Jungle Theater to Present Conor McPherson's THE NIGHT ALIVE, Opening 11/6

The Jungle closes its 25th Anniversary Season with the regional premiere of the latest work by Conor McPherson, lauded by The New York Times as "the finest playwright of his generation." Joel Sass will direct THE NIGHT ALIVE, his third turn with a McPherson play at the Jungle after critical and audience acclaim with Shining City (2007) and The Seafarer (2009). The Night Alive opens November 6 and will be on stage through December 20 at the Lyn-Lake neighborhood theater, 2951 Lyndale Ave. So. in Minneapolis.

With McPherson's inimitable warmth, style and craft, this compelling new drama-by turns funny and frightening-searches for humanity in the most unlikely of situations. Tommy (Stephen Yoakam) is just getting by, renting a run-down room in his Uncle Maurice's (Martin Ruben) ramshackle Dublin house, dodging his estranged family and plotting a parade of get-rich-quick schemes with his buddy, Doc (Patrick Bailey). Then one day, Tommy defends a destitute woman (Sara Richardson) from a violent attack by her boyfriend (Tyson Forbes) and a fragile glimmer of hope appears.

Director Sass and the Jungle are becoming known as one of the nation's major interpreters and producers of McPherson plays. The Night Alive reunites Yoakam and Bailey, who were last together in The Seafarer. Bailey has appeared in all three McPherson plays at the Jungle, also starring in Shining City. Forbes (Detroit) and Ruben (The Birthday Party, Hamlet) are returnees to the Jungle, and Richardson makes her Jungle debut in The Night Alive.

The Night Alive premiered in London and then opened Off-Broadway in December 2013, where it was nominated for several awards and won New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play 2013-2014. When it was on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago Tribune's Chris Jones called it, "Another raw and beautiful entry in this great Irish playwright's stunning ongoing series of dramatic meditations on life, loneliness and the possibility of redemption."

In addition to scenic design by Sass, the production's creative team includes Andrea Gross (costume designer), Barry Browning (lighting designer), C. Andrew Mayer (sound designer) and John Stillwell (technical director).

Performances of The Night Alive are Tuesdays ($28), Wednesdays ($35) and Thursdays ($40) at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays ($45) and Saturdays at 8 p.m. ($48); Sundays at 2 p.m. ($40) and 7:30 p.m. ($35). Senior, student and group discounts are also available, and rush tickets are available every night of the week 30 minutes prior to the performance for $10 off the regular price. Tickets are available at (612) 822-7063 or online at www.jungletheater.com

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