Studio Dante will present the world premiere of Dark Yellow, a new play by Julia Jordan. Directed by Nick Sandow, this limited Off-Broadway engagement will run Wednesday, May 24 – Saturday, June 17 at Studio Dante (257 West 29th Street). Opening night is set for Saturday, May 27 at 8:00 PM.
"Dark Yellow is a noir play that begs the question: is anything what it seems? In a rural place, a murder in a cornfield gradually becomes the focus of an unusual encounter between a local woman and a stranger she meets at the small town bar. As they engage in a bedroom game of questions, word-play and sexual intrigue, both strive for a connection while identities and motives remain hidden. Testing the boundaries of trust and intimacy, they struggle with their instincts toward suspicion and self-preservation. In the end, the truth about the murder is unearthed in this exploration of crime, human nature, vengeance and redemption," according to production notes.
Jordan's works produced in New York include
Boy (Primary Stages),
Tatjana In Color (Culture Project),
St. Scarlet (WET) and
Summer Of The Swans (Lortel Theatre). As a librettist, Jordan wrote the books for
Sarah, Plain And Tall (TheaterworksUSA) and
The Mice (Harold Prince's
3hree). Works for children include
Guitar with Duncan Sheik at La Jolla Playhouse and now
Walk Two Moons. Her short film
The Hat premiered at Sundance in 2001. She is a Juilliard Playwright Fellow, Manhattan Theatre Club Fellow, Member of New Dramatists and the Dramatists Guild.
The play will be directed by Nick Sandow, who helmed the critically acclaimed
Ponies by Mike Batistick and Henry Flamethrowa by
John Belluso (both at Studio Dante). The cast of
Dark Yellow will feature Tina Benko (B'way:
A Day In The Death, Hedda Gabler, The Real Thing, Design For Living, Not About Nightingales),
Elias Koteas (B'way:
True West; Off-B'way:
Hot 'N' Throbbing; Film:
Crash, Fallen, Thin Red Line) and Max Kaplan.
The production will include set and costume design by
Victoria Imperioli and lighting design by Tony Giovannetti, both Studio Dante resident designers.
Studio Dante, built by Michael and
Victoria Imperioli, was conceived and built to house progressive new plays in a setting inspired by the grand architecture and design of traditional 19th Century venues. For the last decade,
Michael Imperioli has produced, directed and acted on New York stages. For Studio Dante, he directed the company's inaugural production
Baptism by Fire, as well as
Late Fragment earlier this season. Studio Dante is the latest installment of
Victoria Imperioli's design work. Having studied architecture and design at the School of Visual Arts & NYU, she has been involved in various projects in the US and Europe since the early 90s. Victoria developed a distinct and admired style of her own, which led to her work's exposure in Architectural Digest. Studio Dante is committed to producing writers that inhabit a fresh point of view and have the courage to investigate difficult emotional terrain. Past productions:
Baptism By Fire and
Ponies (2004),
Henry Flamethrowa, Late Fragment (2005) and most recently,
Cyclone by Ron Fitzgerald.
Dark Yellow will play Wednesday – Saturday at8:00 PM at Studio Dante (257 West 29th Street, between 7th & 8th Avenues). Tickets may be arranged through Smarttix at
www.smarttix.com or by calling (212) 868-4444. Tickets are $35.00. For more information, visit
www.studiodante.com.