Masur And Playten Are 'THE OLDSMOBILES' At The Flea Theatre 10/1 - 11/14

The Flea Theater will present the World Premiere of Roger Rosenblatt's THE OLDSMOBILES. Directed by Jim Simpson, the production stars Richard Masur and Alice Playten in the title roles. Performances of this Off-Broadway limited engagement begin previews on October 1st with opening night slated for Saturday, October 17th.

THE OLDSMOBILES is a comedy set on New York's Manhattan Bridge. Mr. and Mrs. Oldsmobile are perched on The Edge contemplating their life together and life hereafter. With the eyes of the NYPD, the fire department, tourists, celebrities, a news anchor, a priest, the mayor, and the Oldsmobile's children upon them, the couple relish the attention and ponder the possibilities of life and death through Rosenblatt's sparkling comedic lens.

The production features set by Jerad Schomer, lighting by Brian Aldous, costumes by Claudia Brown, and sound by Daniel Kluger.

Richard Masur has starred in more than 45 feature films, including Risky Business, My Girl, Heaven's Gate, Heartburn, Under Fire, and Todd Solondz' Palindromes. He received an Emmy nomination for his performance in the TV film The Burning Bed opposite Farrah Fawcett. He first appeared on Broadway in 1973 in The Changing Room. His recent theater credits include Michael Frayne's Democracy, The Exonerated, Rinne Groff's The Ruby Sunrise at The Public Theater, Mike Leigh's 2000 Years, and Leslie Ayvazia's Make Me at the Atlantic Theater. Masur served as National President of Screen Actors Guild from 1995 to 1999.

Alice Playten made her Broadway debut in 1959 in Gypsy. She received a Theater World Award and a Tony nomination for the 1968 musical Henry, Sweet Henry. Additional Broadway credits include Oliver!, Hello, Dolly!, Rumors, Seussical, and Caroline, or Change. Her many off-Broadway credits include Spoils of War (Drama Desk Award nominee), Promenade, Up from Paradise, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You, and A Flea in Her Ear. Her screen credits include Ladybug Ladybug, I.Q., and Legend. Playten is probably remembered best for a 1970 Alka-Seltzer commercial that turned her exclamation of "marshmallowed meatballs and poached oysters!" into a national catch-phrase.

Roger Rosenblatt is the acclaimed author of essays, books and plays. William Safire of The New York Times wrote that his work represents "some of the most profound and stylish writing in America today." Vanity Fair said that he "set new standards of thought and compassion" in journalism. His pieces for Time Magazine have won two George Polk Awards, awards from the Overseas Press Club, the American Bar Association, and others. His television essays for the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS have won the Peabody and the Emmy. His Time Magazine cover essay, "A Letter to the Year 2086," was chosen for the time capsule placed inside the Statue of Liberty at its centennial. He is the author of eleven books, which have been published in 13 languages. They include the national bestseller, Rules for Aging; three collections of essays; and Children of War, which won the Robert F. Kennedy Book Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. He has written five off-Broadway plays including Free Speech in America, cited by The New York Times as one of the 10 Best Plays of 1991, and Ashley Montana Goes Ashore in The Caicos... or What Am I Doing Here?, which premiered at The Flea in 2005 starring Bebe Neuwirth and Jeffrey DeMunn.

The Flea Theater, under Artistic Director Jim Simpson and Producing Director Carol Ostrow, is one of New York's leading off-off-Broadway companies. Winner of a Special Drama Desk Award for outstanding achievement, Obie Awards and an Otto for political theater, The Flea has presented nearly 100 plays and numerous dance and live music performances since its inception in 1996. Past productions include the premieres of Anne Nelson's The Guys, five plays by A.R. Gurney (Post Mortem, O Jerusalem, Screenplay, Mrs. Farnsworth and A Light Lunch), Mac Wellman's Cellophane and Two September, Roger Rosenblatt's Ashley Montana Goes Ashore..., Elizabeth Swados' JABU and Kaspar Hauser, Karen Finley's Return of the Chocolate Smeared Woman, Yussef El Guindi's Back of the Throat, Julian Sheppard's Los Angeles, Adam Rapp's Bingo with the Indians, Will Eno's Oh, The Humanity and other exclamations and Dawn by Thomas Bradshaw.

THE OLDSMOBILES runs October 1 - November 14, Wednesday - Friday at 7pm and Saturday at 3pm & 7pm. The Flea is located at 41 White Street between Church and Broadway, three blocks south of Canal, close to the 1, N, R, Q, W, 6, A, C and E subway lines. Tickets are $40 - $45 and are available by calling (212) 352-3101 or online at www.theflea.org.

Photo Credit: Peter James Zielinski

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