VIDEO: The Bats Are Looking Vicious For Adam Rapp's WOLF IN THE RIVER

Members of The Bats, The Flea's resident acting company, appear to be in a vicious mood as they prepare to begin previews March 10th for playwright/director Adam Rapp's WOLF IN THE RIVER.

In this world premiere production, opening March 21st, Adam Rapp explores love and neglect, the challenges of poverty, the dangerous cost of shiftlessness, the simple notion of leaving a place behind, and the value of a girl.

WOLF IN THE RIVER runs March 10 - May 2. It plays Thursday-Saturday and Monday at 7PM, Saturday at 1PM, and Sunday at 3PM during previews. After opening, Saturday matinees only play on select Saturdays. Tickets start at $20 with the lowest priced tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis. The production includes nudity, violence, graphic language, and sexual situations. Opening night is slated for March 21. The Flea Theater is located at 41 White Street between Church and Broadway, three blocks south of Canal, close to the A/C/E, N/R/Q, 6, J/M/Z and 1 subway lines. Purchase tickets by calling 212-352-3101 or online at www.theflea.org.

The Flea's production features The Bats: William Apps, Maki Borden (Take Care), Alexandra Curran (Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom), Karen Eilbacher (a cautionary tale),Jack Ellis, Kristin Friedlander (The Cutthroat Series), Jack Horton Gilbert (The Mysteries), John Paul Harkins (Sarah Flood in Salem Mass), Olivia Jampol (Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom), Artem Kreimer (The Shakes), DerekChristopher Murphy (Take Care), Xanthe Paige, Mike Swift, Kate Thulin (The Mysteries), and Casey Wortmann. The creative team includes Arnulfo Maldonado (scenic design), Masha Tsimring (lighting design), Michael Hili & Hallie Elizabeth Newton (costume design), Brendan Connelly (sound design), Zach Serafin (props design), J. David Brimmer (fight choreography), Sarah East Johnson (aerial consultant), Anne Cecelia Haney (assistant director) Morgan Leigh Beach (stage manager), and Annie Jenkins (assistant stage manager).

ADAM RAPP (playwright/director) is an award-winning playwright, theatre director, novelist, and filmmaker. He is the author of numerous plays, which include NOCTURNE (American Repertory Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, The Almeida, London, The Traverse, Edinburgh), FASTER (Rattlestick), ANIMALS & PLANTS (A.R.T.), FINER NOBLE GASES (26th Humana Festival, Rattlestick, Edinburgh Fringe, The Bush, London), STONE COLD DEAD SERIOUS (A.R.T., Edge Theatre), BLACKBIRD (The Bush, London; Edge Theatre), GOMPERS, (Pittsburgh City Theatre, The Arcola, London), ESSENTIAL SELF-DEFENSE (Playwrights Horizons/Edge Theatre), AMERICAN SLIGO (Rattlestick), BINGO WITH THE INDIANS (The Flea), KINDNESS (Playwrights Horizons), THE METAL CHILDREN (The Vineyard), THE HALLWAY TRILOGY (Rattlestick), THE EDGE OF OUR BODIES (36th Humana Festival), DREAMS OF FLYING DREAMS OF FALLING (The Atlantic), and RED LIGHT WINTER (Steppenwolf,Scott Rudin Productions at Barrow Street Theatre), which won Chicago's Jeff Award for Best New Work, an OBIE, and was named a finalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize. THE PURPLE LIGHTS OF JOPPA ILLINOIS, commissioned by Southcoast Rep, received its world premiere at the '14 Pacific Playwrights Conference, and he will direct its Off-Broadway premiere at The Atlantic Theater Company this Spring.

The Bats are the resident acting company of The Flea Theater. Each year over a thousand actors audition for a place in this unique company. The Bats perform in extended runs of challenging classic and new plays. Major as well as up-and-coming writers vie to have The Bats tackle their work. As performers, these actors are known being fearless not feckless and bring verve and vision to the written word. Stage and Cinema calls The Bats "Always charming and energized," and Ben Brantley calls them "fresh-faced," which is "...good news, especially for New York casting agents."

The Flea Theater, under Artistic Director Niegel Smith and Producing Director Carol Ostrow, is one of New York's leading off-off-Broadway companies. Winner of a Special Drama Desk Award for outstanding achievement, Obie Awards and an Otto for political theater, The Flea has presented over 100 plays and numerous dance and live music performances since its inception in 1996. Past productions include premieres by Trista Baldwin, Steven Banks,Thomas Bradshaw, Sheila Callaghan, Kim Davies, Bathsheba Doran, Will Eno, Karen Finley, Amy Freed, Sean Graney, A.R. Gurney, Laurel Haines, Jennifer Haley, Hamish Linklater, Enrique Gutiérrez Ortiz Monasterio, Itamar Moses, Anne Nelson, Qui Nguyen, Adam Rapp, Jonathan Reynolds, Roger Rosenblatt, Todd Shalom, Julian Sheppard, Tommy Smith, Elizabeth Swados, Ken Urban, Mac Wellman, Beau Willimon, Brian Watkins, and Frank Winters, among others. Highlights include Drama Desk nominated She Kills Monsters, These Seven Sicknesses, Restoration Comedy, The Mysteries and eight World Premieres by A.R. Gurney including the WSJ Best New Play of 2013, Family Furniture.