Fiasco's TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA Extends Through June 20 at TFANA

Jeffrey Horowitz, Theatre for a New Audience Founding Artistic Director, has extended once again Fiasco Theater's The Two Gentlemen of Verona due to box office demand.

The Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare, directed by Jessie Austrian and Ben Steinfeld and featuring Jessie Austrian, Noah Brody, Paul L. Coffey, Zachary Fine, Andy Grotelueschen, and Emily Young, has been extended through Saturday, June 20, at Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Place.

This is the third production of four that Theatre for a New Audience has extended this season in Brooklyn. The Two Gentlemen of Verona opened to rave reviews on April 30.

What's Love Got To Do With It? Apparently, a lot! Fiasco's The Two Gentlemen of Verona, a crackling, quick-moving and seemingly simple tale of shifting devotions among mismatched lovers and their errant love letters launched the genre of "rom-com" a few centuries ago. This production is attracting young audiences to Polonsky Shakespeare Center who, at the suggestion of Theatre for a New Audience, are leaving their own love letters to a character in the play, a lost love, friend, etc. in a drop box. A selected few are on display in the theatre's lobby.

In its first two seasons at Polonsky Shakespeare Center, over 100,000 patrons have attended its shows. During the same period, the number of people under 30 attending its shows has more than doubled from the previous two years. Theatre for a New Audience's contribution to the New York cultural scene from its new home in Brooklyn is substantial.

This production of Fiasco Theater's The Two Gentlemen of Verona with its cast of six was originally produced by Folger Theatre (Janet Alexander Griffin, Artistic Producer), Washington D.C., and follows on the heels of Fiasco Theater's widely acclaimed staging of Into the Woods, which recently ran at Roundabout Theatre Company and was nominated for Drama League and Drama Desk Awards and won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical.

In The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Jessie Austrian co-directs and plays Julia, Noah Brody is Proteus, Paul L. Coffey is Speed, Zachary Fine is Valentine, Andy Grotelueschen plays Launce, Antonio, and the Duke, and Emily Young is Lucetta and Sylvia.

Sets are by Derek McLane, costumes are by Whitney Locher, and lighting is by Tim Cryan. The vocal coach is Andrew Wade and the production stage manager is Shane Schnetzler.

Fiasco Theater is an ensemble theater company created by graduates of the Brown University/Trinity Rep M.F.A. acting program. Past shows include Cymbeline (Theatre for a New Audience/Barrow Street Theatre), Twelfth Night (Access Theater), Into the Woods (McCarter Theatre Center, The Old Globe, and Roundabout Theatre Company), and Measure for Measure (New Victory Theater).

Single tickets, on sale now, are $60-$85 and may be purchased online at www.tfana.org, by phone at 866-811-4111, or in person at the Theatre for a New Audience Box Office (262 Ashland Place). Box office hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 1:00pm to 6:00pm. A limited number of premium seats are available for $100. New Deal tickets for ages 30 and under or full-time students of any age are priced at $20 each and can be purchased online, by phone, or in person at the box office. Performances are Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 pm, with matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00pm. Final performance is Saturday, June 20, at 7:30pm.

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