Michelle Beck, Rebecca Brooksher, et al. Set for Public Theater's LOVE'S LABOR'S LOST

The Public Theater announced complete casting today for LOVE'S LABOR'S LOST, the second Public Lab production of the fall season. Directed by Karin Coonrod, LOVE'S LABOR'S LOST runs Tuesday, October 18 through Sunday, November 6 at The Public Theater, with an official press opening on Monday, October 31. Tickets for LOVE'S LABOR'S LOST as well as TITUS ANRONICUS go on sale on Tuesday, September 13; All tickets for Public Lab productions are $15.

The Public Theater also celebrates the passing of the New York State Marriage Equality Act with Love's Labor's Won. A free pair of tickets to an upcoming production of LOVE'S LABOR'S LOST will be offered to any couple (gay or straight) married in New York State between July 24 and October 18, 2011. To redeem this offer, please visit the box office at 425 Lafayette Street with a copy of your marriage certificate and photo ID.

The complete cast for LOVE'S LABOR'S LOST features Michelle Beck, Rebecca Brooksher, Reg E. Cathey, Jorge Chacon, Keith Eric Chappelle, Stephanie DiMaggio, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Francis Jue, Mousa Kraish, Hoon Lee, Steven Skybell, Robert Stanton, Nick Westrate, and Samira Wiley.

The King of France and his best buds swear off romance and withdraw into their studies...until some girls show up. As the young couples stumble their way toward love, the others in their circle - a pedantic school master, a Spanish dandy, a streetwise con-man, and a cop with a few screws loose - work through their own mad dilemmas. In the end, the real world intrudes and brings everyone back to earth, but not even a cold winter blast manages to chill the warmth of this beguiling play.

LOVE'S LABOR'S LOST features scenery design by John Conklin; costume design by Oana Botez Ban; and lighting design by Brian H Scott.

The 2011-2012 Public Lab season will continue this fall with TITUS ANDRONICUS, directed by Michael Sexton and featuring Jay O. Sanders as Titus (November 29 to December 18). Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, September 13 for TITUS ANDRONICUS.

Now in its 5th season, Public Lab provides new opportunities for both our audiences and artists. Our audience gains access to more of the theater they love from The Public - both Shakespeare and new work - at the affordable price of only $15. Our artists, both emerging and established, gain a new platform to further develop their work on stage and in performance.

The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Joey Parnes, Interim Executive Director) was founded by Joseph Papp in 1954 and is now one of the nation's preeminent cultural institutions, producing new plays, musicals, and productions of classics at its downtown headquarters and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The Public's mandate to create a theater for all New Yorkers continues to this day onstage and through extensive outreach and education programs. Each year, over 250,000 people attend Public Theater-related productions and events at six downtown stages, including Joe's Pub, and Shakespeare in the Park. The Public has won 42 Tony Awards, 151 Obies, 41 Drama Desk Awards and four Pulitzer Prizes. The Public has brought 54 shows to Broadway, including Sticks and Bones; That Championship Season; A Chorus Line; The Pirates of Penzance; The Tempest; Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk; On the Town; The Ride Down Mt. Morgan; Topdog/Underdog; Elaine Stritch at Liberty; Take Me Out; Caroline, or Change; Well; Passing Strange; the Tony Award-winning revival of Hair; Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson; and the 2010 Shakespeare in the Park production of The Merchant of Venice. www.publictheater.org.

Photo credit: Joseph Moran