Edward Albee's ME, MYSELF & I Continues The FROM A TO ZOO Staged Reading Series In April

In association with The Estate of Edward Albee, Black Box PAC will present ME, MYSELF & I (2008) on Thursday, April 25th, 2024, 7:30PM at Debonair Music Hall: 1409 Queen Anne Road b/w State Street and Walraven Drive in Teaneck, NJ 07666. 

As described on the Edward Albee Society website, ME, MYSELF & I concerns a pair of identical twin brothers who have the same name. A woman identified only as Mother, who seems to spend most of her time in bed with her linguistically judgmental Doctor, has problems telling her 28-year-old sons apart. It doesn't help that Mother — with what the Doctor describes as “symmetry, yes, but not logic” — gave her boys the same name. That's Otto, or to be exact: OTTO and otto.  

The play begins when OTTO tells his mother that he's leaving home and that his brother no longer exists. This is distressing news for otto, who keeps looking for confirmation that he remains alive. The lovely Maureen, otto's girlfriend, is pulled into the center of this writhing confusion, becoming the most perplexed character in a play where everybody is terminally perplexed.  

The performance will feature a number of BB mainstays including J Niles, Justin Jager, Ilana Schimmel, Deb Mclean, and Michael Gardiner.  Following the show, join us for conversation with the cast, director Matt Okin, and Jakob Holder, Executive Director of The Edward F. Albee Foundation and Mr. Albee's longest serving assistant. 

From the masterworks to the rarely seen, this curated monthly FROM A TO ZOO series began in May 2023 with THE SANDBOX and THE AMERICAN DREAM, and continued with FINDING THE SUN and MARRIAGE PLAY in June, THE MAN WHO HAD THREE ARMS in July, MALCOLM  in August, and COUNTING THE WAYS and LISTENING  in September, FRAGMENTS (A SIT-AROUND) in October, and a special workshop presentation of THE STATE OF UNIONS: MARRIAGE PLAY & COUNTING THE WAYS was featured for November, December highlighted THE PLAY ABOUT THE BABY, THE LADY FROM DUBUQUE was performed in January, EVERYTHING IN THE GARDEN was read in February, and AT HOME AT THE ZOO was featured in March.  (As an "encore" of sorts, a special one-night-only benefit staged reading of FRAGMENTS -- to feature F. Murray Abraham -- will happen on Saturday, April 6th with tickets on sale now at www.blackboxpac.com.)

Edward Albee was born on March 12, 1928, and began writing plays 30 years later. His plays include THE ZOO STORY (1958), THE DEATH OF Bessie Smith (1959), THE SANDBOX (1959), THE AMERICAN DREAM (1960), WHO'S AFRAID OF Virginia Woolf? (1961-62, Tony Award), TINY ALICE (1964), A DELICATE BALANCE (1966, Pulitzer Prize; 1996, Tony Award), ALL OVER (1971), SEASCAPE (1974, Pulitzer Prize), LISTENING (1975), COUNTING THE WAYS (1975), THE LADY FROM DUBUQUE (1977-78), THE MAN WHO HAD THREE ARMS (1981), FINDING THE SUN (1982), MARRIAGE PLAY (1986-87), THREE TALL WOMEN (1991, Pulitzer Prize), FRAGMENTS (1993), THE PLAY ABOUT THE BABY (1997), THE GOAT OR, WHO IS SYLVIA? (2000, 2002 Tony Award), OCCUPANT (2001), AT HOME AT THE ZOO: (ACT 1, HOMELIFE. ACT 2, THE ZOO STORY.) (2004), and ME, MYSELF & I (2008). Mr. Albee was awarded the Gold Medal in Drama from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1980.  In 1996 he received the Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts.  In 2005, he was awarded a special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Please reserve seats for FREE at www.blackboxpac.com; Debonair is adjacent to free street and lot parking, and the venue offers ground floor entry. 

Black Box PAC

Since Fall 2021, Black Box PAC has incubated new and under-produced plays by world-class artists such as Eric Bogosian, Paul Schrader, Beth Henley, Craig Lucas, Neil LaBute, Daniel Handler, Ken Levine, and John Patrick Shanley. Collaborations are now underway with The Estates of Edward Albee, Sam Shepard, and I.B. Singer as well as with artists including John Lahr, Halley Feiffer, Billy Martin, and more: www.blackboxpac.com.

Debonair Music Hall

Debonair Music Hall is a live music venue that brings the best national touring acts and local bands to Teaneck, NJ. Enjoy delicious food and drinks while you experience the electrifying energy of live music: www.debonairmusichall.com. 

Tickets

For further information, email blackboxpac@gmail.com. Black Box PAC, along with the event producer and colaborative educational theater company Black Box Studios, is now 'in residence" at Debonair Music Hall: www.debonairmusichall.com.

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