Michael Milligan's MERCY KILLERS Plays Stella Adler Studio of Acting, 11/16-19

The Stella Adler Studio of Acting's Harold Clurman Laboratory Theater Company is excited to announce the New York City premiere of Michael Milligan's Mercy Killers. Milligan's one-man play is inspired by horror stories of the uninsured, many of whom suffer financial tragedies on top of chronic illnesses.

Over 60% of all bankruptcies in the U.S. are the result of medical debt. "What most people don't realize is that in the majority of those bankruptcies, the person involved actually had insurance at the onset of their health crisis," says Milligan. "Mercy Killers is my attempt to translate those statistics into the actual human experience indicated by those numbers."

The play explores these themes through Joe, a man being interrogated by the police over the death of his terminally ill wife. A red blooded American man, Joe is sympathetic to the Tea Party and the libertarian convictions of self-reliance and the free market. However, when his cancer-stricken wife has her health insurance revoked and they become trapped in the labyrinth of the health care system, Joe's faith in the American Dream is put to the test when he is driven to make a fateful act.

Milligan has appeared on several Broadway shows including "August: Osage County" "La Bete," and "Jerusalem." While studying at Juilliard he won the John Houseman Prize for excellence in classical drama. A reading of his verse play, "Phaeton," featured Mark Rylance, David Hyde Pierce and Joanna Lumley. He also received Four Stars for his performance of Lanford Wilson's one-man show, 'Poster of the Cosmos,' at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The event is free and open to the public. Reservations via Smart Tix required:

http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showcode=MER10