Marta Mondelli's THE WINDOW Opens Today at Cherry Lane Theater

The Window opens in the summer 1954. At the center of the story is Eva, a young woman whose marital engagement has recently ended. Alone and unhappy, she is using what would have been her honeymoon, as a paid taste tester for a new diet soft drink that may contain harmful side effects. Her only distraction is living vicariously through her neighbors from a picture window that faces theirs. Eva's aunt, a wealthy Park Avenue matron who's anything but matronly, arrives with a suitcase, ostensibly to keep her niece company for a few days. Shortly after her arrival, however, her aunt begins to make a series of disturbing night time disappearances leaving Eva alone to hear what she believes to be someone being murdered in one of the apartments near to her own. Her anxiety is compounded by a sudden visit from a handsome stranger who professes to know her aunt too well for Eva's comfort and is further distressed when he begins to take an interest in her.

Playwright Marta Mondelli is also a novelist, filmmaker and actress. Born and raised in Italy, she graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Bologna and then worked as an actress both in theatre with her company Chièdiscena and in film with Italian stars, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Adrianno Giannini and Mariangela Melato. More than a decade ago, she moved to New York to pursue a writing career while continuing to act with the Kairos Theatre Company. A featured blogger for The Huffington Post, her first novel, "Occhi di cane, cuore di cervo" was published in Italy. Her 2010 feature film, The Contenders won an Award for Excellence in Filmmaking from the Honolulu International Film Festival. Her screenplay titled A Small Accident received Honorable Mention from the 2011 Sundance Film Festival's "Table Read My Screenplay" contest. The Window, her first play, was inspired not only by her love of old movies, but also by American advertising of the 1950s and a meeting with actress Cristina Lippolis in 2011.

Director Shira-Lee Shalit has directed for the LAByrinth Theater Company's Intensive Ensemble, Nylon Fusion Collective, Vertigo Theater Company and The Lark, among others. Her film Full Cycle was a finalist in the Student Academy Awards. Her debut feature film, A-LIST starring Sally Kirkland won the Audience Award at the Milan Film Festival and Best Comedy at WorldfestFilm Festival. She on the faculty at both Columbia University and NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.

Cristina Lippolis (Eva) is a graduate of the Stella Adler Studio. Some of her credits include Distretto di Polizia 10 for Italian TV, Nora in A Doll's House, and Kara in Do The Blind Dream? at the Access Theater. She's a member of the Labyrinth Theater Company's Intensive Ensemble. Scott Freeman (Bill) appeared in both Medea and Les Liaisons Dangereuses at Bush Playhouse.

The Window opens on Saturday, January 18th at 8PM at theCherry Lane Theater (38 Commerce Street, 3 blocks So. of Christopher St.). Performances are Sat. Jan. 18 at 8PM, Sun. Jan. 19 at 3PM & 8PM and Tue. Jan. 21 thru Sun. Jan 26 at 8PM. Tickets are $20, $12 for students/seniors. For tickets:http://www.cherrylanetheatre.org/onstage/the-window/or

https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/930350. For more information go to http://www.thewindowtheater.com/.