Stephen Bogardus, Lisa Banes, et al. Join GO BACK TO WHERE YOU ARE at Playwrights Horizons

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) has announced complete casting for the World Premiere of GO BACK TO WHERE YOU ARE, a new play by five-time Obie Award winner David Greenspan (author/performer of She Stoops to Comedy, performer in The Wax and director of Kate's Diary, all at PH; Coraline; Some Men; The Argument; The Myopia; The Boys in the Band).

Directed by Leigh Silverman (Blue Door and The Retributionists at PH, Well on Broadway, In the Wake at The Public, Coraline, Drama Desk nomination for From Up Here), the production will begin previews Thursday, March 24 at 7:30 PM. With an Opening Night set for Tuesday, April 12 at 7PM, the limited engagement will play through Sunday, May 1 at Playwrights Horizons' Peter Jay Sharp Theater (416 West 42nd Street). GO BACK TO WHERE YOU ARE will be the fifth production of the theater company's 2010/2011 40th Anniversary Season.

As previously announced, the cast will be headed David Greenspan. He'll be joined by Obie Award winner Lisa Banes (My Sister in This House, PH's Isn't It Romantic/Drama Desk nomination, Broadway's Present Laughter and Arcadia, Off-Broadway's Look Back in Anger/Theatre World Award), Tony Award nominee Stephen Bogardus (Love! Valour! Compassion!, PH's March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland, Broadway's James Joyce's The Dead, Irving Berlin's White Christmas and Falsettos), Obie Award winner Tim Hopper (More Stately Mansions, PH's Three Changes, Broadway's Present Laughter, Off-Broadway's Almost an Evening, The Dying Gaul and Picasso at the Lapin Agile), Brian Hutchison (PH's People Be Heard, Broadway's Exit the King, Proof and The Invention of Love), Michael Izquierdo (New Jerusalem at CSC, Mother Courage at The Public) and Obie Award winner Mary Shultz (Sustained Excellence, PH's Small Tragedy, The Wax and Little Egypt, Off-Broadway's Slavs! and Mad Forest).

A forgotten chorus boy (Mr. Greenspan) from the theater of Ancient Greece, stuck in a lonely purgatory these past 2000 years, is sent back to Earth on a mission from God. He now finds himself among a vacationing family in Montauk, caught off-guard by his re-discovered ability to feel love. GO BACK TO WHERE YOU ARE is a melancholy comic romance, told with Greenspan's unique brand of theatrical wit and exquisite lyricism.

The production will feature scenic design by Rachel Hauck, costume design by Theresa Squire and lighting design by Matt Frey. Production Stage Manager is Kyle Gates.

The performance schedule for GO BACK TO WHERE YOU ARE will be Tuesdays through Fridays at 7:30 PM, Saturdays at 2PM & 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2PM & 7PM. Single tickets, $55, 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). There is a special added performance on Monday, April 11 at 7:30 PM.

Three special performances of GO BACK TO WHERE YOU ARE will offer PLAYTIME! at Playwrights Horizons, a brand new program offering affordable, professional childcare while patrons see a show. Playwrights Horizons has teamed up with Sitters Studio, a bonded and insured company made up of sitters who are working artists, which will provide and operate the program at Playwrights Horizons. 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 matinee performances: Saturday, April 2 at 2PM; Sunday, April 10 at 2PM; and Saturday, April 30 at 2PM.

For more information, visit the PLAYTIME! web page at www.playwrightshorizons.org/playtime.asp, or call Casey York at (212) 564-1235, ext. 3152. For additional information about Sitters Studio, please visit www.sittersstudio.com. To book tickets to GO BACK TO WHERE YOU ARE and reserve your child's spot in the PLAYTIME! program, visit www.ticketcentral.com, or call Ticket Central daily from Noon to 8 PM at (212) 279-4200. You must reserve childcare at the time you book your performance tickets, and no fewer than 10 days prior to your desired performance.

The PLAYTIME! program is made possible with generous funds from the Theater Subdistrict Council (TSC).

A ticketing initiative created as part of Playwrights Horizons' Arts Access program, LIVEforFIVE makes available $5 tickets for the first preview performance of each Playwrights Horizons production through a lottery via the company's website. The LIVEforFIVE lottery for GO BACK TO WHERE YOU ARE will be for tickets to the first preview on Thursday, March 24 at 7:30 PM. Details for the lottery are as follows: beginning Wednesday, March 16 at 10 AM, theatergoers can enter the lottery by filling out an entry form at www.playwrightshorizons.org. Entries will be accepted until Monday, March 21 at 12 Noon. Winners of the lottery will be notified via email no later than 3PM on Monday, March 21 with instructions on how to book their $5 tickets. Unclaimed tickets will be offered via email starting at 12 Noon on Tuesday, March 22 on a first-come, first-served basis. One or two tickets may be purchased for $5 each. A total of 40 tickets will be available for Sharp shows via the lottery.

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.

LIVEforFIVE, 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, The McGraw-Hill Companies and the Elroy and Terry Krumholz Foundation.

Special Post-Performance Discussions with members of the creative team will take place immediately after the following three performances: Friday evening, March 25 at 7:30 PM, Thursday evening, March 31 at 7:30 PM and Saturday matinee, April 9 at 2PM.

GO BACK TO WHERE YOU ARE is the result of a Playwrights Horizons Kathryn and Gilbert Miller Commission.

GO BACK TO WHERE YOU ARE has received generous leadership support from The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation. Playwrights Horizons' season productions are generously supported 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, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New

York State Assembly and the New York State Senate. In addition, Playwrights Horizons receives major support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Time Warner Inc., the Charina Endowment Fund and the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation.

Prior to GO BACK TO WHERE YOU ARE, the next production at Playwrights Horizons is the World Premiere of Bathsheba Doran's KIN, directed by Sam Gold. Starting previews Friday, February 25 at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theatre, the production will open Monday, March 21 as a limited engagement through Sunday, April 3.

Following both KIN and GO BACK TO WHERE YOU ARE, the final production for Playwrights Horizons' 2010/2011 40th Anniversary Season will be THE SHAGGS: PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD, the New York premiere of a new musical with book by Joy Gregory; music by Gunnar Madsen; lyrics by Ms. Gregory & Mr. Madsen; and story by Ms. Gregory, Mr. Madsen & John Langs. Directed by Mr. Langs, it will begin performances Thursday, May 12 at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater. THE SHAGGS is a co-production between Playwrights Horizons and New York Theatre Workshop.

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.playwrightshorizons.org.

 

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos