Ethan Coen, 'Almost An Evening' Playwright, Wins 3 Oscars

Academy Award winning film maker Ethan Coen (Fargo), who recently made his debut as a playwright with the world premiere of Almost An Evening at Atlantic Theater Company, received three 2008 Academy Awards last night for his acclaimed motion picture No Country for Old Men.  Coen and brother Joel shared statues for Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay. Javier Bardem won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance.

Ethan Coen's collection of three one-act plays, Almost An Evening, directed by Atlantic artistic director Neil Pepe, transfers to a limited engagement at the Bleecker Street Theatre on Thursday, March 20th following a sold-out run at Atlantic Theatre's Stage 2.

The Coen Brothers also won a 2008 Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay for No Country for Old Men, with Bardem winning for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. Coen was also nominated for Best Director, and the film garnered a nomination for Best Motion Picture Drama.

"In Almost An Evening, three short plays unsuccessfully tackle important questions. In Waiting, someone waits somewhere for quite some time. In Four Benches, a voyage to self-discovery takes a British intelligence agent to steam baths in New York and Texas, and to park benches in the U.S. and U.K. In Debate, cosmic questions are taken up. Not much is learned," describe press notes.

Almost An Evening sold out before previews began on January 9th, opened on January 22nd, and played a limited engagement through February 10th, 2008 Off-Broadway at Atlantic Stage 2 (330 West 16th Street).

The Off-Broadway transfer of Almost An Evening will be produced by Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Andrew D. Hamingson, Managing Director) and Art Meets Commerce (Chip Meyrelles, Executive Director; Ken Greiner, Producing Director).

The Atlantic Stage 2 engagement of Almost An Evening featured Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham, Jonathan Cake, J.R. Horne, Jordan Lage, Mark Linn-Baker, Elizabeth Marvel, Mary McCann, Del Pentecost and Joey Slotnick. Casting for The Bleecker Street Theatre staging will be announced shortly.

Almost An Evening will play Tuesday through Saturday at 8:00pm, with Saturday matinees at 2:00pm and Sunday performances at 3:00 and 7:00pm.

Ticket prices range from $20.00 - $50.00 and are available by calling Telecharge at 212-239-6200 / 800-545-2559, online at almostanevening.com and telecharge.com or in person at The Bleecker Street Theatre (45 Bleecker Street between Lafayette and Mott Street; Tuesday through Sunday from 12:00 – 8:00 p.m.).

For More Information Visit: www.almostanevening.com

Ethan Coen (left) with brother Joel Coen (photo by Sara De Boer / Retna Ltd)