MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE to Open Off-Broadway October 15

Dena Hammerstein and Pam Pariseau for James Hammerstein Productions present the American premiere of London's Royal Court Theatre production of MY NAME IS Rachel Corrie, a new play taken from the writings of American activist Rachel Corrie, edited by Katharine Viner and Alan Rickman. The play will open Off Broadway at The Minetta Lane Theatre on Sunday, October 15, 2006 at 7pm for 48 performances only, through Sunday, November 19, 2006. Directed by Alan Rickman, who edited the piece with Katharine Viner, Features Editor with The Guardian newspaper in London, MY NAME IS Rachel Corrie begins previews on Thursday, October 5, 2006. Tickets are now on sale through Ticketmaster.com at 212-307-4100 or at the Minetta Lane Theatre box office at 212 420-8000. Casting to be announced shortly.

MY NAME IS Rachel Corrie was originally produced at London's Royal Court Theatre, where it opened in April 2005 and returned for an encore engagement in October 2005. In Spring 2006, it played for nine weeks at The Playhouse Theatre in London's West End. Compiled from writings left behind in the diaries, letters and e-mails of American activist Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old protester who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza, MY NAME IS Rachel Corrie chronicles the human, social and political evolution in the life and controversial death of a young woman. The play traces the life of Rachel from her early days in Washington State through her experiences as an activist seeking to learn more about the community within Gaza.

The Daily Telegraph said of MY NAME IS Rachel Corrie, "[It's] a powerful and thought-provoking piece of theatre. Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner offer a fully rounded picture of this passionate, idealistic young woman." The Guardian called MY NAME IS Rachel Corrie, "A deeply moving personal testimonial, a stunning account of one woman's passionate response to a particular situation."

MY NAME IS Rachel Corrie received the 2006 London Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best Play, Best Director and Best Actress; and was nominated for a Time Out Award (Best Actress), a South Bank Show Award (Best Production) and an Olivier Award (Outstanding Achievement).

MY NAME IS Rachel Corrie is edited by Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner, in collaboration with The Royal Court Theatre's International Department and produced with the kind permission of The Corrie family.

Alan Rickman says, "We were never going to paint Rachel as a golden saint or sentimentalize her, but we also needed to face the fact that she'd been demonized. We wanted to present a balanced portrait. The activist part of her life is absolutely matched by the imaginative part of her life. I've no doubt at all that had she lived there would have been novels and plays pouring out of her."

MY NAME IS Rachel Corrie has a set design by Hildegard Bechtler, lighting design by Johanna Town, sound and video design by Emma Laxton.

Biographies

Alan Rickman (Director/Co-Editor). His film work includes "Dogma," "Love Actually," "Michael Collins," "Sense & Sensibility" and the Harry Potter series. This year also sees the release of "Snow Cake," "Perfume" and "Nobel Son." His work on stage includes The Seagull, The Grass Widow and The Lucky Chance at the Royal Court, seasons at the Royal Shakespeare Company and The National Theatre and Private Lives and Les Liaisons Dangereuses in London and New York receiving Tony Award nominations for both performances. Alan directed The Winter Guest by Sharman Macdonald at West Yorkshire Playhouse and The Almeida Theatre and the film of "The Winter Guest" which won awards at the Venice Film Festival, Jerusalem Film Festival and was judged Best Film at the Chicago Film Festival.

Katharine Viner (Co-Editor) is an award-winning journalist and is currently Features Editor of The Guardian newspaper, London.

Dena Hammerstein and Pam Pariseau for James Hammerstein Productions (Producer) currently represented by I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change happily celebrating its 10th year Off-Broadway at The Westside Theatre. Other off-Broadway productions include Over the River and Through the Woods, Slut and the London, San Francisco, Chicago and Boston companies of I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. JHP also brought the original Broadway cast of Dirty Blonde to the West End at the Duke of York's Theatre and are currently Associate Producers on the West End production of Sunday In The Park With George. Projects in development include a newly revised version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Allegro, which received a critically acclaimed production at the Signature Theatre in Washington DC (Helen Hayes Award for Best Musical) in January 2004. Dena is also the founder of Only Make Believe, a not for profit charity she created to bring theatre to children confined to hospitals because of serious illness and disability (www.onlymakebelieve.org). Ms. Hammerstein received the 2003 United Hospital Fund's New Leadership Group's Humanitarian Award for her work with Only Make Believe, and has been active volunteer in Child Life Programs in Manhattan for over fifteen years.

London's Royal Court Theatre (Original Producer) is the UK's leading theatre for new writing. Recent productions in New York include; Sarah Kane's 4.48 Psychosis, Martin McDonagh's The Beauty Queen of Leenane (1998 winner of four Tony Awards), David Hare's Via Dolorosa (1998 Drama League, Drama Desk and New York Critics' Circle Award), Conor McPherson's The Weir and Eugene Ionesco's The Chairs (nominated for six Tony Awards, 1998). 2006 is the Royal Court's 50th Anniversary.

For more information about Rachel Corrie, please go to rachelcorriefoundation.org.