GERTRUDE: THE CRY and PENTECOST Set for PTP/NYC's 28th Season at Atlantic Stage 2

PTP/NYC (Potomac Theatre Project), in association with Middlebury College, presents its 28th repertory season, its 8th consecutive in New York, running from July 8 - August 10, 2014 in a limited 5-week Off-Broadway engagement at The Atlantic Stage 2, located at 330 West 16th Street between 8th & 9th Avenues in New York City.

This season's line-up includes the U.S. Premiere of Howard Barker's Gertrude: The Cry, directed by PTP's Co-Artistic Director Richard Romagnoli, and a revival of David Edgar's Pentecost, directed by PTP's Co-Artistic Director Cheryl Faraone. Previews begin on July 8 and openings begin on July 15.

Performances are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursday, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 7:30pm, and Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm. The schedule varies - for exact days and times go to www.PTPNYC.org. Tickets are $35 and $18 for students and seniors and can be purchased online at www.PTPNYC.org or by calling 1-866-811-4111. For info visit www.PTPNYC.org, Like them on Facebook at https://www.Facebook.com/pages/Potomac-Theatre-Project-PTP/32709392256 and follow on Twitter at @ptpnyc.

Gertrude: The Cry is Howard Barker's startling and revealing response to Hamlet. Gertrude swells with a passion that counters all morality. In this new world of Elsinore, Barker defends Hamlet's reviled mother and her adulterous affair with Claudius, depicting them as lovers driven beyond reason.

Gertrude: The Cry begins previews July 8 for a July 15 opening and runs through August 10.

The cast includes David Barlow (The Castle and Victory with PTP), Alex Draper (Serious Money, Plevna and Scenes From An Execution with PTP), Pamela J. Gray (Present Laughter and Butley on Broadway), Kathryn Kates (Food and Fadwa at New York Theatre Workshop, Netflix's "Orange is the New Black"), Bill Army, Meghan Leathers, Robert Emmet Lunney (The Graduate on Broadway, Victory and Gary the Thief with PTP), Aashna Aggarwal, Joelle Mendoza and Jake Schwartzwald.

The creative team includes Mark Evancho (Set Design), Hallie Zieselman (Lighting Design), Danielle Nieves (Costume Design) and Cormac Bluestone (Sound Design). Eric Conner Marlin is the Production Stage Manager.

David Edgar's Pentecost is set in an abandoned church in an Eastern European country. A 13th century fresco has just been unearthed. If it proves to predate the works of Giotto, it could explode accepted notions about European art. Without warning, a group of armed refugees barricade themselves inside the church with the art historians, leading to a shocking and visceral conclusion.

Pentecost begins previews July 9 for a July 16 opening and runs through August 10.

The cast includes Alex Draper (Serious Money, Plevna and Scenes From An Execution with PTP), Tosca Giustini, Jonathan Tindle, Matthew Ball, Lily Balsen (Therese Raquin with PTP), Martina Bonolis, Christo Grabowski (Monster and Spatter Pattern with PTP), Larry Nathanson, Nina Silver (Lovesong of the Electric Bear with PTP), Lilli Stein (Territories and Lovesong of the Electric Bear with PTP), Joseph Varca (Monster with PTP), Tom Beyer, Aubrey Dube (The Castle and Serious Money with PTP), Caitlin Rose Duffy, Erica Furgiuele, Nicholas Hemerling, Rishabh Kashyap (The Europeans and Crave with PTP), Chelsea Melone, Jake Schwartzwald and Mari Vial-Golden (Serious Money with PTP).

The creative team includes Mark Evancho (Set Design), Hallie Zieselman (Lighting Design), Adrienne Carlile (Costume Design based on original design by Jule Emerson) and Aubrey Dube (Sound Design). Evangeline Whitlock is the Production Stage Manager.

PTP/NYC (Potomac Theatre Project) continues to redefine political theatre for the 21st century with an annual repertory season. The company's mandate is the presentation of highly theatrical and thought-provoking work of contemporary social and cultural relevance. In its 27 seasons the voices of PTP's writers have addressed art, pornography, AIDS, homelessness, censorship, totalitarianism, apartheid and gender wars.

PTP was founded in 1987 by the artistic team of Cheryl Faraone, Jim Petosa and Richard Romagnoli. The company's new Associate Artistic Director is Alex Draper. Since moving to New York in 2007, PTP/NYC has produced 17 main stage productions and numerous late evening readings, workshops and experimental theatre pieces in their After Dark series. PTP/NYC's productions of Howard Barker's The Castle and Barker's Scenes From An Execution each earned Jan Maxwell a Drama Desk Award nomination. The company won a New York Innovative Theatre Award (Megan Byrne for Best Actress in Barker's No End of Blame) and has been the recipient of 5 New York Innovative Theatre Award nominations.

During its 20 seasons (1987-2006) in Washington DC and Maryland, the company received 7 Helen Hayes Award nominations and produced 75 main stage productions, along with numerous new play readings, late night experimental productions and a variety of ancillary events. PTP/NYC is affiliated with the Theatre Program of Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont.

PTP/NYC continues to garner critical acclaim. The New York Times called their New York Premiere of Howard Barker's The Castle "Smart, rowdy and hugely entertaining" and Caryl Churchill's Serious Money "Wicked and polished." The New Yorker described The Castle as "gorgeously written and acted" and Serious Money as "hyper-intelligent." TimeOut NY gave The Castle 5 out of 5 stars, calling it "a nastily funny play" and "a masterwork." New York Magazine said "you'd do your soul a world of good by going" to The Castle and described their U.S. Premiere of Howard Barker's Victory as "An extraordinary production." The New York Times says, "The company stands out amid the [summer] season's fluff and fringiness as one to turn to for serious work."

The theater is accessible from the A, C, E, L trains to 14 St./8 Ave. or the 1, 2, 3 trains to 14 St.

Pictured: Alex Draper as Leo Katz and Tosca Giustini as Gabriella Pecs in David Edgar's Pentecost. Photo Credit: Stan Barouh.

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