Philip Seymour Hoffman Joins the Cast of "The Little Flower of East Orange" at the LAB's Barn Series

LAByrinth Theater Company Co-Artistic Director Philip Seymour Hoffman will star in the 2005 Barn Series Festival reading of Stephen Adly Guirgis's THE LITTLE FLOWER OF EAST ORANGE. He joins previously announced cast members Elizabeth Canavan, Jeff DeMunn, Richie Petrocelli, Lauren Velez and David Zayas. The playwright, Stephen Adly Guirgis, will also direct. The piece will include scenes from a new work-in-progress about memory and ghosts. The readings will take place at the Public Theater on Monday, December 19th at 7pm and 9pm.

Philip Seymour Hoffman has been receiving critical acclaim for his portrayal of Truman Capote in the feature film Capote. He has won the National Board of Review award for this performance and is nominated for a Golden Globe®.

Stephen Adly Guirgis's past LAB productions include The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, In Arabia We'd All Be Kings, Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train, Our Lady of 121st Street.

For a complete Barn Series schedule, please visit www.labtheater.org.

The Barn Series Festival features projects originally workshopped at the annual Summer Intensive, and is the next stage of development at LAByrinth. The plays, each rehearsed for 15 hours, are usually presented twice and typically feature the same cast and director as at the Intensive, while the playwrights are active participants in the process. While it is a reading series (so actors hold scripts), many Barn Series projects have added production values such as sound, lighting, and blocking. The aim of the Series is to nurture new works at differing stages of development, so each piece is presented in the manner that best serves its needs.

All readings are FREE and open to the public at the Public Theater (425 Lafayette Street). Reservations are required and can be obtained by emailing barnseriesRSVP@labtheater.org. Please note that tickets are extremely limited and reservations are available only on a first-come-first-served basis.

LAByrinth Theater Company was founded in 1992 when thirteen actors joined forces to form a place to work. The idea was to create a home where the group, for three hours each week, could engage in a variety of theatrical exercises designed to push each others' limits and bind together into a tightly knit, uninhibited and impassioned ensemble - one in which each member is given the opportunity and support not only to act, but to write, direct, produce, sweep, paint, hang lights, etcetera. The fact that the company now consists of 92 members from a wide array of cultural perspectives did not occur through some political design. It grew out of a shared artistic sensibility and a desire to create personal work that reflects the community in which the company lives: New York City. LAByrinth Theater Company has produced 38 new American plays including The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Our Lady of 121st Street, Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train, and In Arabia, We'd All Be Kings by Stephen Adly Guirgis; Guinea Pig Solo by Brett C. Leonard; Dutch Heart of Man by Robert Glaudini; The Trail of Her Inner Thigh by Erin Cressida Wilson; Stopless by David Deblinger; Dreaming in Tongues by the LAByrinth Ensemble; Cutting Open Wings by Lidia Ramirez; Queen Latina and Her Power Posse Versus The Evils of Society (a musical comic book for the stage) by David Anzuelo; and Sailor's Song, Where's My Money, A Winter Party, and Dirty Story by John Patrick Shanley.

www.labtheater.org