LAByrinth Theater Company Presents World Premiere Of DEVIL OF CHOICE

LAByrinth Theater Company (Artistic Director John Ortiz) recently announced that they will present the World Premiere of Devil of Choice by LAB Member Maggie Bofill (Winners, Drawn and Quartered). They are thrilled for performances to begin Wednesday, May 23, and will run through Saturday, June 9, 2018, at The Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street, New York, NY 10014). An official opening night has been set for Monday, May 28, 2018. Tickets are available for $20 each and can be purchased online at www.labtheater.org/shows-and-events

When Pepper (Canavan) and her husband Salvatore (Zayas) meet Delia (Lozano), a volatile triangle of dark, passionate and comic twists and turns is put in motion. Sal, the hotshot new professor in town teaches Faust: the story of a man who sells his soul to the devil. This cautionary tale begins to play out in their lives the moment Sal insists Delia become friends with his wife, setting off a chain of events that sends all three down a dangerous path. When faced with your demons, what are the choices you'll make to save yourself?

Devil of Choice is a dark, sexy, and funny tale about the things we choose, the people we covet, and the risks we take to get what we want.

"This play felt like the absolute right choice for LAB in our 25th Season," says John Ortiz, Artistic Director. "Maggie's development as a woman of color playwright, as well as the opportunity to offer LAByrinth members rich and challenging roles, really go to the heart of LAB's mission. During a reading at our annual Barn Series festival last February, Maggie's potent words, wrapped in a real and smart sobering story, lept off the page, and you could feel the audience on the edge of their seats, from the tension and excitement of the play. Now we can't wait to take this wickedly fun and dangerous new play to the next level, in a fully staged production."

Devil of Choice features a powerhouse cast of LAByrinth company members, including Elizabeth Canavan (Between Riverside and Crazy, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Jesus Hopped the A Train), Florencia Lozano ("Narcos," "One Life to Live," Where's My Money?, Dirty Story), and David Zayas ("Dexter," "Seven Seconds," "Oz," Broadway - Anna in the Tropics). Helmed by director Shira-Lee Shalit (finalist director for Steven Spielberg's Fox/Dreamworks TV show, "On the Lot"), the production will also feature scenic design by Raul Abrego, costume design by Lara de Bruijn, lighting design by Kia Rogers, sound design by Daniel Melnick, and original music by Melisa McGregor

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Maggie Bofill (Playwright) Maggie Diaz Bofill is a founding member of LAByrinth Theater Company, where she began as an actor, and thanks to the company - started writing. New York City Productions include: Winners, Ensemble Studio Theater (Dir. Pam Berlin, Special Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Season of New Work), Drawn and Quartered, INTAR, Dir. Lou Morenol (NY Times Critics pick) Face Cream and El Grande (EST One Act Marathon), Me Monste (Dir. Cusi Cram, Dirty Blondes Resistor Project), plus short play festivals, including the Sticky Theater Series, NYMadness Series, and One Minute Play Festivals. Maggie is a member of the Actor's Studio Playwright Director's Unit, the Dramatist Guild, and Dorset Theater Festival's Woman Artist Writers (WAW). Upcoming this spring, Swipe, a musical, book, music and lyrics by Maggie. Dir. Lori Kee, a BMCC commission, will be performed at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center.

SHIRA-LEE SHALIT (Director) Recent productions include Daniel Talbott's Nick and Zoe (IRT Theatre), Fault Lines by Stephen Belber (TBG Theatre), Girls Will Be Girls by Jolie London Glickman (NYFringe Festival- *Fringe Favorite), The Women of Padilla by Tony Meneses (AADA) and many more workshops and staged readings at LAByrinth Theater Company, Cherry Lane Theatre, EST, The Actors Studio, The Lark, Dixon Place, Nylon Fusion, Barefoot Theatre Company (Associate Artistic Director 2015-17), NYMadness, Hi-Arts, Jewish Plays Project, HERE and WGA East. FILM: A-List- starring Academy Award nominee Sally Kirkland, Audience Award- Milan International Film Festival, Best Comedy- Worldfest; Full Cycle- Finalist- Student Academy Awards; Open Air- Best Short- Mexico International Film Fest, NJFilm Fest, Acefest. Shira-Lee was chosen by Steven Spielberg for his FOX/DreamWorks directing show, "On the Lot." A Presidential Scholar of the Arts Awardee, Shira-Lee is a proud member of Rising Phoenix Rep, NYWIFT and The Actors Studio Playwright/Director Unit. She is on faculty at NYU and Columbia University.

