Following a critically-acclaimed international tour, Soho Rep., in association with John Adrian Selzer, presents the New York premiere of Winners and Losers (January 2-February 1), a fierce and funny saga about what friendship can sustain. On the cusp of turning 40, longtime collaborators Marcus Youssef and James Long got an email from a mutual friend touting a self-help pyramid scheme. This unexpected note inspired the two men to take a frank look at their own lives. In this autobiographical piece, Youssef and Long, directed by Chris Abraham, sit at a table and play an invented game called "winners and losers." They name people, places or things-Beyoncé Knowles, Mexican food, their fathers-pronouncing each one a winner or loser. What begins as a simple game rapidly descends into a merciless and brutal appraisal of each other's families, backgrounds and life choices.
Soho Rep. Artistic Director
Sarah Benson said, "Marcus and Jaime's acerbic and timely Winners and Losers melds fact and fiction through their invented onstage game. They ultimately ask us to consider what we value and how our choices can potentially divide us. New York, where our inequalities are in plain sight, is the ideal stage for their work and I can't wait to share this show with local audiences."
Performances of Winners and Losers will take place January 2-February 1 (see schedule above) at
Soho Rep. Critics are welcome as of Saturday, January 3 for an official opening of Tuesday, January 6 at 7:30pm.
Soho Rep. is located at 46 Walker Street in Manhattan. General admission tickets are $35 and can be purchased by visiting
sohorep.org or calling
212.352.3101. $0.99 Sunday tickets will be offered on January 11 at 7:30pm and are available first come, first served at the box office only. $30 general rush and $20 student rush (valid school ID) tickets are available at the box office one hour prior to curtain for each performance, no advance sales.
The creative team includes Jonathan Ryder (lights),
Arnulfo Maldonado (set design consultant), Elia Kirby (production and stage manager) and Kirsty Munro (producer). Produced in association with Theatre Replacement and Neworld Theatre.
In conjunction with performances of Winners and Losers,
Soho Rep.'s FEED Humanities will present a series of workshops and talks surrounding the production. On Sunday, January 18th, Marcus Youssef and
James Long will teach a free and open-to-the-public master class on devising for the theatre. Further details will be announced soon; reservations will be available via
sohorep.org. The post-show discussion series for the play will have experts respond via various disciplines. Guests will include: conflict negotiators Beth Fisher-Yoshida and Aldo Civico (Columbia University) on January 8; mediator Sandra Mary Nuñez (Hunter College) on January 14; social psychologists Adam Galinsky (Columbia Business School) and Daniel Ames (Columbia Business School) after the evening performance on January 10; and gender and sexuality professor Ann Pellegrini (New York University) and playwright Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas on January 21.
