Acclaimed actress Laura Liguori is slated for lead roles in two upcoming productions, both plays by legendary off-Broadway pioneer Murray Mednick.
This October, Liguori will reprise the role of "Lilya Brik" in the NYC premiere of Mednick's Mayakovsky and Stalin at the
Cherry Lane Theatre, a role which she originated in the 2018 world premiere production at the Lounge Theatre in Hollywood.
In February, Liguori will play "Betty" in a revival of Mednick's American Theatre Critics Association Best New Play-cited Joe and Betty in Los Angeles.
Lilya Brik was the real-life married lover and muse of Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. Mayakovsky and Stalin is a dramatic character study that incorporates historical footage and photos to explore the parallels between their relationship, and that of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and his wife Nadya.
Joe and Betty is Mednick's hilarious and disturbing play, based on his own parents, about a poor Jewish couple living in the Catskills in 1951
"Laura has the perfect combination of intelligence, insouciance and fearlessness for the characters I create," says Mednick. "It's as if she channels something. She's open to the spirit of the person she is playing. That's her talent."
"I couldn't be more excited to resurrect the role of Lilya for a New York audience," Liguori said in a recent interview with I Heart Radio. "Mayakovsky and Stalin belongs in New York... it's very intellectual...unusual... you have to be willing to actually think.. .use your mind! Can you imagine that?"
Born in Scottsdale, Ariz., Liguori grew up with a passion for the theater. She was classically trained at the Oxford School of Drama in Oxford England and Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles before gaining acclaim for her stage and television work. Previous theater credits include the world premiere of
Tania Wisbar's critically-acclaimed World War II play, The Red Dress, in which she portrayed a famous German actress at odds with the Nazi regime; the role of "
Marilyn Monroe" in Marilyn, Madness, and Me; and the leading role of "Laura" in all six of Mednick's The Gary Plays, which were workshopped over the course of two years prior to a full production of the entire sextet by Open Fist Theatre Company. She can currently be seen in the title role of the award-winning film, Hollywood Girl: The
Peg Entwistle Story, available on Amazon Prime. TV credits include The Boogie Dilemma (Amazon), Suburgatory, Ugly Betty, Weeds and Growing Up Fishe
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