Playwrights Horizons' RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN Begins Previews May 18

Previews begin this Friday, May 18 for the Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) World Premiere of RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN, a new play by Pulitzer Prize finalist and Obie Award winner Gina Gionfriddo (Becky Shaw). Directed by Peter DuBois (Becky Shaw, Sons of the Prophet, Measure for Pleasure, Jack Goes Boating, Artistic Director of Huntington Theatre Company), the play is the final production of the theater company's 2011/2012 Season. Opening Night is set for Tuesday, June 12 at 7PM and the limited engagement will play through Sunday, June 24 at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street).

The cast features five-time Emmy Award nominee Amy Brenneman ("Private Practice," "Judging Amy," "NYPD Blue"), Beth Dixon (Wings, Major Barbara, Vieux Carre), Virginia Kull (Assistance at PH, Man and Boy, Dividing the Estate, Old Acquaintance), Kellie Overbey (The Savannah Disputation and Betty's Summer Vacation at PH, The Coast of Utopia) and Lee Tergesen (Good Boys and True, The Exonerated, Monster, Wayne's World, "Oz," "The Big C").

After grad school, Catherine (Ms. Brenneman) and Gwen (Ms. Overbey) chose polar opposite paths. Catherine built a career as a rockstar academic, while Gwen built a home with her husband and children. Decades later, unfulfilled in polar opposite ways, each woman covets the other's life, commencing a dangerous game of musical chairs – the prize being Gwen's husband (Mr. Tergesen). With searing insight and trademark wit, Gina Gionfriddo's comedy is an unflinching look at gender politics in the wake of 20th century feminist ideals.

RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN was commissioned by Playwrights Horizons with funds from the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.

The production features scenic design by Alexander Dodge, costume design by Mimi O'Donnell, lighting design by Jeff Croiter and sound design by M.L. Dogg. Production Stage Manager is Lisa Chernoff.

The performance schedule for RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN is Tuesdays at 7PM, Wednesdays through Fridays at 8PM, Saturdays at 2:30 PM & 8PM and Sundays at 2:30 PM & 7:30 PM, with an additional Monday evening performance on June 11 at 7PM. Single tickets, $70, may be purchased online via www.TicketCentral.com, by phone at (212) 279-4200 (Noon-8pm daily), or in person at the Ticket Central Box Office, 416 West 42nd Street (between Ninth & Tenth Avenues).

Three special performances of RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN will offer PLAYTIME!, the new program offering affordable, professional childcare while patrons see a show. PLAYTIME! is free to Playwrights Horizons subscribers and available to non-subscribers for a flat fee of $15 per child. PLAYTIME! care will be offered during the following three performances: Sunday matinee, May 20 at 2:30 PM; Saturday evening, June 2 at 8PM; and Saturday matinee, June 9 at 2:30 PM. After tickets for RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN have been purchased (through Ticket Central), PLAYTIME! childcare reservations should be made in advance online at www.PlaytimeNYC.org. This program is supported by funds from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Elroy and Terry Krumholz Foundation.

Reflecting Playwrights Horizons' ongoing commitment to making its productions more affordable to younger audiences, the theater company will offer 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 student ID required.

HOTtix and STUDENT RUSH are some of Playwrights Horizons' popular Arts Access initiatives, which allow 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.

A special open captioned performance of RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN for theatergoers who are deaf and hard of hearing will be held on the Saturday, June 2 matinee at 2:30 PM. Funding for this program is provided, in part, by the Theodore H. Barth Foundation and the Theatre Development Fund's TAP Plus program in cooperation with the New York State Council on the Arts.

RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN is the final production of Playwrights Horizons' 2011/2012 Season. The 2012/2013 season will launch in August 2012 with the New York premiere of Pulitzer Prize finalist DETROIT, a new play by Obie Award winner Lisa D'Amour, directed by Obie Award winner Anne Kauffman; followed by THE WHALE, the New York premiere of a new play by Obie Award winner Samuel D. Hunter, directed by Davis McCallum; THE GREAT GOD PAN, the World Premiere of a new play by Amy Herzog, directed by Carolyn Cantor; THE FLICK, the World Premiere of a new play by Obie Award winner Annie Baker, directed by Obie Award winner Sam Gold; THE CALL, the World Premiere of a new play by Tanya Barfield, directed by Obie Award winner Leigh Silverman; and FAR FROM HEAVEN, the World Premiere of a new musical featuring a book by Tony Award winner & two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Richard Greenberg, music by Tony Award nominee Scott Frankel, lyrics by Tony Award nominee Michael Korie and directed by three-time Tony Award nominee Michael Greif, based on the 2002 Focus Features / Vulcan Productions motion picture Far From Heaven, written and directed by Todd Haynes.

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 Ticket Central website at www.TicketCentral.org.