Kate Burton to Star in Irish Rep's Immersive THE DEAD, 1904

Irish Repertory Theatre and Dot Dot Productions, in association with The American Irish Historical Society, have announced the world premiere of THE DEAD, 1904 - an immersive adaptation of James Joyce's classic story, "The Dead," adapted by the Pulitzer Prize winning Irish poet Paul Muldoon (Moy Sand and Gravel) and novelist Jean Hanff Korelitz (Admission, You Should Have Known).

Directed by Irish Rep co-founder Ciarán O'Reilly and starring three-time Emmy Award nominee and three-time Tony Award nominee Kate Burton (The Elephant Man, "Scandal," "Grey's Anatomy") THE DEAD, 1904 will run for seven weeks only from November 19th, 2016, through January 7th, 2017.

THE DEAD, 1904 will be staged in the c. 1900 townhouse of The American Irish Historical Society (991 Fifth Avenue, New York) on the Upper East Side for an audience of just 42 people per night. The production will travel over three floors of the building, which has been restored to period decoration. Rooms used will include the lobby, parlor, music room, dining room and upstairs library.

A holiday meal, inspired by descriptions of the feast in Joyce's story, will be created by Great Performances, one of the city's most celebrated caterers, and served to cast and audience alike in the townhouse's elegant dining room. Wine and water will be served with the meal.

A cast of twelve will be led by three-time Tony Award nominee Kate Burton as "Gretta Conroy." Burton is best known to many for her work on "Scandal" and "Grey's Anatomy" and the Broadway productions of The Constant Wife (2005 revival), The Elephant Man (2002 revival), Hedda Gabler (2001 revival), and Spring Awakening (2006).

THE DEAD, 1904 was adapted from the final novella in James Joyce's 1914 short story collection, Dubliners, and tells of a disillusioned man named Gabriel Conroy, who, along with his wife Gretta, attends a holiday party in 1904 Dublin, thrown at the home of his two elderly aunts. Throughout the evening guests sing, dance, eat and drink while outside snow gently falls, and Gabriel and his wife contemplate their pasts, futures, happiness, life and ultimately, death.

Additional casting and creative team for The Dead, 1904 will be announced at a later date.

One of the most acclaimed short stories of all time, "The Dead" was previously adapted as a film by John Huston (The Dead, 1987) and as a 1999 Broadway Musical (James Joyce's THE DEAD) which won the 1999 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. This will be the first immersive adaptation.

The performance schedule for THE DEAD, 1904 is as follows: Tuesday at 7:00PM; Wednesday at 8:00PM; Thursday at 7:00PM; Friday at 8:00PM; Saturday at 5:00PM & 8:30PM; Sunday at 7:00PM. Holiday exceptions: there will no performances on Thursday, November 24 (Thanksgiving Day); Saturday, December 24 (Christmas Eve); Sunday, December 25 (Christmas Day); and Sunday, January 1 (New Year's Day). There will be additional performances on Monday, December 19 at 7pm; Wednesday, December 21 at 5pm; Monday, December 26 at 7pm; and Monday, January 2 at 7pm.

Tickets to THE DEAD, 1904 are priced at $300 and include dinner and drinks, and are on sale now through Irish Rep's box office by calling 212-727-2737, or online at www.irishrep.org. THE DEAD, 1904 is also available for group bookings. A minimum of 35 pairs of premium tickets to The Dead, 1904 will be made available for $19.04 through a lottery system. There will be opportunities for several audience members, including lottery winners, to be served dinner with the cast as they play the dinner scene. More information about the lottery will be announced as it becomes available.

