'On a Darkling Plain' Begins Off-Broadway, Jan. 10

Turtle Shell Productions and artistic director John W. Cooper will present the New York premiere of Norman Beim's comedy/drama, On a Darkling Plain, which takes place during the final days of the McCarthy era.  The play is the winner of the Americana Theatre's David James Ellis Memorial Award and was chosen as best new play in a nationwide competition conducted by the Street Players Theatre in Norman, Oklahoma.

The production begins performances on Wednesday, January 10th at 8:00 pm and opens on Friday, January 12th at 8:00 pm. Performances will run Wednesdays through Fridays at 8:00 pm and Saturdays at 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm through January 27th at the Turtle Shell Theatre (300 West 43rd St., 4th floor, near 8th Ave).  There is an additional performance on Monday, January 22nd at 7:00 pm. 

On a Darkling Plain, set in 1964, "tells the story of Guy Leonard, a blacklisted Broadway star and film actor who has been driving a cab for 12 years in order to support his family. He is suddenly confronted with a dilemma. Should he demean himself by appearing on TV in a commercial for toilet paper, or accept a leading role in a Broadway show staged by a director and former friend of his who named names and was responsible for ruining lives and causing the death of fellow actors?"

Norman Beim, prize-winning playwright, author and veteran actor, has been produced nationally and internationally. His comedy/drama, Success, ran for more than a year in the Netherlands with two major Dutch stars, and was followed immediately by a long running production of his modern comedy, Pygmalion and Galatea.  Six collections of Beim's plays have been published, and his debut novel, Hymie and the Angel, has been adapted into a screenplay.

In April, Turtle Shell Productions will present the world premiere of a new musical, Fritz & Froyim, based on the novel The Dance of Genghis Cohn by European author Romain Gary. A staged reading of this unique musical was sponsored by The Rodgers and Hammerstein Foundation.  The music is by Mark Barkan, a composer whose songs have been recorded by Nat King Cole and Elvis Presley, among others. 

All tickets for On a Darkling Plain are $18.00.  For reservations call (212) 868-4444 or visit www.smarttix.com.