Vineyard Theatre to Feature FULLY COMMITTED Benefit, 11/12

Vineyard Theatre (Douglas Aibel, Artistic Director and Sarah Stern, Co-Artistic Director) just announced a one-night-only reading of Becky Mode's acclaimed play FULLY COMMITTED - with Mark Setlock returning to his "sparkling tour de force" (NY Post) performance - which will benefit The Vineyard's productions and programs in 2012-2013. FULLY COMMITTED, the first in a series of special celebrations during the Vineyard's 30th Anniversary Season, will take place on Monday, November 12, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at The Vineyard (108 E. 15 St., between Irving Place and Union Square East). Tickets, priced at $75 (which includes a pre-show toast in the Vineyard lobby), are available beginning today by calling The Vineyard box office at 212-353-0303, or online at www.vineyardtheatre.org.

Mark Setlock portrays dozens of characters in Ms. Mode's breakout hit, FULLY COMMITTED, about the staff of one of New York's hottest restaurants and the desperate patrons trying to book a table. The play, originally directed by Nicky Martin, debuted at The Vineyard in 1999 before transferring for a long and successful run - presented by David Stone, Adam Pascal, Jesse L. Martin and Susan Quint Gallin - at the Cherry Lane Theatre. Time magazine named it one of the ten best plays of 2000, and since 2001 it has been one of the ten most produced plays in the United States, with extended commercial runs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, London and Paris. The play has traveled to Finland, Japan, South Africa, Brazil, Australia, Sweden, Estonia and Poland.

Becky Mode's first play, FULLY COMMITTED, opened at the Vineyard Theatre in 1999 and ran Off-Broadway for a year and a half at the Cherry Lane Theatre. Since then, Becky has created, written and produced TV pilots for ABC, HBO, CBS, and NBC, including "Born in Brooklyn" for ABC with Maria Bello. She has written for several television series, from "Cosby" on CBS to "A Little Curious" on HBO. Last season she was a consulting producer on CBS' "A Gifted Man" starring Patrick Wilson. She's currently working as a consulting producer on "Smash" for NBC. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, and their two children, Leo and Katie.

Mark Setlock earned a Drama Desk nomination and an Outer Critics' Circle Award for FULLY COMMITTED. He currently works as teacher at a private middle school in Manhattan, which is dedicated to kids with learning challenges. He teaches computer skills, scene study, improv games, photography, and stand-up comedy. He has also co-created solo acting pieces with three students.

In celebration of the company's 30th Anniversary, The Vineyard will present one-night-only readings of acclaimed plays from its past throughout the season. FULLY COMMITTED marks the first such reading, and others include:

PTERODACTYLS by Nicky Silver
Monday, December 10, 2012
An all-star cast will perform a reading of Mr. Silver's (The Lyons) acclaimed and influential 1993 play PTERODACTYLS (winner of both the Kesselring and Oppenheimer Awards), the first play of eight by Mr. Silver premiered by The Vineyard. PTERODACTYLS was one of the first plays on the American stage to deal with a family's response to their son who has AIDS, and showcases Mr. Silver's unforgettable dark humor.

A BOY AND HIS SOUL, written and performed by Colman Domingo.
Monday January 7, 2013
This hilarious and moving solo show by the inimitable Colman Domingo (Passing Strange, The Scottsboro Boys) looks at his life growing up in 1970's West Philadelphia, and his family's relationship to soul music. A BOY AND HIS SOUL was hailed by critics when it premiered at The Vineyard in 2009 as "TheatricAl Gold!" (NY1), "Wicked, tender, outrageous and profound (Newsday), and the NY Times called Mr. Domingo "a blazingly charismatic performer."

THE DYING GAUL by Craig Lucas
Winter 2013
This darkly comic and haunting play premiered at the Vineyard in 1998, the story of a grieving screenwriter who enters into a relationship with a film producer and his wife, to chilling results. Dealing with AIDS, art, the internet and Hollywood, THE DYING GAUL was hailed by many critics as the one of the best plays of the year and returned to The Vineyard the following fall for a sold out limited engagement. It was subsequently made into a film.

The Vineyard's 30th season Mainstage productions include the world-premiere of Douglas McGrath's CHECKERS, directed by Terry Kinney and starring Anthony LaPaglia and Kathryn Erbe, which begins performances October 12; THE NORTH POOL by 2008 Paula Vogel Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist for Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Rajiv Joseph, directed by Giovanna Sardelli; and the world-premiere of Jenny Schwartz' SOMEWHERE FUN, directed by Anne Kauffman, who also directed Ms. Schwartz' God's Ear at The Vineyard.

Vineyard Theatre, one of the nation's leading non-profit theatre companies, is thrilled to be celebrating its 30th anniversary. Dedicated to new plays and musicals and bold programming, the company has consistently developed and premiered provocative, groundbreaking works, including Nicky Silver's THE LYONS, Kander, Ebb and Thompson's THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS, Marx, Lopez and Whitty's AVENUE Q, Bell and Bowen's [TITLE OF SHOW], Paula Vogel's HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE (1998 Pulitzer Prize), Edward Albee's THREE TALL WOMEN (1994 Pulitzer Prize), Tarell Alvin McCraney's WIG OUT!, Will Eno's MIDDLETOWN, and new works by Julia Cho, Adam Rapp, Christopher Shinn, Gina Gionfriddo, Lynn Nottage, Ben Katchor and Mark Mulcahy, and many more. The Vineyard's productions have been honored with two Pulitzer Prizes, three Tony Awards, and numerous Drama Desk, OBIES, Outer Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel Awards.

Douglas Aibel is The Vineyard's Artistic Director; Jennifer Garvey-Blackwell is Executive Producer; Sarah Stern is Co-Artistic Director, and Michael Page is General Manager.

Tickets for the one-night-only reading of FULLY COMMITTED are priced at $75 (which includes a pre-show toast in the Vineyard lobby) are available beginning today by calling The Vineyard box office at 212-353-0303, or online at www.vineyardtheatre.org. A $250 VIP ticket is also available (which includes priority seating, the pre-show toast, and a post-show meet-the-artists reception) and can be purchased by calling the Vineyard development office at 212-353-3366 x242, or by emailing development@vineyardtheatre.org.