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Jonathan Leaf's The Caterers Runs Off-Broadway Oct. 6-30

By: Sep. 24, 2005
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The Immediate Theater Company will present the world premiere of Jonathan Leaf's The Caterers in a limited engagement that will run from October 6th through 30th, with an opening night on October 10th, at Altered Stages (212 West 29th Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues).

Directed by Immediate Theater Company artistic director Jose Zayas (Obscene Jesters, The Maid's Tragedy), the play is set "in 1977, (when) a group of Islamic radicals brought the Nation's capitol to a two-day stand still, storming several buildings and holding 120 people hostage. The act of terrorism was in response to Mohammed, Messenger of God, a film that the radical group, Hanafi, had deemed profanely offensive and sacrilegious. Twenty people were injured and a reporter was killed before hostage negotiators were finally able to end the siege. Not a single member of Hanafi had ever viewed the film.

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In The Caterers, Leaf re-imagines these events in the present day, telling the story of two caterers who become trapped in a screening room the night of the film's premiere. Cornered by an Islamic radical, whose mission is to steal the blasphemous film, the couple, held hostage along with the film's screenwriter, try to hold onto their lives and convince their captor that the film is not what it would seem. For a tense 80 minutes, the cat and mouse game ensues, as each of the four struggle to protect their art, their religion and their lives."

The play will feature in its cast Judith Hawking (Living Out at Second Stage, Ivanov at Lincoln Center) Ian Blackman (The Man Who Came to Dinner, The House of Blue Leaves), Peter Reznikoff (Far and Wide at the Mint Theater and Richard III at NYSF) and Brian Wallace (productions at Trinity Rep, Berkshire Theater Festival and the George Street Playhouse).

Leaf is the Arts and Entertainment Editor of The New York Press. His play The Germans in Paris, produced this past spring at 59E59 Theaters, was described as "deftly realized and packed with ideas" by The New York Sun. His verse play Pushkin  is currently being prepared for 2006 production. He has written for The New Yorker, The Weekly Standard and National Review, among other publications. His novel The Hope of The Future was recently called "a classic waiting to be recognized" by critic Hilton Kramer, Editor-in-Chief of The New Criterion. He is now finishing a new history of the 20th century theater for Ivan R. Dee Publishers.

The performance schedule is Wednesday – Friday at 8:00 PM, Saturday at 3:00 PM and 8:00 PM and Sunday at 2:00 PM, with the following exceptions: the Sunday, October 9th performance will be at 7:00 PM, there are added performances on Monday, October 10th and Monday, October 17th at 8:00 PM (Pay-What-You-Can Night) and there is no matinee performance on Saturday, October 29th.

Tickets are $19 and are available by calling SmartTix at 212-868-4444 or online at www.smarttix.com.



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