F. Murray Abraham, Mary Testa and More Set for Classic Stage Company's BRECHT FEST, 2/3 & 2/10

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Greg Reiner, will present BRECHT FEST, a special series exploring the songs, poetry and stories of Bertolt Brecht, to be presented on Monday, February 3 and Monday, February 10 at CSC (136 East 13th Street). CSC is currently presenting Brecht's A MAN'S A MAN, directed by Brian Kulick and with a new score and new songs by Tony Award-winning composer Duncan Sheik, continuing the company's exploration of the works of Brecht, which began in 2011 with the sold-out production of Galileo and was followed by last season's The Caucasian Chalk Circle.

Monday, February 3 at 7 pm will focus on the poetry of Brecht, with guest artists F. Murray Abraham, Roberta Maxwell, Amanda Quaid, Elizabeth A. Davis and others. On Monday, February 10 at 7 pm, the focus will be on the songs of Brecht, with performers Mary Testa, Elizabeth A. Davis, Jason Babinsky, Deb Radloff and others. All tickets are $30 and available online at www.classicstage.org, or by calling 212-352-3101 or 866-811-4111, or at the CSC Box Office at 136 East 13th Street between Third and Fourth Avenues.

CSC is the award-winning Off-Broadway theatre committed to re-imaging the classical repertory for a contemporary American audience. Founded in 1967, CSC uses works of the past as a way to engage in the issues of today. Highly respected and widely regarded as a major force in American theatre, it has become the home to New York's finest established and emerging artists, the place where they gather to grapple with the great works of the world's repertory. CSC has been cited repeatedly by all the major Off-

Broadway theater awards: Obies, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League and the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work.

CSC's 2013/2014 Season began in September with Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, starring Elizabeth Olsen and Julian Cihi, and continued in December with The Last Two People On Earth: An Apocalyptic Vaudeville, performed by Mandy Patinkin and Taylor Mac, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman (presented at the Abrons Arts Center December 14 - 31, 2013). It concludes in March with David Ives' The Heir Apparent, adapted from the play by Jean-François Regnard, directed by John Rando.

Past productions include: Anton Chekhov's Ivanov, starring Ethan Hawke, Joely Richardson and Juliet Rylance, directed by Austin Pendleton; the highly-acclaimed, sold-out production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Passion, directed by John Doyle, and starring Melissa Errico, Judy Kuhn and Ryan Silverman; Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle, starring Christopher Lloyd, with music by Duncan Sheik; Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream with Bebe Neuwirth; Brecht's Galileo with F. Murray Abraham; Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard with Dianne Wiest and John Turturro; Chekhov's Three Sisters with Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jessica Hecht, Juliet Rylance and Peter Sarsgaard; David Ives' The School for Lies with Hamish Linklater; Unnatural Acts conceived by Tony Speciale; Ostrovsky's The Forest with Dianne Wiest and John Douglas Thompson; David Ives' Venus in Fur with Nina Arianda (Broadway transfer 2011/2012, Tony Award nom. Best Play); Shakespeare's The Tempest with Mandy Patinkin; Chekhov's Uncle Vanya with Maggie Gyllenhaal, Denis O'Hare and Peter Sarsgaard; Anne Carson's An Oresteia; Chekhov's The Seagull with Dianne Wiest and Alan Cumming; David Ives' New Jerusalem with Richard Easton; Richard III, Richard II and Hamlet with Michael Cumpsty; Yasmina Reza's A Spanish Play with Zoe Caldwell; Steve Martin's adaptation of The Underpants; Philip Glass's In the Penal Colony; Bill Irwin's adaptation of Texts for Nothing; Waiting for Godot with John Turturro, Tony Shalhoub and Christopher Lloyd; Entertaining Mr. Sloane with Brian Murray; Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party with David Strathairn and Faust Parts I and II.

For further information on Classic Stage Company, call (212) 352-3101, visit the theatre in person at 136 East 13th Street, or go to www.classicstage.org.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride

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