Nicholas Hytner, National Theatre UK and World Tour); and Madame de Sade starring Judi Dench (dir. Michael Grandage, Donmar West End). From 2011 - 2013 Yates was Artistic Associate to Laurie Sansom at Royal and DernGate Theatres, Northampton. Direction includes Cornelius by J.B. Priestley (Finborough Theatre); Poetry Week with Josephine Hart (Donmar Warehouse); Mixed Marriage by St John Ervine (Finborough Theatre); Lights (National Theatre Studio); Mrs P. (Mercury Musical Developments); Electra and Oedipus (Garrick Theatre, Stockport); Grief by Eugene O'Hare and Clever by Sally Woodcock (RADA new plays festival); Oleanna (Hong Kong Arts Centre); The Turke (Arcola Theatre); The Tempest and Macbeth (ADC Theatre, Cambridge and Edinburgh Festival); and Purgatory by W.B. Yeats (Edinburgh Festival). He is Artistic Director of 31 Productions and through them produced Mixed Marriage and Cornelius (Finborough Theatre and 59E59 Theaters, New York).

J.B. Priestley (playwright) was born in 1894 in Bradford, Yorkshire. His plays dominated the London stage from the 1930s to the 1950s with such classics as Dangerous Corner, Eden End, Laburnum Grove, I Have Been Here Before, Time and the Conways, When We Are Married, Johnson Over Jordan, They Came to a City, An Inspector Calls, The Linden Tree, Summer Day's Dream and The Glass Cage. His many novels include The Good Companions, Angel Pavement, Bright Day and Lost Empires. During the Second World War, he established a new reputation as a broadcaster and social commentator. He died in 1984.