ETHEL SINGS to Begin Performances Off-Broadway on 5/31

Undercover Productions LLC will present the Off-Broadway Premiere of Ethel Sings, by Joan Beber beginning performances at Theatre Row's Beckett Theatre (410 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues) on May 31st, with Opening Night set for Friday June 6th. This limited engagement will continue through July 13th.

10% of all ticket sales will go to The Rosenberg Fund for Children, the foundation started by Robert Meeropol and named for his parents, that makes grants aiding American children whose parents have been targeted because of their progressive activism, as well as youth who themselves have been targeted due to their politics. Mr. Meerepol has been a supporter of this production since its first reading.

Will Pomerantz (The Blue Flower) directs a cast that includes Tracy Michailidis (Beauty & The Beast - Broadway & National Tour) as Ethel, Ari Butler (Old Jews Telling Jokes) as her husband Julius, Kevin Isola (Almost, Maine - Transport Group, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark - Second Stage) as Roy Cohn, along with David Fierro ("The Knick" - Steven Soderberg), Tanesha Gary (Sheila's Day - Lincoln Center, Caroline or Change - Broadway & National Tour), Sheria Irving (Broadway: Romeo & Juliet - directed by David Leveaux), Kenneth Lee (The Machine - Donmar Warehouse, Allegiance - pre-Broadway), Joel Leffert (Broadway: Waiting for Godot/No Man's Land, Not About Nightingales), and Serge Thony ("One Life to Live," "All My Children").

And featuring Adrienne Moore ("Orange Is the New Black," "Blue Bloods") as Loraine, Ethel's guide and confidante, leading Ethel through her life as she prepares for her death.

Take a wild theatrical ride to discover Ethel Rosenberg as you've never known her. A whimsical new play full of unexpected twists and turns, Ethel Sings looks fearlessly at the determined mother, singer, writer, and actress swept up in the fatal Red Scare hysteria of the 1950s. Her husband Julius' need to "save the world" will be his undoing. Ethel's love for him will be hers.

Performances will be Tuesday evenings at 7pm, Wednesdays at 2pm & 7pm, Thursdays at 7PM, Fridays at 8PM, Saturdays at 2PM and 8PM, and Sunday matinees at 3PM. PLEASE NOTE: There will be no Wednesday matinees on June 11th or 18th. Tickets for all performances will be $60.25 (including a $1.25 Restoration Fee) and available through Telecharge.com or by calling 212-239-6200.

Ethel Sings will have scenic design by John McDermott, lighting design by Joyce Liao, and costume design by Whitney Locher.

Joan Beber began her career as a visual artist, later experimenting with poetry, performance and other art forms. She has traveled extensively, spending many months in Israel, Egypt and Japan. In 1950, she, her parents and sister spent an afternoon with Picasso in Valerise, France, visiting his studio and that of his students; after returning to the United States, her father continued to correspond with the painter. After raising four daughters, Joan spent two summers at the Rhode Island School of Design studying acrylic painting, gauche, and egg tempura. She spent two summers at The Idyllwild Center For The Arts at Big Bear Mountain in California studying ceramics and papermaking. She has had one-person shows at the San Diego Art Institute in Balboa Park and The Jewish Community Center in San Diego. Ultimately, writing for theatre became her primary medium of expression. Her plays We All Fall Down and Ethel Sings were developed at the University of Southern California Center for Dramatic Arts. Her short play, Fitting Pictures, was produced at the Actors Alliance Festival in San Diego and at San Diego Black Box Theatre. She is a life member of the Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights. Hunger - In Bed With Roy Cohn was her first full-length play produced. It had its world premiere at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles in 2012. Ethel Sings was further developed at Walkerspace last year. She holds a BA in English Literature from Northwestern and an MFA in Playwriting from the University of Southern California.

Will Pomerantz has directed and developed new plays, music theatre and opera with such theatres as Playwrights Horizons, The Public Theatre, Hartford Stage, New York Theater Workshop, Ensemble Studio Theater, Soho Rep, Culture Project, The Signature Theatre, The Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Studio Theatre, Bard Summerscape, and The Guthrie. He has directed world premieres by John Guare, David Auburn, Neil LaBute, Craig Lucas, Kia Corthron, David Lindsay-Abaire, Stephen Belber, Noah Haidle, and Linda Cho. His production of The Blue Flower won multiple Elliot Norton Awards, including Best Musical, and was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical. His production of The Shape of Things was voted Outstanding Production of the Year in Washington, DC by Metro Weekly and received a Helen Hayes Award for outstanding performance, as well as being cited as among the year's best by The Washington Post and The Washington Times. His production Dai (starring Iris Bahr) received a Drama Desk nomination for Best Solo Performance 2006-'07 and won the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Solo Performance. He received an OOBR Award for Outstanding Production (for A Tale of Two Cities) and his work has been a Critic's Pick in Time Out NY and The Village Voice. Pomerantz is Associate Director for Artistic Development for Epic Theatre Ensemble, where he directed the New York premiere of Howard Barker's A Hard Heart (starring Kathleen Chalfant), and Mahida's Extra Key to Heaven. Pomerantz is the first American director ever invited to direct for the National Theatre of Poland, where his production of Cinders by Janusz Glowacki, was performed as part of the repertory for four years. In addition, he has been the Boris Sagal Fellow in Directing for Williamstown Theatre Festival, Staff Repertory Director for The Acting Company, Director-In-Residence for Culture Project, and is an alumnus of the Directors Lab at Lincoln Center, a Usual Suspect at New York Theatre Workshop, and a member of Ensemble Studio Theater.

For more information, visit www.EthelSings.com.

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