Annie Golden, Thom Sesma, and More to Feature in THE ENCHANTED COTTAGE

Gingold Theatrical Group is proud to announce the final presentation of the 13th Season of Project Shaw, a special series of evenings offering some of Shaw's greatest works and those who share his fierce 'art as activism' precepts, presented monthly at Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Peter Norton Symphony Space (2537 Broadway at 95th Street). The acclaimed 2018 season will conclude on December 17th with Shaw contemporary Arthur Wing Pinero's The Enchanted Cottage.

The Enchanted Cottage, from 1921, is by the prolific and now nearly forgotten English playwright Sir Arthur Wing Pinero. Socialite Oliver Bradshaw returns home from the WWI disfigured by war wounds and convinced that no-one will ever accept as he now is. He hides from the world, taking a secluded cottage overseen by a mysterious housekeeper. Laura Pennington, a painfully shy young woman from the village comes to look after Oliver. The two begin developing feelings for each other and ultimately fall in love. After they marry, they discover the enchantment of the cottage has the power to transform. Now remembered mostly from the highly successful 1945 film, this charmingly romantic story reminds us that love has power and magic in it.

Pamela Hunt directs a cast that features Clea Alsip (soon to be seen in John Guare's new play Nantucket Sleigh Ride?, directed by Jerry Zaks, at Lincoln Center Theater), Annie Golden ("Orange Is the New Black," Assassins, Hair, On the Town, The Full Monty), Michael McCormick (Hello, Dolly!, The Pajama Game, Gypsy, Kiss Me, Kate, Kiss of the Spider Woman), Robert Petkoff (preparing to open at Lincoln Center in Stoppard'sThe Hard Problem; Humphrey in All The Way with Bryan Cranston; Sir Peter Hall's productions of The Importance of Being Earnest with Lynn Redgrave and The Royal Family with Dame Judi Dench, Toby Stevens, and Emily Blunt), Thom Sesma (currently in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, opposite Raúl Esparza; coming up: Superhero by Tom Kitt and John Logan at Second Stage), and Jennifer Van Dyck (Broadway: Hedda Gabler, Dancing at Lughnasa, Two Shakespearean Actors, The Secret Rapture; numerous collaborations with Charles Busch, including The Confession of Lily Dare, The Divine Sister, The Third Story).

"As a director, I am delighted to helm this remarkable, heartwarming, fantasy play by Sir Arthur Wing Pinero. I was drawn to it by remembering the touching movie from 1945. The play proves the famous saying 'If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then the person observing gets to decide what is beautiful,'" said Ms Hunt.

Sir Arthur Wing Pinero began writing plays in the late 1870s. He became a prolific and successful playwright, authoring fifty-nine plays. These include serious social dramas, some dealing with social hypocrisy surrounding attitudes to women in second marriages, including His House in Order, The Second Mrs Tanqueray, The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith;he is best known for his comedies, including The Magistrate, The Schoolmistress, Dandy Dick, The Cabinet Minister, The Amazons, The Princess and the Butterfly, Trelawny of the "Wells." The Enchanted Cottage was successfully filmed in 1924 and 1945. While tremendously popular in his day, his plays are rarely revived. Even in his final years he saw his work starting to go out of style. However, The Magistrate was produced by the Royal National Theatre and ran from November 2012 - January 2013, in the Olivier Theatre starting John Lithgow and Nancy Carroll, among others.

"This time of year has a potent magic all its own. It's a time of reflection, and hope, and faith. This play winningly reminds us how vitally important it is to believe in the power of love in all its many colors, and of the human need to share it," said GTG artistic Director David Staller.

All the plays in this series are presented in a concert-reading format at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater at Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th Street. Tickets are $35 and are available by calling 212-864-5400 or online at www.symphonyspace.org. Special reserved VIP seating available for $50 by contacting the Gingold office 212-355-7823 orinfo@gingoldgroup.org. Symphony Space's Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre space is completely accessible. Infra-red hearing devices are also available.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos