LAUGH IT UP, STARE IT DOWN Opens Tonight at Cherry Lane Theater

LAUGH IT UP, STARE IT DOWN, a new play written by Alan Hruska (The Man on Her Mind, New House under Construction, Reunion), is directed by Chris Eigeman (known as a filmmaker for Turn The River and as an actor for roles in television's Gilmore Girls and the films Metropolitan, Barcelona, and The Last Days of Disco), and premieres at The Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street) tonight, September 9th, 2015.

The cast of Laugh it Up, Stare it Down will be Jayce Bartok (Made In Poland, The My House Play), Katya Campbell (Broadway: Disgraced, The Big Knife), Maury Ginsberg (Mother Courage and The Cherry Orchard with Olympia Dukakis) and Amy Hargreaves (Years of the Sky, Homeland).

LAUGH IT UP, STARE IT DOWN tells the story of Cleo and Joe -- the meeting of their minds, the entwining of their hearts, and their life-long search for a meaningful point in a universe too random to have one. It's a journey marked by a missing baby, a forged painting, a house invader, a tidal wave, and frozen pistou. Will they rise above their outrageous fortune? Will they find ecstatic love?

LAUGH IT UP, STARE IT DOWN features scenic design by Kevin Judge (Irena's Vow, The Civil War), costume design by Jennifer Caprio (Spelling Bee, Joseph...Dreamcoat), lighting design by Matthew J. Fick (Will Rogers Follies, Spamalot), and original music and sound design by Peter Salett (Heart of Mine and Forgetting Sarah Marshall soundtracks). Casting is by Barden / Schnee Casting.

LISTINGS INFORMATION: Laugh it Up, Stare it Down began a limited engagement at The Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street) on August 26th. Opening night is tonight, September 9th. Performances are Tuesdays at 7PM, Wednesdays at 7PM, Thursdays at 7PM, Fridays at 8PM, Saturdays at 2PM and 8PM and Sundays at 3PM and 7PM. Tickets are $59-$79 with premium reserved seating available. Tickets are available through OvationTix at 212-352-3101 / 866-811-4111 or by visiting www.LaughItUpPlay.com.

ABOUT THE TEAM:

Alan Hruska (Playwright) is the author of several plays, including The Man on Her Mind (Charing Cross Theatre, London, 2013) and New House under Construction (59E59, New York, 2008-09, which he also directed), and Ring Twice for Miranda (soon to be a film directed by Bruce Guthrie). He is a filmmaker who has written and directed or co-directed four films: Nola (2003), The Warrior Class (2006), Reunion (2009), and The Man on Her Mind (2014). As a novelist, his books include Borrowed Time (Doubleday 1985), Wrong Man Running (Severn House and Thomas & Mercer 2011), and Pardon the Ravens (Prospect Park Books 2015). In 2005 he made his New York debut as a stage director with an acclaimed production of Waiting for Godot at Theatre at St. Clements. Among his other professional accomplishments, Hruska was for many years a successful trial lawyer and partner at a distinguished New York-based international law firm, where he is still senior counsel, and was a co-founder of the New York book publishing company, Soho Press, of which he is still Chairman. Hruska is a director of the Lark Play Development Center in New York and a member of the Actors Studio, Playwrights and Directors Unit.

Chris Eigeman (Director) made his debut as a filmmaker with Turn The River (2007), which he wrote and directed. Starring Famke Janssen and Rip Torn, the film premiered at the Museum of Modern Art and was enthusiastically received by critics and audiences. He is in pre-production for his second film, Trinity, which he wrote and will direct, to be filmed starting in November 2015 and released in 2016. As an actor, Eigeman has been seen in the films Metropolitan, Barcelona and The Last Days Of Disco. He starred opposite Ian Holm and Famke Janssen in the New York romantic comedy The Treatment. Eigeman has also worked with Wayne Wang in Maid In Manhattan starring Jennifer Lopez, as well as with John Frankenheimer in the HBO feature Path To War. Other films include The Perfect You, The Next Big Thing, Kicking and Screaming, and Mr. Jealousy. Eigeman's television work includes Peter Mehlman's sit-com It's Like...You Know, Malcolm in The Middle, and Gilmore Girls. His stage work includes the Off-Broadway productions of John Kolvenbach's dark comedy The Gravity Of Means and Wendy MacLeod's The House of Yes.

Red Horse Productions (Producer), founded by Petina Cole, produces theatre, film and music. Theatrical productions include the 2013 production of The Man on Her Mind in the West End of London (Charing Cross Theatre), the 2008-09 Off-Broadway production of New House under Construction (59E59), and the 2005 Off-Broadway revival of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot (Theatre at St. Clements). Film productions include the feature narratives Tiger Lily Road, The Man on Her Mind, Reunion (Showtime), The Warrior Class (Showtime), Nola (Lifetime, Showtime), the documentary Nowhere Now: The Ballad of Joshua Tree (PBS); and the award-winning shorts A Rabbit's Life: In Three Parts, and Underground.

RME Theatrical Group (Executive Producer) is the executive-producing division of Radio Mouse Entertainment, an award-winning New York based theater and media production company founded by M. Kilburg Reedy and Jason E. Grossman. Radio Mouse Entertainment producing credits include the Off-Broadway production and original cast album recording of Nevermore - The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe at New World Stages (nominated for 3 Lucille Lortel Awards including Outstanding Musical), the Broadway production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (winner of the Tony, Drama Desk, NY Drama Critics, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Play), and the Broadway and National Touring productions of Peter and the Starcatcher (nominated for 9 Tony Awards; winner of 5 Tony Awards).

Photo Credit: Richard Termine