Signature Theatre's BIG LOVE Opens Tonight Off-Broadway

Signature Theatre's production of BIG LOVE by Charles Mee, directed by Tina Landau, began on February 5, 2015. The production runs through March 15, 2015 with an official opening slated for tonight, February 23, in The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues).

The cast includes Emmanuel Brown (Signature's Kung Fu) as Oed, Lynn Cohen (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) as Bella, Ellen Harvey (The Phantom of the Opera) as Eleanor, Ryan-James Hatanaka (King Lear) as Constantine, Christopher Innvar (The Snow Geese) as Piero, Rebecca Naomi Jones (American Idiot The Musical) as Lydia, Preston Sadleir (Top Five) as Giuliano, Stacey Sargeant (Signature's Our Lady of Kibeho) as Thyona, Nathaniel Stampley (The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess) as Leo, Bobby Steggert (Mothers and Sons) as Nikos, Libby Winters (American Idiot The Musical) as Olympia.

Fifty brides flee their fifty grooms and seek refuge in an Italian villa in this modern re-making of one of the world's oldest plays, The Danaids by Aeschylus. Mayhem ensues, complete with grooms in flight suits, women throwing themselves to the ground, occasional pop songs and romantic dances - even a bride falling in love. Reuniting Signature's 2007-08 Playwright-in-Residence Charles Mee with his longtime collaborator Tina Landau, Big Love is a colossal, poetic work that explores the hunger for independence, the burden of tradition, and the shape and size of love.

The design team includes Brett J. Banakis (Scenic Design), Anita Yavich (Costume Design), Scott Zielinski (Lighting Design), Kevin O'Donnell (Sound Design), Austin Switser (Projection Design), Rick Sordelet and Christian Kelly-Sordelet (Fight Direction). Lori Lundquist is the Production Stage Manager. Casting by Telsey + Company, Karyn Casl, CSA.

Supplemental programming has been set for Big Love. There will be post-show talkbacks on February 10 and 26, and March 3 and 10. Talkbacks brought to you by American Express. There will be a pre-show Art of Collaboration discussion with playwright Charles Mee and director Tina Landau on Wednesday, February 18 at 6pm. There will also be a pre-show Backstage Pass discussion with one of the production's designers on March 5 at 6pm. These events are free and open to the public.

To purchase tickets for all Signature productions, call Ticket Services at 212-244-7529 (Tues. - Sun., 11am - 6pm) or visit signaturetheatre.org.

Photo Credit: T. Charles Erickson