JACK'S PRECIOUS MOMENT Plays 59E59 Theatres, Opens Tonight

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) announces Page 73's World Premiere production of JACK'S PRECIOUS MOMENT, written by Samuel D. Hunter and directed by Kip Fagan, part of the AMERICAS OFF BROADWAY festival. The Page 73 production of JACK'S PRECIOUS MOMENT began previews on Friday, May 21 for a limited engagement through Sunday, June 13. Press Opening is tonight, Wednesday, May 26 at 7:30 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Wednesday at 7:30 PM; Thursday - Friday at 8:30 PM; Saturday at 2:30 PM & 8:30 PM; and Sunday at 3:30 PM. The ticket price is $25 ($17.50 for 59E59 Members). Tickets are available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or online at www.ticketcentral.com. For more information visit www.59E59.org.

A video of insurgents beheading Jack Lewis is released over the Internet. Back home in Idaho, Jack's twin, father and widow are left to pick up the pieces -- so to speak. The only solution to this Christian family's grief and mounting spiritual crisis: The Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage, MO.

The cast features Tom Bloom (Cyrano de Bergerac with Kevin Kline, "Guiding Light"), Lucas Papaelias (Cyrano de Bergerac with Kevin Kline), Eddie Kaye Thomas (Dog Sees God at the Century Center, the American Pie films, HBO's How to Make It In America) and Karen Walsh (Pygmalion at the Roundabout, Accent on Youth at MTC).

The design team includes Lee Savage (Sets), Matt Frey (Lighting), Jessica Ford (Costumes), Bart Fasbender (Sound) and Sean McArdle (Props). The production stage manager is Jamie Rog.

Samuel D. Hunter (playwright) is from Moscow, Idaho. He is a graduate of NYU, the Iowa Playwrights Workshop and the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program at Juilliard. His plays include I Am Montana (produced at London's Arcola Theatre, Montana Repertory; developed at the Flea, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Missoula Colony, Juilliard New Play Festival, Bay Area Playwrights Festival); Five Genocides (upcoming production at Clubbed Thumb; developed at Page 73, Ars Nova, Lark Theater; translated into Spanish and presented in Mexico City); Atlasing Sodom (developed at the Kennedy Center's MFA Playwrights Workshop, Primary Stages, Playwrights Horizons, NNPN National Showcase); Idaho/Dead Idaho (developed at the Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, Ars Nova, Juilliard, Lark Theater, Rattlestick; 2009 Princess Grace Award runner-up); Norman Rockwell Killed My Father (developed at the 2005 O'Neill National Playwrights Conference); Abraham (A Shot in the Head) (produced in the Blueprint Series at Ontological-Hysteric); Hells Canyon (developed at Juilliard, LAByrinth Summer Intensive); The Whale (developed at 24Seven Lab, Reading at LAByrinth). Sam is the recipient of the 2008-2009 P.O.N.Y. Fellowship from the Lark Theater, the John Golden Prize from NYU and two Le Compte du Nuoy Awards from Lincoln Center. He is an alumnus of the Lark Playwrights' Workshop and 24Seven Lab. He is a current member of Ars Nova's Play Group and Partial Comfort. Sam has taught at the University of Iowa, Fordham University, Rutgers University and in the Palestinian Territories at Ashtar Theater (Ramallah) and Ayyam al-Masrah (Hebron).

Kip Fagan (director) recently directed Recess by Sheila Callaghan at The Flea, Reborning by Zayd Dohrn at SPF, That Pretty Pretty; or, The Rape Play by Sheila Callaghan at Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, and Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom by Jennifer Haley for the Humana Festival at Actors Theatre Of Louisville. Other NYC: Greg Keller's The Young Left (Cherry Lane), Cory Hinkle's Cipher (SPF), Mark Greenfield's I.E. In Other Words (The Flea), Sam Marks's Nelson (Partial Comfort), Christopher Durang's Not a Creature Was Stirring (The Flea), and Rachel Hoeffel's Quail (Clubbed Thumb). Other regional: Tommy Smith and Gabriel Kahane's musical Goodnight Mecca (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Craig Lucas's Small Tragedy (The Playwrights Center), Kenneth Lonergan's The Waverly Gallery (Empty Space Theatre), and several plays with Printer's Devil in Seattle, which he co-founded. Kip has developed new plays with Manhattan Theatre Club, New York Theatre Workshop, Playwrights Horizons, Naked Angels, New Dramatists, Ars Nova, Young Playwrights Festival, The Lark, Dixon Place, Huntington Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Hartford Stage, Portland Center Stage, Playwrights Center, and Bay Area Playwrights Festival. He was a 2003-2004 NEA/TCG directing fellow and was the 2007 Bill Foeller directing fellow at Williamstown Theatre Festival.

PAGE 73 (Liz Jones & Asher Richelli, Executive Directors) produces and develops the work of early-career playwrights who have yet to receive a professional production opportunity in New York. Page 73 awards the P73 Playwriting Fellowship each year to one unproduced playwright. During that year, the company serves as that fellow's artistic home and offers a cash grant and development support to the writer. Past fellows are Kirsten Greenidge, Quiara Alegria Hudes, Jason Grote, Krista Knight, Tommy Smith and Heidi Schreck. The current fellow is Eliza Clark. Page 73 hosts a year-long writing group called "Interstate 73″ and a week-long summer residency at Yale, both serving early-career playwrights. Page 73 developed and produced the world premiere of Elliot, A Soldier's Fugue by Quiara Alegria Hudes (2007 Pulitzer finalist - directed by Davis McCallum), the New York premiere of 1001 by Jason Grote (Time Out New York - Top 10 of 2007 - directed by Ethan McSweeny), the world premiere of Sixty Miles to Silver Lake by Dan LeFranc (winner of 2010 New York Times Playwriting Award; co-produced with Soho Rep - directed by Anne Kauffman) and the world premiere of Creature by 2009 P73 Playwriting Fellow Heidi Schreck directed by Leigh Silverman (co-production with New Georges). Visit www.p73.org for more information.

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