Mario Cantone & Ralph Macchio to Lead Charles Messina's A ROOM OF MY OWN Off-Broadway

Abingdon Theatre Company continues its 2015-2016 Season with the world premiere of A ROOM OF MY OWN, written and directed by Charles Messina. The production features Mario Cantone (Sex and the City, Laugh Whore, Steve) and Ralph Macchio (Dancing with the Stars, The Karate Kid, My Cousin Vinny). A limited Off-Broadway engagement is set to begin previews February 13 in the June Havoc Theatre (312 West 36th Street). Opening night is set for Thursday, February 25, with performances through March 13.

In A ROOM OF MY OWN, playwright and director Charles Messina recounts growing up with his eccentric Italian-American family in Greenwich Village. Ralph Macchio is Carl Morelli, a writer who reminisces about his adolescence and childhood dreams of the world outside his crowded downtown tenement. Wishing for his own room-and an Atari-young Carl shares the tiny studio in a five-flight crumbling walk-up apartment with his unemployed father, older sister, and strong-willed mother. Other relatives include Carl's flamboyant uncle Jackie, portrayed by Mario Cantone, and estranged aunt Jeannie. Messina's new Off-Broadway comedy takes a hilarious and heartfelt look at New York City in the late 1970s.

A ROOM OF MY OWN deals with adult themes and contains strong language.

Additional casting is to be announced. The production includes set design by Brian Dudkiewicz; costume design by Catherine Siracusa; lighting design by Mike Megliola; sound design by Ian Wehrle; and casting by Lori Malkin. Production Stage Manager is Deidre Works.

Charles Messina's playwriting credits include An Honest Woman, The Wanderer, Actor Found Dead, and Homeland. As a director, his most notable stage work includes the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway plays Cirque Jacqueline, Andrea Reese's play about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis; and Mercury: The Afterlife and Times of a Rock God, a one-man show about Queen's frontman Freddie Mercury, portrayed by Khalid Conclaves, and later, Amir Darvish. Other directing credits include Richard Vetere's Rockaway Boulevard and Be My Love: The Mario Lanza Story; Art Metrano's Accidental Comedy; and Andrew Goffman's long-running comedy The Accidental Pervert, now in its eighth year Off-Broadway. Messina's screenplays include 'Twas the Night Before a Brooklyn Christmas (co-written with Vincent Gogliormella). He is the author of several one-act plays, including Klepto, Merging, and Fugazy. A ROOM OF MY OWN was presented last season as part of Abingdon's reading series, with Cantone and Macchio. Messina's other readings at Abingdon include his latest full-length play, Calm the Light, and collections of one-act plays, Fairies, 3 From the Neighborhood, and Moonlight in Greenwich Village. Messina was born and raised in Greenwich Village and that is still where his heart resides.

Now in its 23rd Season, Abingdon Theatre Company develops and produces new American plays by emerging and established playwrights. Under the artistic direction of Tony Speciale, who joined Abingdon in October 2015, the company provides a safe home for playwrights, directors and actors.

A ROOM OF MY OWN runs February 13-March 13 in the June Havoc Theatre (312 West 36th Street, 1st floor, between 8th and 9th Avenues): Tuesdays at 7pm, Wednesdays-Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 3pm and 8pm, Sundays at 2pm; with the following exceptions: no 3pm on Feb. 13, no 2pm on March 6; additional performances 3pm on March 2 and 7pm on March 6; no performances Feb. 26 and March 5. Opening on February 25 is at 7pm. Tickets are $65 and are available at www.abingdontheatre.org or call 212-352-3101.

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