Online Lottery Starts For $5 Tix To Preview of MAPLE AND VINE at Playwrights Horizons

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) begins accepting entries today, Wednesday, November 9, for its popular LIVEforFIVE online lottery for $5 tickets to the New York premiere of MAPLE AND VINE, a new play by Jordan Harrison (Doris to Darlene at Playwrights Horizons, Amazons and Their Men, Kid-Simple), directed by Obie Award winner Anne Kauffman (The Thugs, Stunning, Naked Angels' This Wide Night, Mr. Harrison's Act a Lady).

A ticketing initiative created in 2007 as part of Playwrights Horizons' Arts Access program, LIVEforFIVE makes a limited number of $5 tickets available for the first preview performance of each Playwrights Horizons production through a lottery via the company's website (www.playwrightshorizons.org). The LIVEforFIVE lottery for MAPLE AND VINE will be for tickets to the first preview on Saturday evening, November 19 at 8PM at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street).

Details for the LIVEforFIVE lottery are as follows: beginning today at 10AM, theatergoers can enter the lottery by filling out an entry form at www.playwrightshorizons.org. Entries will be accepted until Monday, November 14 at 12 Noon. Winners of the lottery will be notified via email no later than 3PM on Monday, November 14 with instructions on how to book their $5 tickets. Unclaimed tickets will be offered via email starting at 12 Noon on Tuesday, November 15 on a first-come, first-served basis. One or two tickets may be purchased for $5 each. At least 50 tickets will be available for Mainstage shows via the lottery.

The production will have its official opening on Wednesday, December 7 at 7PM and continue through Friday, December 23. The cast features Tony Award nominee and Obie Award winner Marin Ireland (reasons to be pretty, After Miss Julie, In the Wake, Cyclone), Trent Dawson (Broadway's The Herbal Bed), Peter Kim (Yellow Face at The Public, Broadway's Thoroughly Modern Millie, Maple and Vine at Humana), Pedro Pascal (Some Men, Old Comedy) and Jeanine Serralles (Stunning, The Misanthrope, The Black Eyed, Maple and Vine at Humana). As previously announced, Mr. Kim, who originated the role of Ryu in the world premiere of MAPLE AND VINE at the Humana Festival, joined the company prior to rehearsals commencing. He stepped in for the previously-announced Louis Ozawa Changchien, owing to a film commitment by Mr. Changchien.

Katha (Ms. Ireland) and Ryu (Mr. Kim) have become allergic to their 21st-century lives. After they meet a charismatic man (Mr. Dawson) from a community of 1950s re-enactors, they forsake cell phones and sushi for cigarettes and Tupperware parties. In this compulsively authentic world, Katha and Ryu are surprised by what their new neighbors - and they themselves - are willing to sacrifice for happiness.

The production features scenic design by Tony Award nominee Alexander Dodge, costume design by Ilona Somogyi, lighting design by David Weiner and original music and sound design by Bray Poor. Production Stage Manager is William H. Lang.

The Arts Access program at Playwrights Horizons allows the institution to reach out to those who may not be able to afford the cost of a full-price theater ticket. This program is supported, in part, by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and The McGraw-Hill Companies.

Other Arts Access initiatives, both of which reflect Playwrights Horizons' ongoing commitment to making its productions more affordable to younger audiences, include HOTtix, $25 rush tickets, subject to availability, day of performance only, starting one hour before showtime to patrons aged 30 and under. Proof of age required. One ticket per person, per purchase. STUDENT RUSH, $15 rush tickets, subject to availability, day of performance only, starting one hour before curtain to full-time graduate and undergraduate students. One ticket per person, per purchase. Valid full-time student ID required.

Arts Access memberships (where tickets can be purchased in advance, when single tickets go on sale) are: 30&UNDER MEMBERSHIP, $20 membership fee per season and one $20 ticket for each show, as desired (proof of age required for membership); and STUDENT MEMBERSHIP, $10 membership fee per season and one $10 ticket for each show, as desired (valid full-time student ID required for membership).

Three brand-new subscription packages to Playwrights Horizons' 2011/2012 season are currently available: a 5-show Subscription package ($187.50, three Mainstage and two Peter Jay Sharp Theater Productions); FlexPass (4+ tickets, $45-50 per ticket); and Membership ($55 membership fee + one ticket at $40 or less for each show, as desired). In addition to discounts on all season attractions, subscribers receive priority booking and seating, ticket exchange privileges, parking and dining discounts, and exclusive mailings of Playwrights Horizons Bulletins. Packages are available at www.ticketcentral.com.

Playwrights Horizons' season productions are generously supported in part by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Playwrights Horizons is supported in part by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. In addition, Playwrights Horizons receives major support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Time Warner Inc., the Charina Endowment Fund and the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation.

For subscription and ticket information to all Playwrights Horizons productions, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200, Noon to 8 pm daily, or purchase online at the Playwrights Horizons website at www.ticketcentral.com.