Naked Angels To Present Off-Bway Premiere of 'The Talk'

New York's eternally boundary-pushing theater company Naked Angels (Geoffrey Nauffts, Artistic Director and Brittany O'Neill, Managing Director) has announced that it will present the Off Broadway premiere of The Talk, a new American play by Frank Pugliese, directed by Sheryl Kaller.  Performances begin Tuesday, September 9 at The Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street), with Opening Night set for Monday, September 22 at 8:00 p.m.

The cast for The Talk will include (in alphabetical order) Bobby Cannavale, Bruce MacVittie and Titus Welliver.

Naked Angels' Nauffts commented, "Pugliese's voice, both refreshing and unique, has been a huge inspiration to several generations of theater artists. Nobody writes about the urban working class with more elegance and lyricism, and The Talk, haunting and hilarious, is again proof of that."

The Talk is about four brothers who come home for their mother's funeral to find a past they never knew of, and the words to comprehend it.

The creative team for The Talk includes Derek McLane (set design), Russell Champa (lighting design), Mattie Ullrich (costume design) and Bart Fasbender (sound design).  This production is presented in association with Susan Dietz and Barbara Manocherian.

The Talk will play the following schedule: Thursday through Saturday and Monday at 8:00 p.m., Tuesday and Sunday at 7:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 3:00 p.m.  Tickets go on sale August 6, are $60.00 and are available through Telecharge at 212-239-2969 or by visiting www.telecharge.com.

Frank Pugliese (Playwright) For the stage: Off-B'way:  Aven'u Boys (The Houseman, Obie Award); Hope is the Thing With Feathers (The Drama Dept);  The King of Connecticut, The Talk, The Alarm (all with Naked Angels); Kaos (New York Theatre Workshop.)  Regional: The Crazy Girl (NY Stage and Film, Gloucester Stage).  Film: Born to Run (Fox); Undefeated  (Hart-Sharp, HBO); Shot in the Heart (directed by Agineszka Holland, produced by Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana).  Television: Night of the Living Dead, "Homicide" (WGA Award); Love and Blood, "Fallen Angels" (Cable Ace Award Nomination), "Street-time," "The Beat," and "Law and Order."  Frank teaches playwriting and screenwriting at Columbia University and at the New School.  And he is a proud member of Naked Angels and the Drama Dept.  Frank has directed numerous Off-Broadway productions and is the former Artistic Director of Naked Angels.  He won the Forbes Herman award for playwriting.  He was honored by New York University's Tisch School of the Arts as one of their outstanding alumni in the field.

Sheryl Kaller (Director) most recently directed The Alarm by Frank Pugliese at New York Stage and Film, The Molly Maguires music and lyrics by Sid Cherry, book by Bill Strzempeck at the Berry Center for the Performing Arts (John McDaniel/music supervisor), Adrift in Macao music by Peter Melnick, book and lyrics by Christopher Durang at Primary Stages, Jayson with a Y by Darci Picoult at The New Group and God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater music by Alan Menken, book and lyrics by Howard Ashman at The York Theater. She also directed (along with John McDaniel as music supervisor) a gala tribute to Terrence McNally for the Philadelphia Theater Company with talent including Nathan Lane, Edie Falco, Doris Roberts, Richard Thomas, John Glover, Lucie Arnaz and Marian Seldes.

Sheryl has directed at many theaters including the New Group, Primary Stages, New York Stage and Film, Naked Angels, A.C.T., Philadelphia Theater Company, The Rubicon, The York, EST,  National Theater of the Deaf, Man In The Moon (London). She was a member of the former Circle Rep Lab and the recipient of a Dramalogue Award/ Best New Musical. Sheryl co-founded and was the Artistic Director (1994-2000) of Two Island Productions, a New York and Bermuda-based theater company devoted to developing and producing original plays, playwright retreats/workshops, screenplays, concerts and youth arts and education programs.

Upcoming: Dangerous Beauty music by Michele Brourman, lyrics by Amanda McBroom, book by Jeannine Dominy (American Music Theater Project, July 2008) The Talk by Frank Pugliese (Naked Angels, September 2008), The Gospel According to Adam by Geoffrey Nauffts (Naked Angels, November 2008).

 

In development: Last Smoker in America music by Peter Melnick, book and lyrics by Bill Russell. She is proudly represented by Sarah Douglas at Harry Abrams Artists.

 

Bobby Cannavale (Freddy) won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance as Will Truman's boyfriend on "Will & Grace." Bobby was seen in Rick Linklater's Fast Food Nation, The Night Listener opposite Robin Williams, Snakes on a Plane with Samuel L. Jackson, and Haven co-starring Orlando Bloom and Bill Paxton.

In The Station Agent, Bobby received a lot of attention as the motor-mouthed hot dog vendor who befriends an outsider in his small New Jersey town. He and his co-stars, Patricia Clarkson and Peter Dinklage, were nominated for a SAG award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and won the Audience Award at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival.

Bobby recently finished shooting Eric Red's indie film 100 Feet co-starring Famke Janssen, and Terry Kinney's Diminished Capacity.  He can be seen in Justin Theroux's film Dedication and in David Wain's The Ten, both of which premiered at last year's Sundance Film Festival.  Other film credits include Shall We Dance co-starring Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Jennifer Lopez; Don Roos' Happy Endings opposite Lisa Kudrow and Maggie Gyllenhaal; Romance and Cigarettes directed by John Turturro and co-starring Kate Winslet, James Gandolfini and Christopher Walken; Spike Lee's 3 AM; Kevin Costner's The Postman; Sidney Lumet's Night Falls on Manhattan and Goria; The Bone Collector opposite Angelina Jolie; and the critically acclaimed independent film Washignton Heights. His television appearances include guest starring episodes in Six Feet Under.

Bobby made his Broadway debut in Theresa Rebeck's play Mauritius last fall with Allison Pill, Dylan Baker and F. Murray Abraham, for which he received a Tony Award nomination.  He also received rave reviews in the acclaimed Off-Broadway revival of David Rabe's Hurlyburly starring opposite Ethan Hawke, Josh Hamilton and Wallace Shawn.  His career began in the theatre and he has worked at the Lee Strasberg Institute, Naked Angels, Circle Rep, The Public, Williamstown and The Roundabout.

Bruce MacVittie (Ricky) It is a rare actor who is able to live on both coasts because his career calls for it.  Bruce MacVittie is that guy, having worked consistently since 1979 in film, television and theatre, with over 25 feature films including Million Dollar Baby, Brooklyn's Finest, Bernard and Doris, Hannibal, 54, Cotton Club and The Doors.  He has worked with some of the greatest actors and directors of our time.  Not one to find himself with a lot of down time, Bruce has worked extensively in television in such hit shows as Law & Order, CSI – NY, The Unit, Numb3rs, Oz, and Sex in the City.  

Theatre has a special place in Bruce's heart as he is a founding member of Naked Angels and is a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre.  With over 30 plays on his resume including the Broadway and West End production of American Buffalo with Al Pacino.  He has recently done The Hurdy Gurdy Man at New York Stage & Film, Havana is Waiting at Cherry Lane, Hearts at the Long Wharf and The Seagull at Second Stage.  

Bruce is spending the next few months in New York working on another play as well as flying to Kansas to complete work on an indie film called Earthworks.

Titus Welliver (Sammy) was born on March 12 in New Haven, Connecticut. He is the son of the famous landscape painter Neil Welliver. His mother is a fashion illustrator. Raised in Philadelphia and New York City, Titus grew up surrounded by poets and painters originally wanted to be a painter like his father, but decided to pursue acting.

Titus moved to New York in 1980 enrolling in classes at HB Acting Studios while attending New York University. To support himself, Titus did a variety of jobs including bartender and construction worker.

His first paid acting job was in Navy Seals with Charlie Sheen where he played "Redneck in Bar." Soon he was in many movies including JFK, The Doors, Mulholland Falls, Twisted, Biker Boys, and Assault on Precinct 13.  Titus appeared in productions of American Buffalo, Naked at the Coast, Shakespeare's Henry IV, Parts I and II, and Riff Raff, written and directed by Laurence Fishburne, which was adapted into the feature film Once in the Life with Titus reprising his role as "Torch" opposite Fishburne's "20/20 Mike".

Titus appeared in several MOW's including Blonde, An American Story and Rough Riders. He also starred in TV series including Falcone, where he played "Santino "Sonny Boy" Napoli" and David Milch's Brooklyn South, Big Apple, and most recently on the HBO hit Deadwood.  He recently played memorable role of "Lionel McCready" in Ben Affleck's award-winning feature Gone Baby Gone, and will soon be seen in Francoise Velle's feature The Narrows, opposite Vincent D'Onofrio.

Titus has two sons and one daughter.

Naked Angels was formed in 1986 by a group of restless and ambitious artists reacting to a void in the theater community for new and creative voices. We took our name from John Tytell's book, Naked Angels, which referred to Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and other Beats as "a generation that wanted to break out of convention and scream." As a young group, we felt the same way; we needed a place where, through the medium of theater, we could show the world a diffeRent_6862">Rent perspective of our times. Sometimes outraged, often irreveRent_6862">Rent, occasionally absurd, and always intelligent, enthusiastic and fun, Naked Angels' work was a spark to which audiences were quickly drawn. The Space, as our theater on 17th Street was known, soon became a vital, thriving crossroads where talented theater artists met and collaborated: the destination of choice for those seeking a truly celebratory theatrical experience. Though it's been quite a few years since we've had a home of our own, that spirit continues today wherever and whenever Naked Angels produces.

Dedication to the emerging artist has lead to the company's reputation for developing and producing outstanding, innovative plays. Over the years, Naked Angels has presented hundreds of readings, workshops, and full-scale productions. From Warren Leight's Tony Award winning Side Man to John Robin Baitz's The Substance of Fire, Kenneth Lonergan's The Starry Messenger to David Marshall Grant's Snakebit, Naked Angels has always been a place where new work flourishes. Some of our more recent efforts, Stephen Belber's Tape, Will Eno's Thom Pain (based on nothing), Elizabeth Meriwether's The Mistakes Madeline Made, and Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell have gone on to receive critical acclaim both here and abroad.

www.nakedangels.com

Photo Credit Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

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