NewYorkRep Presents THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE At Royal Family Performing Arts Space

NewYorkRep presents The Opposite of Love, a world premiere production of a new play by Ashley Griffin (Trial). The limited three-week engagement plays May 28 through June 15 at Royal Family Performing Arts Space.

The Opposite of Love is an intimate story about a down on his luck hustler and a trust fund baby who form an unlikely bond when she hires him to help overcome her sexual trauma. Can this unexpected connection transcend their darker inclinations in a world where love is a commodity?

Directed by Rachel Klein (The Gospel According to Heather), the cast of The Opposite of Love features Broadway's *Danny Gardner (Flying Over Sunset, Dames at Sea) and playwright *Ashley Griffin (Hamlet).

The scenic design is by Brendan McCann, and the lighting design by Zach Pizza. Kelly Merritt is Production Stage Manager and Emily Katherine is Assistant Stage Manager. Kaylin Kellin is General Manager.

“I looked forward to the day I would enter the adult world of relationships and have a positive, experience with intimacy, especially as a survivor of sexual trauma,” says Ashley Griffin. “Instead, I was thrown into a culture where dates felt like auditions (casting couch and all) and people were treated as a commodity. The Opposite Of Love was born out of a desire to hold a mirror up to the issues we encounter when trying to form romantic relationships in today's environment.”

“The quandary of dating in today's complicated world of mixed expectations is fraught with anxiety for most,” says Gayle Waxenberg, Founder and Executive Director of NewYorkRep. “Add in those dealing with any trauma; a bit more nerve wracking.  For victims of sexual assault who often struggle with finding their own healthy sense of sexuality, perhaps even a nightmare. That's why NewYorkRep found Ashley Griffin's words in this play brave, poignant and theatrically just delightful.”

Tickets 

NewYorkRep presents The Opposite of Love in a three-week engagement May 28 through June 15 at Royal Family Performing Arts Space (145 W. 46th Street, NYC). Opening night is Thursday May 30 at 7PM. Tickets are $25 are now on sale at EventBrite.com.

About The Artists

Ashley Griffin (Eloise,Playwright) is a Broadway writer/performer most well known as the first person in history to be nominated for a major award (New York Innovative Theater Award) for both playing and directing Hamlet (for a theatrical production.) As a writer Ashley's work has been produced/developed at New World Stages, Manhattan Theater Club, Playwrights Horizons and more. Ashley received the WellLife Network Award and a county commendation for her Off-Broadway play Trial (directed by Lori Petty and heralded as "If this show were on Broadway it would win the Pulitzer" - Stagescore) which is currently in talks for a transfer. She has written extensively for film and T.V. and is the author of two bestselling novels, Blank Paige and The Spindle. As a performer, Ashley has appeared extensively on and Off-Broadway as well as in T.V. and film. Highlights include work at The Gershwin Theater, Lincoln Center, Playwrights Horizons, MTC and The Public Theater, as well as on The Greatest Showman and “Homeland.” She holds a BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and has trained at RADA, the National Theater and the Boston Conservatory. www.ashleygriffinofficial.com

Danny Gardner (Will) Broadway: Flying Over Sunset, A Christmas Carol, Dames At Sea. City Center Encores!: Dick Trevor in Lady, Be Good! (Subsequent Album). Radio City Music Hall: Dad / George M. Cohan in The NY Spectacular starring the Radio City Rockettes. National Tours: Here to Stay – The Gershwin Experience!, Irving Berlin's White Christmas and 42nd Street. Off-Broadway: Cheek To Cheek (The York Theater), Time Step (New Victory Theater), Room 17B and Everybody Gets Cake (59E59th Street Theaters). Regional:  Dial M For Murder (Geva Theater Center & Dallas Theatre Center), Bach At Leipzig (People's Light and Theatre Company), Crazy For You (Signature Theatre), Singin' in the Rain (Chicago's Marriott Lincolnshire), Mary Poppins (Houston's Theatre Under The Stars), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (John W. Engeman Theater). @dannyjgnyc, www.danny-gardner.com

Rachel Klein (Director) is a New York City based stage director and director/choreographer, specializing in new play and musical development. Off-Broadway: The Gospel According to Heather (Theater 555; starring Katey Sagal); Red Roses, Green Gold (Minetta Lane Theatre/ft. the music of the Grateful Dead); Around the World in 80 Days (The Davenport Theatre); The Anthem (Lynn Redgrave Theatre). Selected NYC: Tink! (NYMF); More Than All the World (Theater for the New City); Circus of Circus (The House of Yes) The Tragedy of Maria Macabre (Tides Foundation Commission); Symphony of Shadows (Jerome Robbins Foundation Commission). Selected Regional: The Suffragist (Gallagher Bluedorn Theatre; starring Nancy Opel), Dead Certain (composer: Air Supply's Graham Russell); 54 the Musical (House of Independents; starring Michaela Jaé Rodriguez and Frankie Grande). Selected workshops and readings: High Priest (Paul Iacono's new play about the Warhol Factory); Helen (Starring Bonnie Milligan), Medusa: A New Pop Opera; Girlfriend From Hell. Charity: Ms. Klein directed the charity roast of Michael Musto raising funds for the Callen Lorde Community Health Center, featuring Rosie O'Donnell, Bruce Vilanch, and Jinkx Monsoon. Ms. Klein's direction and choreography have been featured at the National Alliance of Musical Theatre, The New York Musical Theatre Festival, La MaMa E.T.C, The Kitchen, Sony Hall, the House of Yes, The National Arts Club, (le) Poisson Rouge, New York Theatre Workshop, the New York Innovative Theatre Awards, Dixon Place, Green Room 42, 54 Below, Times Square for Playbill Pride, the National Black Theatre, and the legendary nightlife event Night of 1000 Stevies. Ms. Klein is a proud member of SDC, founding member of Iconoclast Theatre Collective, guest teaching artist at Fordham University, serves on the New Musical Screening Committee for NAMT, directed Double, Double for Bite Sized Broadway (ft. Richard Kind) and was the Director/Showrunner of the audio series The World to Come (ft. Adrienne Barbeau). www.rachelkleindirector.com