Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's EVERYBODY Extends Before Opening Bow Off-Broadway

The world premiere Signature Theatre production of Everybody, written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and directed by Lila Neugebauer, has been extended by one week.

The production will now run through March 19, 2017, with a February 21 opening in The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues). Tickets during the extension performances begin at $40.

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins comes back to Signature for the second production of his residency with the world premiere of Everybody. Directed by Lila Neugebauer, this modern riff on the 15th Century morality play Everyman follows Everybody (chosen from amongst the cast by lottery at each performance) as he or she travels down a road toward life's greatest mystery.

The cast includes Jocelyn Bioh (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), Obie Award-winner Brooke Bloom (Cloud Nine), Michael Braun (The Crucible), Obie Award-winner Marylouise Burke (Sideways), Louis Cancelmi (Blasted), Lilyana Tiare Cornell (LES MISERABLES), Obie Award-winner David PatRick Kelly (Thérèse Raquin), Lakisha Michelle May ("Boardwalk Empire"), Chris Perfetti (Cloud Nine).

The creative team includes Laura Jellinek (Scenic Design), Gabriel Berry (Costume Design), Matt Frey (Lighting Design), Brandon Wolcott (Sound Design and Original Music). Amanda Spooner is the Production Stage Manager. Casting by Telsey + Company.

Signature celebrates playwrights and gives them an artistic home. By producing multiple plays by each of its resident writers, Signature offers an in-depth look at these writers' bodies of work. In addition, Signature engages the writer in every aspect of the creative process.

Signature serves its mission through its permanent home at The Pershing Square Signature Center, a three-theatre facility on West 42nd Street designed by Frank Gehry Architects to host Signature's three distinct playwrights' residencies and foster a cultural community. At the Center, opened in January 2012, Signature continues its founding Playwrights-in-Residence model as Residency One, a first-of-its-kind, intensive exploration of a single writer's body of work. Residency Five was launched in 2012 to support multiple playwrights as they build bodies of work by guaranteeing each writer three productions over a five-year period. The Legacy Program, launched during Signature's 10th Anniversary Season, invites writers from both residencies back for productions of premiere or earlier plays. In 2014 Signature became the first New York City theatre to receive the Regional Theatre Tony Award.

The Pershing Square Signature Center provides a venue for cultural organizations that supports and encourages collaboration among artists throughout the space. In addition to its three intimate theatres, the Center features a Studio Theatre, rehearsal studio, and a public café, bar and bookstore. Through the groundbreaking Signature Ticket Initiative: A Generation of Access, Signature has also made an unprecedented commitment to making its productions affordable by underwriting the cost of initial run tickets, currently priced at $30, 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, the Ford Foundation, Margot Adams, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Founded in 1991 by James Houghton, Signature has presented entire seasons of the work of Edward Albee, Lee Blessing, Horton Foote, María Irene Fornés, Athol Fugard, John Guare, A.R. Gurney, David Henry Hwang, Bill Irwin, Adrienne Kennedy, Tony Kushner, Romulus Linney, Charles Mee, Arthur Miller, Sam Shepard, Paula Vogel, Naomi Wallace, August Wilson, Lanford Wilson, and a season celebrating the historic Negro Ensemble Company. Suzan-Lori Parks is the current Residency One playwright. Signature's current Residency Five playwrights are Annie Baker, Martha Clarke, Will Eno, Katori Hall, Quiara Alegría Hudes, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Kenneth Lonergan and ReGina Taylor. In addition to the Regional Theatre Tony Award, Signature's productions and its resident writers have been recognized with the Pulitzer Prize, Lucille Lortel Awards, Obie Awards, Drama Desk Awards, and AUDELCO Awards, among many other distinctions.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride