'A Boys' Life' Begins Preview Performances Tonight, 10/2 at Second Stage

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) will kick off its 30th Anniversary Season with a new production of Howard Korder's comedy, BOYS' LIFE, directed by Michael Greif starting tonight, October 2nd. The official opening will be Monday, October 20th. This 20th Anniversary production of BOYS' LIFE will feature Jason Biggs, Rhys Coiro, and Peter Scanavino as "the boys" as well as Dan Colman, Michelle Federer, Betty Gilpin, Paloma Guzman, Laura-Leigh, and Stephanie March.  

Asll performances of BOYS' LIFE take place at Second Stage Theatre (307 West 43rd street) For tickets or more information, please visit www.2ST.com.

Twenty years after its acclaimed world premiere, Howard Korder's BOYS' LIFE will receive its first major New York remounting with this production.  A Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1988, Boys' Life is a stinging and candid look at three college buddies (Jason Biggs, Rhys Coiro, and Peter Scanavino) making their way in the big city.  As they maneuver between life and sex in New York, Korder lacerates the prolonged adolescence that often takes the place of modern manhood.

BOYS' LIFE will feature scenic design by Mark Wendland, costume design by Clint Ramos, lighting design by Kevin Adams, and sound design by Fitz Patton.

Jason Biggs most recently appeared onstage in Daniel Goldfarb's play, Modern Orthodox, directed by James Lapine.  Previous stage credits include the Broadway production of The Graduate opposite Kathleen Turner, and his Broadway debut at age 13 in Conversations with My Father opposite Judd Hirsch.  Jason quickly became one of Hollywood's most talked-about young actors after his breakthrough role in the American Pie trilogy.  Other film roles include the Woody Allen film, Anything Else; Prozac Nation, the Disney hit 8 Below; and Saving Silverman with Jack Black, Steve Zahn, and Amanda Peet. This fall, Biggs will star opposite Kate Hudson in Lionsgate's romantic comedy My Best Friend's Girl, opening nationwide September 19th.

Rhys Coiro is well known as volatile film director Billy Walsh on the HBO series "Entourage."  New York theater credits include Dinner at Eight at Lincoln Center and This Lime Tree Bower at Primary Stages.  Rhys has also appeared in a variety of roles in film and on television including "Six Feet Under," "CSI: Miami," "CSI: New York," "CSI," "Numbers," "Tell Me You Love Me," "One On One," "Criminal Minds," and in Adam Rifkin's Look.  His upcoming features include The Chaos Theory, David Goyer's The Unborn and A Good Old Fashioned Orgy. 

Peter Scanavino returns to Second Stage Theatre, where he appeared as Tim in Eric Bogosian's subUrbia.  Other stage credits include Shining City on Broadway (dir. Robert Falls) and David Henry Hwang's Yellow Face at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.  Off-Broadway credits include The Moonlight Room (Beckett Theater, dir. Jeff Cohen), Double Sophia and Urgent Fury (both at the Cherry Lane Alt. Space) as well as several off-off Broadway shows including the New York Fringe Festival.  Film: Under Surveillance.  TV: "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" and "Law and Order: Trial by Jury," "Third Watch," "Johnny Zero," "Guiding Light," and "The Bedford Diaries."  

Dan Colman appeared as Paris in the NYSF/Public Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Michael Greif and in Secret Order at 59E59.  Other credits include the independent film, The Ones You Love, and TV appearances on "All MY Children" and "The Ghost Whisperer." 

Michelle Federer understudied Julia Roberts in the recent Broadway revival of Three Days of Rain and originated the role of Nessarose in Wicked on Broadway. Other credits include A Man of No Importance (u/s Adele) at Lincoln Center, In the Absence of Spring at Second Stage, the roles of Nell Gwynn in Jeffrey Hatcher's Compleat Female Stage Beauty (1999 Best Supporting Actress/Pittsburgh Post), and Crystal in Water Children at CATF. Other regional credits include the 50th anniversary production of Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful (Hartford Stage), Hay Fever, and Closer (Alley Theatre). TV: "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "All My Children." Film: Kinsey, Flannel Pajamas (Sundance Dramatic Competition Finalist 2006). BFA musical theatre from Ithaca College.

Betty Gilpin returns to Second Stage Theatre where she recently appeared in Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's Good Boys and True. Television credits include appearances on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," Fox's "New Amsterdam," and "Strong Medicine" on Lifetime. She has appeared in the films Death in Love, which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival; the upcoming Dreamworks film Ghost Town; and the independent feature Northern Kingdom. A native New Yorker, Betty is a recent graduate of Fordham College at Lincoln Center.

Paloma Guzman is a recent graduate of Carnegie Mellon University.  Her regional theatre credits include productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, As You Like It, and Legal Alien, among others.  Other credits include guest roles on "Gossip Girl" and "Law and Order" and the film Confessions of a Shopaholic.

Laura-Leigh is a recent graduate of The Juilliard School, where she appeared in productions of The House of Blue Leaves, Our Lady of 121st Street, and Fifth of July, among others.  She recently appeared in the Summer Play Festival production of Tell Out My Soul, directed by Evan Cabnet, and has guest starred on TV's "Gossip Girl."

Stephanie March has appeared on Broadway in Talk Radio and Death of a Salesman (dir. Robert Falls). Other theatre credits include A Midsummer Night's Dream, Enchanted April and extensive work in regional theatre including the premiere of Eric Bogosian's Griller. Television credits include five seasons as Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot on "Law & Order: SVU," "Conviction" and most recently on "30 Rock." Film: Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Head of State, Social Grace, The Treatment, East Broadway and Flannel Pajamas, both of which premiered at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. Stephanie is a graduate of Northwestern University and resides in New York with her husband, Chef Bobby Flay. 

Playwright Howard Korder's other plays include Search and Destroy (Broadway, South Coast Rep, Yale Rep, and London's Royal Court), Sea of Tranquility (Atlantic Theater Company), The Hollow Lands (South Coast Rep), The Lights (Obie Award), Fun (Humana Festival), and Nobody (O'Neill Playwrights Conference), among others.  He also wrote The Passion of Ayn Rand for Showtime, starring Helen Mirren and Peter Fonda, and co-wrote the screenplay for the upcoming film Lakeview Terrace starring Samuel L. Jackson and Patrick Wilson.

Michael Greif returns to Second Stage Theatre, where he directed this year's acclaimed musical Next to Normal.  He was nominated for a 2007 Tony Award for the Broadway production of Grey Gardens and both Drama Desk and Outer Critic Circle awards for its off-Broadway world premiere. His other Broadway credits include Jonathan Larson's Rent (Tony nomination) and Never Gonna Dance. Recent productions include Romeo and Juliet (NYSF), Courtney Baron's A Very Common Procedure (MCC), Diana Son's Satellites (Public), John Guare's Landscape of the Body (Signature), Noah Haidle's Mr. Marmalade (Roundabout), Nilo Cruz's Beauty of the Father (MTC). NYSF: Suzan-Lori Parks' f-ing A, Jessica Hagedorn's Dogeaters (Obie), Jose Rivera's Marisol, Pericles, Connie Congdon's Casanova, Tony Kushner's A Bright Room Called Day, Sophie Treadwell's Machinal (Obie). NYTW (Artistic Associate): Kate Ryan's adaptation of Cavedweller; Paul Scott Goodman's Bright Lights, Big City; Rent (Obie). Other Off-Broadway: Neal Bell's Spatter Pattern (Playwrights Horizons), LaBute's The Distance From Here (MCC), Betty Rules (Zipper), Guare's A Few Stout Individuals (Signature), Bell's Monster (CSC). Selected regional: La Jolla Playhouse (Artistic Director 1995-1999): Our Town, Sweet Bird of Youth, Son's Boy, Randy Newman's Faust (also Goodman), Kushner's Slavs (also Taper), Bell's Therese Raquin. Williamstown: Kaufman and Hart's Once in a Lifetime, Rice's Street Scene, Coward's Tonight at 8:30, Chekhov's The Seagull and The Cherry Orchard.

ABOUT Second Stage Theatre
 
Founded in 1979 under the leadership of Artistic Director Carole Rothman, Second Stage Theatre produces a diverse range of premieres and new interpretations of America's best Contemporary Theatre, including Tiny Alice and Peter and Jerry by Edward Albee; The Good Times Are Killing Me by Lynda Barry; The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane; Little Murders by Jules Feiffer; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin; A Soldier's Play by Charles Fuller; Afterbirth: Kathy & Mo's Greatest Hits by Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy; Painting Churches and Coastal Disturbances by Tina Howe; Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants and On the Stem by Ricky Jay; Living Out by Lisa Loomer; This Is Our Youth and The Waverly Gallery by Kenneth Lonergan; Some Men by Terrence McNally; eurydice by Sarah Ruhl; Saturday Night by Stephen Sondheim; Crowns by ReGina Taylor; Uncommon Women and Others by Wendy Wasserstein; Spoils of War by Michael Weller; Before It Hits Home, Jar the Floor and Birdie Blue by Cheryl L. West; Jitney by August Wilson; Lemon Sky, Serenading Louie and Sympathetic Magic by Lanford Wilson; and Metamorphoses and The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci by Mary Zimmerman.  The company's more than 125 citations include the 2007 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Julie White, The Little Dog Laughed), 2005 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical (Rachel Sheinkin, ...Spelling Bee) and Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Dan Fogler, ...Spelling Bee), 2002 Tony Award for Best Director of a Play (Mary Zimmerman for Metamorphoses), the 2002 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work, 23 Obie Awards, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Clarence Derwent Awards, nine Drama Desk Awards, five Theatre World Awards, 11 Lucille Lortel Awards, the Drama Critics Circle Award and 15 AUDELCO Awards. 

In 1999, Second Stage Theatre opened its state-of-the-art, 296-seat theatre, designed by renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.  In 2002, Second Stage launched "Second Stage Theatre Uptown" series to showcase the work of up and coming artists at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre.  The Theatre supports artists through several programs that include residencies, fellowships and commissions, and engages students and community members through education and outreach programs.

Following this production of BOYS' LIFE, Second Stage Theatre's 30th Anniversary Season will continue with Gina Gionfriddo's Becky Shaw, directed by Peter DuBois, which recently received a critically acclaimed world premiere staging at the Humana Festival, as well as the world premiere of MR. & MRS. FITCH, by Douglas Carter Beane, whose Tony-nominated hit The Little Dog Laughed had its world premiere at Second Stage Theatre in 2005.  Becky Shaw will begin previews on December 16 and will officially open on January 8, 2009; dates for MR. & MRS. FITCH are still being determined.  A fourth production remains to be announced.

Second Stage Theatre AT THE Helen Hayes

Second Stage Theatre recently announced that it has acquired the right to purchase the historic Helen Hayes Theatre, located at 240 W. 44th Street.  With this new home, Second Stage will be the only theater company on Broadway dedicated exclusively to the development and presentation of contemporary American theatrical productions.  Second Stage will also become one of only four non-profit theater companies that own and operate theaters on Broadway.  The company will continue to lease and operate their original theaters on the city's Upper West Side and in Midtown Manhattan.  Programming in the Helen Hayes will begin in 2010. 

BOYS' LIFE will be performed through Sunday, November 9, 2008 at Second Stage Theatre (307 West 43rd Street, just west of 8th Avenue) on the following schedule: Tuesday at 7:00pm, Wednesday - Saturday at 8:00pm, Wednesday and Saturday at 2:00pm, and Sunday at 3:00pm.  

NOTE: All weekday evening performances the week of October 27 will begin at 7:00pm.  Weekend curtain times remain the same.

NOTE: There will be no 2pm performance on Wednesday, October 8.  There will be no performance on Tuesday, November 4.  There will be an added performance on Monday, November 3 at 8pm.  The performance times for Sunday, October 5 and Sunday, October 12 are 2pm and 7pm.

Tickets are $70 and may be purchased by phoning 212-246-4422 or 800-766-6048 or online at www.2ST.com.  Patrons under age 25 may purchase a limited number of specially-priced $25 tickets in advance. A limited number of student rush tickets are $15 and are available 30 minutes prior to curtain.  

Group tickets are available by phoning 212-889-4300 or (800) 331-0472.  Box-office hours are Monday, 10:00am - 6:00pm, Tuesday 10:00am - 7:00pm, Wednesday through Saturday, 10:00am to 8:00pm, and Sunday, 10:00am to 3:00pm.

For more information, please visit www.2ST.com 

Photo by Jean-Marie Guyaux

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