Ethan Hawke Helms New Group Benefit Reading of Sam Shepard's THE LATE HENRY MOSS Tonight

Tonight, November 6, Sam Shepard's The Late Henry Moss will be presented in a reading to benefit The New Group, with a company including Keith Carradine, Lily Gladstone, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ethan Hawke, Dana Lyn, Clark Middleton, Alessandro Nivola and Yul Vázquez. Ethan Hawke directs. This special event takes place at 7:00pm at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street).

In Sam Shepard's The Late Henry Moss, two antagonistic brothers, Ray and Earl, are brought together after their father, Henry Moss, is found dead in his seedy New Mexico home. Henry was a harassing, arrogant drunk, and his sons have inherited his worst qualities. Ray is determined to uncover the mysterious circumstances of Henry's death. In three acts, the story of the father's last days unfolds in flashbacks.

Directed by Ethan Hawke, this benefit reading features Keith Carradine (Henry Moss), Lily Gladstone (Conchalla), Vincent D'Onofrio (Earl Moss), Alessandro Nivola (Ray Moss), Yul Vázquez (Esteban) and Clark Middleton (Taxi), with Stage Directions read by Ethan Hawke, and Accompanied by Dana Lyn.

The Late Henry Moss was first produced by Magic Theatre, San Francisco, CA, 2000, Larry Eilenberg, Artistic Director. The New York premiere was produced by Signature Theatre Company, New York City, in 2001, James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Bruce E. Whitacre, Managing Director.

Previously at The New Group, Ethan Hawke directed Sam Shepard's A Lie of the Mind (Drama Desk nomination) and Jonathan Marc Sherman's Clive and Things We Want. He also appeared in the company's productions of Tommy Nohilly's Blood From A Stone (OBIE Award) and David Rabe's Hurlyburly (Drama League nomination), directed by Scott Elliott.

The New Group presented Sam Shepard's A Lie of the Mind in 2010, and in 2016, the company presented a critically acclaimed revival of his play Buried Child, starring E. Harris and Amy Madigan, who appeared on the West End in the London production of The New Group's Buried Child later that year.

Sam Shepard had his first New York plays, Cowboys and The Rock Garden, produced by Theatre Genesis in 1963. For several seasons, he worked with Off-Off-Broadway theater groups including La MaMa and Caffe Cino. Eleven of his plays have won Obie Awards including Chicago and Icarus's Mother (1965); Red Cross and La Turista (1966); Forensic and the Navigators and Melodrama Play (1967); The Tooth of Crime (1972); Action (1974); and Curse of the Starving Class (1976). Shepard was awarded a Pulitzer Prize as well as an Obie Award for his play Buried Child (1979). Fool for Love (1982) received the Obie for Best Play as well as for Direction. A Lie of the Mind (1985) won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award in 1986 and the 1986 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Play. A revived Buried Child under the direction of Gary Sinise opened on Broadway in April 1996 and was nominated for a Tony Award. Kicking a Dead Horse (2007) and Ages of the Moon (2009) both received their world premieres at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Kicking a Dead Horse transferred to The Public Theater in New York and to the Almeida Theatre in London, and Ages of the Moon received its US premiere at Atlantic Theater Company in 2010. Heartless received its world premiere at Signature Theatre in New York in 2012. Shepard's latest play, A Particle of Dread (Oedipus Variations), was produced by Field Day Theatre Company in Derry, Ireland in 2013 and had its US premiere at Signature Theatre in 2014. Shepard wrote the screenplays for Zabriskie Point; Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas; and Robert Altman's Fool for Love, a film version of his play of the same title. As writer/director, he filmed Far North and Silent Tongue in 1988 and 1992 respectively. As an actor he has appeared in the films Days of Heaven, Resurrection, Raggedy Man, The Right Stuff, Frances, Country, Fool for Love, Crimes of the Heart, Baby Boom, Steel Magnolias, Bright Angel, Defenseless, Voyager, Thunderheart, The Pelican Brief, Safe Passage, Hamlet and, most recently, Don't Come Knocking, also co-written with Wim Wenders. He was seen in the Netflix Original Series Bloodline in which he starred opposite Sissy Spacek. In 1986, Shepard was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1992, he received the Gold Medal for Drama from the Academy, and in 1994, he was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame.

Ethan Hawke is a Tony and four-time Academy Award nominated actor and writer whose diverse career as a novelist, actor, director, and screenwriter spans more than three decades. He was the artistic director of the Malaparte Theater Co. founded in 1991, and the following year he made his Broadway debut in The Seagull. He appeared as VINCE in Buried Child in 1995 at the Steppenwolf and as RAY in The Late Henry Moss at the Signature Theater Co. in 2001, then as MICHAEL BAKUNIN in Tom Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia, for which he was honored with a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play and Drama League Award nomination for Distinguished Performance (Lincoln Center) in 2006. In 2007, he made his Off-Broadway directing debut with the world premiere of Jonathan Marc Sherman's dark comedy, Things We Want. He directed A Lie of the Mind in 2010 for which he received a Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding Director of a Play. In 2013 he directed and starred in Clive, a stage adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's Baal, by Jonathan Marc Sherman (The New Group). His most recent foray into film directing is Blaze, a drama which he also co-wrote and produced about the life of country western musician Blaze Foley. His other film directing credits include Chelsea Walls, The Hottest State and the critically acclaimed documentary Seymour: An Introduction.

The New Group 2017-2018 season launches with the world premiere of Seth Zvi Rosenfeld's Downtown Race Riot, directed by Scott Elliott, with Cristian DeMeo, David Levi, Moise Morancy, Josh Pais, Sadie Scott, Chloë Sevigny and Daniel Sovich (begins November 14). The company's season continues with the Off-Broadway premiere of Jerry Springer - The Opera, with music by Richard Thomas, book & lyrics by Stewart Lee and Richard Thomas and choreography by Joshua Bergasse, directed by John Rando (begins January 2018); and the New York premiere of David Rabe's Good for Otto, directed by Scott Elliott, with F. Murray Abraham, E. Harris, Amy Madigan, Rileigh McDonald, Rosie O'Donnell and Michael Rabe (begins February 2018). In Spring 2018, the company presents the world premiere of Lily Thorne's Peace for Mary Frances, directed by Lila Neugebauer, featuring Lois Smith (begins May 2018).

The New Group (Scott Elliott, Artistic Director; Adam Bernstein, Executive Director) is an award-winning, artist-driven company with a commitment to developing and producing powerful, contemporary theater. While constantly evolving, the company strives to maintain an ensemble approach to all its work and an articulated style of emotional immediacy in its productions. In this way, The New Group seeks a theater that is adventurous, stimulating and most importantly "now," a true forum for the present culture. The company has received more than 100 awards and nominations for excellence. The New Group is a recipient of the 2004 Tony® Award for Best Musical (Avenue Q). In 2011, The New Group and Scott Elliott were honored with a Drama Desk Special Award "for presenting contemporary new voices, and for uncompromisingly raw and powerful productions." The New Group is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) cultural arts organization.

Tickets for The Late Henry Moss benefit reading: $45-75 general reserved seating (fully tax-deductible); 35 and Under VIP Orchestra Ticket and Post-Reading Reception: $125; VIP Orchestra Ticket and Post-Reading Reception: $250 (tickets include a tax-deductible donation to The New Group). A very limited number of VIP tickets remain; general reserved seating sold out. For tickets to this event and related information, contact: Justin Samoy at Justin@thenewgroup.org. For more information, visit www.thenewgroup.org.