John Cariani's cul-de-sac Begins Off-Broadway Run April 20

The Transport Group has announced that the world premiere of a new American play, cul- de-sac, written by Tony Award nominee John Cariani, will begin performances on Thursday, April 20 at 8pm at the Connelly Theatre, 220 East 4 Street. cul-de-sac, which is directed by co-artistic director Jack Cummings III (who received a Drama Desk Award nomination for his direction of Transport Group's The Audience), is scheduled to open Sunday, April 30 at 3pm.

"A dark comedy that explores the bizarre secrets of three houses in one neighborhood on an ordinary spring evening, cul-de-sac tells the stories of three couples on a suburban dead end street who go to extreme measures to force their dreams, revealing long-suppressed agendas that threaten their survival," state press notes.

The cast of cul-de-sac includes Nicole Alifante (Off-Broadway's Lobby Hero and TG's Requiem for William), Cariani (Tony-nominee and Outer Critics Circle Award winner for Fiddler on the Roof, Two Gentlemen of Verona, playwright of Almost, Maine), and Robyn Hussa (TG's Our Town, Requiem for William, First Lady Suite, and The Audience), Monica Russell (TG's Our Town, Requiem for William, and The Audience), James Weber (TG's Our Town, Requiem for William, and The Audience), and John Wellmann (TG's Our Town, Requiem for William, and The Audience).

The scenic design for cul-de-sac is by Sandra Goldmark, with costume design by Kathryn Rohe; lighting design by R. Lee Kennedy, sound design is by Seth Guterman, original music is by Emmy-winner Tom Kochan, and musical direction by John DiPinto.

"Founded in 2001 by artistic directors Robyn Hussa and Cummings III, Transport Group presented its premiere production in 2002: Thornton Wilder's Our Town, which featured older actors in the roles of Emily and George and a twelve-year-old girl as the Stage Manager. Transport Group's second production, Requiem for William, an evening of seven seldom produced plays by William Inge, that featured a cast of 26 as well as original songs, premiered in 2003. In 2004 Transport Group presented the first New York revival of Michael John LaChiusa's First Lady Suite, which received rave reviews, played to sold-out houses, and earned two Drama Desk Award nominations including outstanding revival of a musical. Last year's productions included the world premiere of the musical The Audience, which featured a cast of 46 actors and earned three Drama Desk Award nominations, including outstanding musical, and Normal, a new musical concerning a mother's battle to save her daughter from anorexia," state press notes.