The Cell Presents DINNER & DELUSION 4/9-11

the cell theatre company in collaboration with THE CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY OPERA, two resident companies of the the cell performance salon will present the new full-length opera, "DINNER AND DELUSION," with music by MICHAEL SAHL, libretto by NANCY MANOCHERIAN and directed by KIRA SIMRING. The production plays four performances only, Thursday, April 9th through Saturday, April 11th at 8pm and Sunday April 12th at 3:00 pm. General admission tickets are $20.00 and can be purchased at www.brownpapertickets.com or by calling 800-838-3006. The cell is located at 338 West 23rd Street! between 8th and 9th Avenues.

"DINNER AND DELUSION" begins and ends with Passover Seders that take place sixty years apart. On Passover, 1949, a 13 year old boy misbehaves with his Aunt Rosie. When he is locked in a closet for his misdeeds, he meets the prophet Elijah, who tells him that Rosie is the Shekkinah, the apparition of God as a female body, a.k.a. the Eternal Feminine. "DINNER AND DELUSION" explores temporal and mystical aspects of love and family with humor and passion with a stylistically engaging score that references world music, to contemporary Americana, and classic Klezmer sounds.

Lyricist NANCY MANOCHERIAN is a founding member, the cell theatre company. Her production of DINNER AND DELUSION has been previously staged at The Center for Contemporary Opera at Symphony Space and New York City Opera's VOX Festival. Other credits include the play SIN! (Second Stage Uptown Theatre) and RIO a Brazilian musical novella (Theatre for the New City). Nancy has been an associate producer and angel investor on the Broadway productions of IN THE HEIGHTS, THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED, DREAM - A Johnny Mercer MUSICAL, JANE EYRE and BAREFOOT in the Park as well as Joyce Carol Oates' play CRY ME A RIVER, and the London production of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH.

Composer MICHAEL SAHL created and performed the tangos for the feature films "Scent Of A Woman" and "True Lies." For Stage he composed JUNKYARD MUSICAL with text by Mel Mandel for Amas Repertory. He was commissioned by the Cary Trust for SYMPHONY 88 which was presented at Alice Tully Hall He created the original score to "Waiting For The Moon," feature film by Jill Godmilow, starring Linda Hunt and the Academy Award-nominated "Adam Clayton Powell" for "The American Experience." Mr. Sahl also served as arranger/pianist for the Grammy-nominated THE TANGO PROJECT ENSEMBLE.

Director KIRA SIMRING is the co-creative director of the cell theatre company and the resident director for the Center for Contemporary Opera's 'atillier series'. Kira has directed the cell theatre company's previous productions, BLACKOUT and GUILTY (Off-Broadway) as well as many new plays in New York City and California. Other opera direction includes HEROES, MONSTERS AND MYTHS (Connecticut Grand Opera) and Dinner and Delusion (VOX). MFA in Directing: the Actors Studio Drama School of New School University (Schubert Fellow). BA: Smith College.

the cell, operated by the cell theatre company, is a new performance salon located in a former art gallery on West 23rd. The company presents its own work, hosts a number of resident companies, including the Center for Contemporary Opera, and provides a space for artists from multiple disciplines to present their work.

Upcoming productions scheduled for the cell include:

DREAM OF ME (based on Fetes de la Nuit by Charles Mee)
Thurs. Feb 26th-Sun. March 1st
Thurs. Mar 5th -Sun. March 8th
Thurs. Mar 12th -Sun. March 15th
All performances are at 8:00pm
Mainspring Collective in collaboration with the cell will present Dream of Me, a multi-media theatre piece based on Charles Mee's 'Fetes de la Nuit'. Set in New York City, the play (adapted by Alexandria La Porte and directed by Hilary Krishnan) is a voyeuristic exploration of love, youth, naiveté, and the struggle to find fulfillment both in and out of relationships.

This multi-media work infuses Mee's text with video art, original music, memorable performances, and innovative dance. The resulting vignettes are an eye-popping series embarking upon the complexity of human relationships and life in the city.

HENRY'S WIFE
Wednesday, March 11, 2009 from 8:00pm
Center for Contemporary Opera
The Center for Contemporary Opera is dedicated to the creation and performance of contemporary American opera and opera in English. There are at least a dozen musicals and operas based on the famous Robert Louis Stevenson story and its ‘extreme bipolarity' theme. This opera takes a different approach as O'Neal treats the material not as a horror story, but "a romantic opera in one act". Music by Randall Eng; libretto by Alexis Bernier.