IRISH REPERTORY THEATRE, co-founded by Producing Director Ciarán O'Reilly and Artistic Director Charlotte Moore, opened its doors in September 1988 with Sean O'Casey's The Plough and the Stars. The Irish Rep is currently the only year-round theatre company in New York City devoted to bringing Irish and Irish American works to the stage. Recognized with the Jujamcyn Theatres Award, a special Drama Desk Award for "Excellence in Presenting Distinguished Irish Drama," an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Achievement, and the Lucille Lortel Award for "Outstanding Body of Work," the Irish Rep has celebrated the very best in Irish theatre for over twenty-five years, from the masters to the new generation of Irish and Irish American writers who are transforming the stage. Nearly 38,000 audience members annually attend productions at our theatre located in the heart of New York's Off Broadway community. Once here, they witness the Irish Rep's engaging perspective on the Irish and their unique contributions to the world of

DOT DOT PRODUCTIONS is a newly formed producing entity, created to bring THE DEAD, 1904 to life in New York City. The vision of Jean Hanff Korelitz and Nina Korelitz Matza, two theater-loving sisters and native New Yorkers with backgrounds in literature and marketing, Dot Dot plans to produce many more innovative theater projects in the future.

Paul Muldoon AND JEAN HANFF KORELITZ (Adapters). Muldoon, winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for MOY SAND AND GRAVEL, is the author of 12 major collections of poetry, and the current poetry editor of The New Yorker magazine. He holds the Howard G.B. Clark '21 chair in the Humanities at Princeton University. Jean Hanff Korelitz is the author of six novels, including Admission, You Should Have Known and the forthcoming The Devil and Webster. THE DEAD, 1904 is the first collaboration for Muldoon and Korelitz, who are married. (www.paulmuldoon.net, www.jeanhanffkorelitz.com)

CIARÁN O'REILLY (Director) has helmed Irish Rep's productions of Shining City; The Weir (Lucille Lortel and Callaway Award nominations); The Emperor Jones (Callaway Award; O'Neill Credo Award; Drama Desk, Drama League and Lucille Lortel Award nominations); The Hairy Ape (Drama Desk, Drama League and Callaway nominations); Philadelphia, Here I Come! (Drama Desk nomination); the world pre­miere of Banished Children of Eve; as well as the recent productions of Sea Marks, Port Authority, and The Quare Land, among others. As an actor, he has been seen in the Irish Rep productions of Da, Juno and the Paycock, Dancing at Lughnasa, Molly Sweeney, Aristocrats, A Whistle in the Dark, The Shaughraun, and The Irish and How They Got That Way. He also appeared in the Roundabout Theatre Company's production of A Touch of the Poet with Gabriel Byrne; at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin; and made his Broadway debut in The Corn is Green. He has been honored three times by Irish America Magazine with the Irish America "Top 100 Irish" Award.

Kate Burton (Gretta Conroy) Kate Burton has been nominated for a Tony for her performances in Hedda Gabler, The Elephant Man and The Constant Wife. She was most recently seen in NY as The Queen and Belarius in Cymbeline at Shakespeare in the Park. She has appeared in Lovers/Winners, Aristocrats and Give Me Your Answer, Do! by Brian Friel, and Carthaginians and Factory Girls by Frank MacGuinness. She also appeared on Broadway in The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh and toured Ireland, stopping in Dublin's Gaiety, Cork Opera House, Galway's Druid, Letterkenny, Belfast Opera House and Waterford's Theater Royal. A three time Emmy nominee for her portrayals of Sally Langston in "Scandal" and Ellis Grey in "Grey's Anatomy," she has also appeared on "Law and Order(s)," "The West Wing," "The Practice," "Grimm" and "Veep." Films include 127 Hours, 2 Days in NY, Celebrity, Ice Storm, Unfaithful and Big Trouble in Little China. She is a graduate oF Brown University and The Yale School of Drama.

THE AMERICAN IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY is an international center of scholarship, education, and cultural enrichment dedicated to promoting the significant, ongoing contributions to the United States of America made by Irish immigrants and their descendants. www.aihs.org

GREAT PERFORMANCES, one of the city's most celebrated caterers, maintains restaurants at some of the city's preeminent cultural institutions, including Jazz at Lincoln Center, Asia Society Museum, Brooklyn Academy Of Music and Brooklyn Museum. www.greatperformances.com

Photo Credit: Jennifer Broski