Elizabeth Canavan (Actor) Member of LAByrinth Theater Company since 1993. She originated the role of Detective Audrey O'Connor in the Pulitzer Prize winning play, Between Riverside and Crazy (Atlantic Theater and 2nd Stage) by Stephen Adly Guirgis, dir. Austin Pendleton, also Little Flower of East Orange (The Public Theatre), The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (The Public Theatre), Our Lady of 121st Street (Union Square Theater), Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train (East 13th Street Theatre, Edinburgh Festival (Fringe First Award), The Donmar Wharehouse (London) and The Arts Theatre (London West End) all by Stephen Adly Guirgis and dir. Philip Seymour Hoffman. Other theater credits include : Pipeline (by Dominiqu Morisseau, Lincoln Center,) Black Lace (by John Patrick Shanley, The New Ohio Theater), Seven (Bovard Theater at USC), Love Sick (Theater for a New City), Thinner Than Water (Cherry Pit Theater) Massacre (Sing to Your Children) (by Jose Rivera, The Public Theater), Film credits: 1 Mile to You Television credits: "Younger," "Law and Order," "Law and Order SVU," "Sex And The City." Liz has written and starred in two short films, Father's Day (Tribeca Film Festival 2016) and Sleeping with Sharks. She is also a member of the Actor's Studio.

Florencia Lozano (Actor) is an actor, writer and performance artist. Theatre credits include: And She Would Stand Like This (Movement Theatre Co), Winners (EST), 'Lady Macduff' in Macbeth (Shakespeare in the Park), Placebo (Playwrights' Horizons), Privilege ( Second Stage), Last Easter (MCC), Where's My Money? (MTC/LAB), Dirty Story (LAB), Right You Are... (National Actors' Theatre), Mimesophobia (SPF). TV credits include: "Gossip Girl," "Blue Bloods," "Ugly Betty," "Law & Order SVU" and "CI,", "The Mysteries of Laura," "Madam Secretary," "Kevin Can Wait," "The Blacklist," and the upcoming NBC pilot, "Enemy Within." She played 'Claudia Messina' in Netflix's "Narcos" and 'Tea Delgado' on ABC's "One Life to Live." Films include Amy Makes Three, Faraway Eyes, The Ministers, Perfect Strangers, and Veronika Decides to Die. Florencia is one of the original members of the LAByrinth Theater Company and currently serves as LAB's Literary Manager. As a playwright, Florencia has written underneathmybed, produced at the Rattlestick Playwrights' Theatre and winner of HOLA's (Hispanic Organization of Latino Actors) Best New Play Award in 2010; Busted, produced by Rising Phoenix at CINO nights, and her new play, girl in window, is currently in development. Florencia attended NYU's Graduate Acting Program on a full scholarship, where she received her MFA. Her BA is from Brown University where she studied Comparative Literature.

David Zayas (Actor ) is best known for his role as Angel Batista on the Golden Globe-nominated psychological drama "Dexter." David was recently seen as "Sal Maroni" on the Fox series "Gotham," 'Sherrif Aguirre' on the Netflix Series "Bloodline" and 'Eduardo Magana' on the Hulu series "Shut Eye." His other recent television credits include "Saint George" (FX), "Seven Seconds" (Netflix), "Blue Bloods" (CBS), and "The Guest Book" (TBS). While working on the crime drama "The Beat," Zayas met Emmy Award-winning television writer and producer Tom Fontana, who went on to create the role of 'Enrique Morales' on HBO's "Oz" especially for him. David currently stars as 'Sgt. Machado' in the upcoming ABC pilot, "Staties." On film, he has starred in The Expendables, Skyline, 13, Michael Clayton, Sixteen Blocks, The Savages, Bringing Out the Dead, The Yards, Undefeated, Wit, Angel, and The Interpreter. David recently starred opposite Helen Hunt in the indie feature Ride, starred opposite Ellen Page and Allison Janney in the feature Tallulah, and appeared in the film remake of the 1982 movie musical Annie opposite Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz. David stars in the upcoming feature Shine, which will be released this August. A former New York police officer, Zayas began his acting career with LAByrinth Theater Company in 1992. He has starred in more than thirty theater productions, most with LAByrinth Theater Company, including: Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, In Arabia We'd All Be Kings, Our Lady of 121 St., and thePulitzer Prize-winning Anna in the Tropics on Broadway.

