DESPERATE WRITERS Arrives Off-Broadway May 16

Desperate Writers, a new comedy, will make its East Coast premiere when it begins performances next week, on Monday, May 16 at the Union Square Theater (100 East 17th Street at Park Avenue South). Directed by Kay Cole, Desperate Writers is written by Joshua Grenrock & Catherine Schreiber and stars Maddie Corman (Broadway's Next Fall) and Jim Stanek (recent Off-Broadway revival of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Broadway's The Story of My Life, Lestat, ...Forum) with Bob Ari, Angel Desai, Christopher Durham, Kelsey Nash, Susan Louise O'Connor, Vayu O'Donnell, Catherine Schreiber and also starring Pauletta Washington (Off-Broadway's Love, Loss and What I Wore). The official opening for Desperate Writers is set for Monday, June 6. For tickets, please visit www.Ticketmaster.com, or call (800) 982-2787 or visit the Union Square Theater box office (beginning Friday, May 13) at 110 East 17th Street, at Park Avenue South, off Union Square.

A couple of desperate writers, with the baby clock ticking and their home about to be sold out from under them, are driven to desperate measures to get their script read, bought and made in this hilarious, fast-paced, screwball comedy, that pokes fun at the crazy film biz. Desperate Writers, an 80-minute laugh-out-loud riot, will have scenic design by Lauren Helpern; costume design by Stephen Donovan; and lighting design by Jeremy Pivnick. It is presented by Carnegie Hill Productions and James Spry.

Desperate Writers had its world premiere at Edgemar Theater (Santa Monica, California) in 2008.

THE CREATIVE TEAM
Joshua Grenrock (graduate of The Juilliard School) and Catherine Schreiber (Yale College, BA, Honors in English, Phi Beta Kappa) met when they starred together in Sleeping Giants at the Front Row Theatre in LA. They have been writing together ever since. Together and separately, they have completed over twelve feature scripts and many TV treatments. Their scripts have been optioned/developed by FrEddie Fields, Ian Sanders, Hunt Lowry at Disney, David Ladd, Avenue Pictures, Kate Hudson's Cosmic Entertainment among others. They had a series in development with Steve Cannell at CBS. Catherine wrote several produced "Divorce Courts" and had features in development with Thom Mount and Rastar. She was a co-creator of the Stalin mini-series developed at CBS. Financing is now being completed for their family feature, Hoppily Ever After. Finalists in the Chesterfield Writer's Competition for Hoppily Ever After and DNA Dad. Semi Finalists in the 2007 American Screenwriters Association Competition and second round in the 2007 Slamdance Writers Competition for Desperate Writers. Catherine and Joshua are both happily married (but not to each other) with two wonderful children, each.

Director Kay Cole originated the role of "Maggie" in A Chorus Line. Herdirecting credits include: Rose Bowl Queens, The Dining Room, Ecstasy, The Flunky, American Tales, No Strings, World Goes ‘Round, Mommy Mommy! BARK!, Nuncrackers, Judy's Scary Little Christmas, A Year with Frog and Toad, A Chorus Line, I'm Getting My Act Together, The Robber Bridegroom, Grass Harp, She's A Handful, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Sing, Country, Wild Women Blues, Sony Pictures Broadway. Her inventive choreography and staging credits include: Broadway's Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, London West End's The Fantasticks, Snoopy, Blockheads. Other favorites include Great Expectations, Assassins, Pirates Of Penzance, Cabaret, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, South Pacific, Triumph of Love, I Do! I Do! Pasadena Playhouse: Under One Umbrella, 110 in the Shade, Do I Hear A Waltz. Hollywood Bowl: The Sound of Music, Bernsteins' Mass, Mame, My Fair Lady, Music Man, Camelot. Reprise! Broadway: The Three Penny Opera, Fiorello, City of Angels, Company, On The 20th Century, Follies, Sweeney Todd. Geffen Playhouse: Nightmare Alley, Atlanta, Paint Your Wagon. She recently moved into film and television, directing Country Rules, THQ, Waiting in Line, and choreographing Guidepost Junction, Ella, Jekyll, Disney's Santa Clause 3, Awakening of Spring. Cole is the proud recipient of the 2006 Playwrights Arena Award for her outstanding contribution to Los Angeles Theatre. In 2009, she received a nomination for best choreography from the NAACP theatre Awards for her work in ATLANTA, at the Geffen Playhouse.

Desperate Writers will be performed on the following schedule at Union Square Theater (100 East 17th Street at Park Avenue South): Monday at 8pm; Tuesday at 7pm; Wednesday at 3pm & 8pm; Thursday - Friday at 8pm; Saturday at 3pm & 8pm. Dark Sundays. All tickets are $65 and can be purchased online at www.Ticketmaster.com, or by calling (800) 982-2787. The Union Square Theater box office will open Friday, May 13 and is located at 110 East 17th Street, at Park Avenue South, off Union Square. For more info, please visit www.DesperateWriters.com.

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