Alison Fraser, Frank Wood & More to Take Part in SIGNATURE PLAYS Series Off-Broadway

Signature Theatre has announced casting is confirmed and tickets are now on sale for Signature Plays, which revisits the work of three Legacy playwrights with Edward Albee's The Sandbox, María Irene Fornés' Drowning, and Adrienne Kennedy's Funnyhouse of a Negro. Directed by Lila Neugebauer (A.R. Gurney's The Wayside Motor Inn), this trio of plays, all produced during their author's original Playwright-in-Residence season and presented together for the first time, celebrates Signature's rich and diverse history over the past quarter century.

The production runs May 3 to June 12 with a May 22 opening night in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues). All tickets for the initial run of the production are $25 as part of the Signature Ticket Initiative: A Generation of Access. To purchase tickets for all Signature productions, call Ticket Services at 212-244-7529 (Tues. - Sun., 11am - 6pm) or visit signaturetheatre.org.

The cast includes Nicholas Bruder (Signature's Angel Reapers), Crystal Dickinson (You Can't Take It With You, Clybourne Park), Tony Award nominee Alison Fraser (The Secret Garden), Pia Glenn (You're Welcome America), Ryan-James Hatanaka (Signature's Big Love), Mikeah Ernest Jennings (World of Wires), January LaVoy (Signature's Seven Guitars), April Matthis (Hollow Roots), Tony Award nominee Sahr Ngaujah (Fela!, Signature's The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek), Phyllis Somerville (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Tony Award winner Frank Wood (Signature's Angels in America, Side Man).

The design team includes Mimi Lien (Scenic Design), Kaye Voyce (Costume Design), Mark Barton (Lighting Design), Brandon Wolcott (Sound Design and Original Music). Marisa Levy is the Production Stage Manager. Casting by Telsey + Company, Karyn Casl, CSA.

Tickets to the initial runs of all Signature productions at The Pershing Square Signature Center are $25, part of the groundbreaking Signature Ticket Initiative: A Generation of Access, a program that guarantees affordable and accessible tickets to every Signature production through 2031. Serving as a model for theatres and performing arts organizations across the country, the Initiative was founded in 2005 and is made possible by lead partner The Pershing Square Foundation. Additional support provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation, Margot Adams, Rhoda Herrick and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

2015-16 SEASON OVERVIEW

RESIDENCY ONE

Love & Money **WORLD PREMIERE**

By A.R. Gurney

Directed by Mark Lamos

A co-production with Westport Country Playhouse

Final performance played on Sunday, October 4, 2015 in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre.

Night is a Room **WORLD PREMIERE**

By Naomi Wallace

Directed by Bill Rauch

Final performance played on Sunday, December 20, 2015 in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre.

LEGACY PROGRAM

Incident at Vichy

By Arthur Miller

Directed by Michael Wilson
Final performance played on Sunday, December 20, 2015 in The Irene Diamond Stage

Signature Plays

Edward Albee's The Sandbox

María Irene Fornés' Drowning

Adrienne Kennedy's Funnyhouse of a Negro

Directed by Lila Neugebauer

Begins performances May 3, 2016

The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre

In honor of Signature's 25th Anniversary, Signature Plays revisits the work of three Legacy playwrights with Edward Albee's The Sandbox, María Irene Fornés' Drowning, and Adrienne Kennedy's Funnyhouse of a Negro. Directed by Lila Neugebauer (A.R. Gurney's The Wayside Motor Inn), this trio of plays, all produced during their author's original Playwright-in-Residence season, celebrates Signature's rich and diverse history over the past quarter century.

SPECIAL RETURN ENGAGEMENT

Old Hats

Created and performed by Bill Irwin and David Shiner

Music and lyrics by and featuring Shaina Taub

Directed by Tina Landau

Now playing through April 3, 2016

The Irene Diamond Stage

After an extended, sold out run in 2013, Signature welcomes back Bill Irwin and David Shiner in their award-winning, critically-acclaimed production of Old Hats. Called "one of the funniest shows of the past few years" by the New York Post, this production reunites the clowns with original director Tina Landau and introduces their new songstress and comic foil Shaina Taub, hailed as "a young Judy Garland meets grown-up Lisa Simpson" by the San Francisco Chronicle. Using music, technology, and movement, Irwin and Shiner combine their inimitable magic and slapstick to create an unforgettable outing that's fun for the whole family.

RESIDENCY FIVE

John **WORLD PREMIERE**

By Annie Baker

Directed by Sam Gold

Final performance played on Sunday, September 6, 2015 in The Irene Diamond Stage.

Angel Reapers
By Martha Clarke and Alfred Uhry
Directed and choreographed by Martha Clarke

Final performance played on Sunday, March 20, 2016 in The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre

Daphne's Dive **WORLD PREMIERE**

By Quiara Alegría Hudes

Directed by Thomas Kail

Begins performances April 26, 2016

The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre

Daphne's Dive is a cheap corner bar in North Philly where Daphne and her eclectic group of friends and family meet, talk, bond and drink. As Daphne's adopted daughter, very different from her quiet and pragmatic mother, grows up, this unconventional family is forced to confront ugly secrets and take a hard look at their lives. Brimming with adversity, love and hope, this world premiere, directed by Thomas Kail (Hamilton), kicks off Quiara Alegría Hudes' Signature residency.

Daphne's Dive is generously supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Time Warner Inc. and the New York State Council on the Arts.

Special thanks to The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust for supporting the Residency Five Program. Additional support for Residency Five is provided by Time Warner Foundation, Inc.

The Residency Five Playwright Award is generously supported by the Genesis Foundation.

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