John Ortiz (Artistic Director ) is honored to be returning as LAB's Artistic Director during its 25th season, after having served as Co-Artistic Director with Philip Seymour Hoffman for eight seasons (2002-2009). A few of the many highlights in the 25 year span for John include directing David Deblinger in LAB's 1992 inaugural production of Nobody's Home, helping create new play development process, beginning with an annual Summer Intensive, acting in the ensemble created piece Dreaming in Tounges, Stephen Adly Guirgis' Jesus Hopped the A Train (in NY and London), Brett C Leonard's Guinea Pig Solo, Bob Glaudini's Jack Goes Boating, and the opportunity to collaborate with so many amazing artists from all walks of life. John is also a co-founder of LAB.

Raul Abrego (Scenic Designer )Set designer for Opera, Theater and Television and has designed for the Juilliard Opera Center, The Spoleto Opera Festival in Italy, The Manhattan School of Music, Rattlestick and 2nd Stage Uptown. Noted Projects: The Brobot Johnson Experience by Darian Dauchan, The Block by Dan Hoyle directed by Tamilla Woodard, Fidelis by Christina Gorman, Directed by Leah Gardiner, for The Public Studio. Insurgents by Lucy Thurber, Directed by Jackson Gay for Labyrinth Theater, La Barberia (New World Stages), Underneathmybed by Florencia Lozano directed by Pedro Pascal. Art Director for the television pilot of Falling Water.

Lara de Bruijn (Costume Design) is excited to be a part of this team! Recent and upcoming projects include: Party Face (City Center), Under My Skin(Little Shubert Theatre), The Two Character Play (New World Stages), The Good Catholic and the upcoming Ms White Light (Pigasus Pictures), Ndebele Funeral(59E59), Julian Po (Signature Theatre), Half 'n Half 'n Half (Merrimack Repertory Theatre), Christopher and Black Dolphin, (Project 44), Onegin, Alcina,and The Rake's Progress(Boston Conservatory), Scalia/Ginsbergand Don Giovanni (Castleton Opera Festival), Blasted (the BCA), The Electric Lighthouse (The Flea Theatre). See more at laradawndesign.com

Kia Rogers (Lighting Designer) Recent designs at: BAM Fisher, 3LD Art & Technology Center, The Gym at Judson. International credits: Associate Lighting Designer for Slutforart/98.6 in Gothenburg, Sweden with Muna Tseng. West coast designs: El Portal's Monroe Forum Theatre, Los Angeles and Z Space, San Francisco. Awards: Outstanding Lighting Design for Jane The Plain with the NYITA, 2014 and nominated in 2016 for Rizing. Outstanding Lighting Design for Mr. Toole, MITF 2016. Kia is a member of Rising Phoenix Repertory and also a creative partner with Flux Theatre Ensemble. - www.krogersld.com

Daniel Melnick (Sound Designer)Credits include The Siblings Play, The House of Von Macrame, Zelda at the Oasis, and Love Trapezoid.

MELISA MCGREGOR (Composer/Musician)Canadian-born composer, violinist, and Sundance Institute Music & Sound Design Lab Composer Fellow. She has been collaborating on music design and composition with LAByrinth Theater Company since 2006 on various plays, and the Annual Charades Benefit show. Over the last 8 years, Melisa has worked with several Hollywood composers including Danny Elfman on many diverse film scores - from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010) to Joss Whedon's Justice League (2017), and the upcoming The Grinch for Universal Studios (2018). In 2017, Melisa composed the score for the short film Cut in Half directed by Susan Sidelman, and she is currently working on string arrangements and performing weekly in Los Angeles with the singer-songwriter Jae-Mi, in addition to scoring the upcoming feature documentary Made in Boise for director Beth Aala. She is also the creator and producer of The Library Series concert hosted by composers Christopher Lennertz and Tim Wynn at Sonic Fuel Studios, which benefits music education charities such as Education through Music (ETMLA) and Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation.

ABOUT LAByrinth Theater Company

LAByrinth Theater Company, founded in 1992 as The Latino Actors Base, was created to deliberately interrupt the racial status quo by giving voice to artists of color and reflecting a world where color is the norm and not the exception. LAByrinth Theater Company is a diverse, impassioned, tightly knit ensemble of multicultural artists that empowers individuals and builds community by creating member driven, incendiary, new works of theater.