NAATCO Brings Marivaux Play to Off-Bway, 8/8-8/26

The Obie Award-winning National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO), will present French playwright Pierre Marivaux's 18th century romantic comedy The Dispute, directed by Jean Randich -- performed by an all Asian-American cast -- with previews beginning August 4 prior to an official press opening of August 8 at the Abingdon Theatre (312 West 36th Street) in Manhattan.  It runs through August 26th.

NAATCO will use the Neil Bartlett translation of The Dispute- the classic romantic comedy.  "A dark, erotic philosophical comedy revolving around the 'dispute' of the title, the play endeavors to discover which sex committed the first infidelity. A prince persuades his lover to watch the playing out of a cruel experiment set in motion 18 years earlier when his father was having the same dispute with his lover: four young people, two men and two women, who have been reared in isolation since birth, are released into a garden to see who will sin first - the man or the woman," state press notes.

Directed by Jean Randich, The Dispute features a cast which includes Alexis Camins, Jennifer Chang, Claro de los Reyes, Mel Duane Gionson, Lanny Joon, Jennifer Ikeda, Mia Katigbak, Annabel LaLonde, Alfredo Narciso, and Olivia Oguma.

Randich previously directed NAATCO's productions of Antigone and the little-known Brecht work He Who Says Yes, He Who Says No.

The design team for The Dispute is Sue Rees (set design), Stephen Petrilli (lighting design), Robert Murphy (sound design), and Kirian Langseth-Schmidt (costume design).

Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux was born Feb. 4, 1688 and died Feb. 12, 1763. The most important French playwright of the 18th century, Marivaux wrote numerous comedies for La Comédie Française and La Comédie Italienne of Paris, the most famous of which are The Game of Love and Chance (1730), The Triumph of Love (1732), and Les Fausses Confidences (1737).

NAATCO was founded in 1989 by Richard Eng and the company's Artistic Director Mia Katigbak. Now in its 17th season, it is one of the country's leading theatre companies providing a stage for the talents of Asian-American theatre artists. Specifically, NAATCO presents classical and contemporary works with all Asian-American casts. Notable productions since 1990 include Othello, Falsettoland, Long Day's Journey Into Night, The House of Bernarda Alba and You Can't Take It With You.

The company, along with Artistic Director Mia Katigbak were awarded the 2006 Rosetta LeNoire Award, given by Actors Equity, in recognition of "artistic contributions to the universality of the human experience in the American theatre."

Performances run Tuesdays - Saturdays at 7:30pm, with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3:00pm.  Tickets are $19 (prior to August 8 tickets are $15) and can be reserved by visiting www.SmartTix.com or by calling 212-868-4444. For additional details, please visit www.naatco.org.