Penguin Rep's Production AFTER By Michael McKeever Opens Off Broadway March 12

59E59 Theaters (Val Day, Artistic Director; Brian Beirne, Managing Director) is thrilled to add the NYC premiere of AFTER, written by Michael McKeever and directed by Joe Brancato, to the Winter 2018 Season. Produced by Penguin Rep Theatre and InProximity Theatre Company, AFTER begins performances on Tuesday, March 12 for a limited engagement through Sunday, April 14. Press Opening is Sunday, March 17 at 2 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Friday at 7 PM; Saturday at 2 PM & 7 PM; and Sunday at 2 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison). Single tickets are $25 - $70 ($49 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call the 59E59 Box Office at 646-892-7999 or visit www.59e59.org. The running time is 85 minutes, no intermission.

An incident of bullying leads to a horrifying consequence in this timely new play that follows the journey of two families: before, in the moments leading up to the event; and after, as they pick up the pieces once the news cameras have gone home. From the playwright and director behind Daniel's Husband, parenting, bullying and its fallout are all explored in this heart-wrenching new play that leaves audiences breathless.

The cast features Denise Cormier (The Graduate Broadway National Tour); Jolie Curtsinger (The Fall to Earth at 59E59); Michael Frederic (The Lucky One at The Mint); Mia Matthews (Mizlansky/Zilinsky with Nathan Lane); and Bill Phillips (Rv. Jenkins on Netflix's House of Cards).

The design team includes Brian Prather (scenic design); Martin E. Vreeland (lighting design); Gregory Gale (costume design); William Neal (original music and sound design). The Production Stage Manager is Michael Palmer.

Michael McKeever (playwright) has written thirty full length plays that have been produced at theaters around the world, including Primary Stages, Penguin Rep, Marin Theatre Company, NCTC, Phoenix Theatre, Stage West, Palm Beach Dramaworks, Florida Studio Theatre, Komödie Dresden (Dresden,

Germany), Och-Teatr (Warsaw, Poland) and Theater in der Josefstadt, Kammerspiele (Vienna, Austria). Plays include Daniel's Husband, Clark Gable Slept Here, Stuff, and Mr. Parker. He has been nominated for an Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Work and has been nominated four times for the Steinberg/American Theatre Critics New Play Award. He is a three-time finalist for Humana Festival's Heideman Award and an NEA Residency Grant recipient. He has won numerous Carbonell and Silver Palm Awards, and is a co- founder of Zoetic Stage, a Miami-based theater company dedicated to developing new work. Michaelmckeeverplays.com.

Joe Brancato (director), cited by the New York Times as "one of America's most insightful directors," directed Mark St. Germain's Relativity at Penguin and Frederick Stroppel's Small World at 59E59 in NYC. Off Broadway: Michael McKeever's Daniel's Husband, which transferred from Penguin to Primary Stages to a commercial run at The Westside Theatre; Erasmus Fenn's Drop Dead Perfect; Angelo Parra's The Devil's Music: The Life & Blues of Bessie Smith (Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Off Broadway Alliance, and Audelco Award nominee), which he also staged at the Montreal Jazz Festival; Tom Dudzick's Miracle on South Division Street; Fall to Earth; Freed (Audelco Award nominee); Tryst (Outer Critics Circle nomination for Best Play); Cobb (Drama Desk winner) in NYC and LA; From Door To Door; One Shot, One Kill; Two and a Half Jews; My Italy Story; Ricky Ian Gordon's The Matter of Minutes; Escape from Happiness (with Marsha Mason); The Big Swing (with Madeline Kahn, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Marisa Tomei); Dr. Valentine's Waltz (with John Turturro, Laura Linney, Jane Alexander); Hold the Wedding, produced by Joseph Papp. Regional: Royal Manitoba Theatre Center, George Street, Seattle Rep, Cleveland Playhouse, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Alley Theatre, Hartford Stage, Westport Playhouse, Delaware Theater Co., Rubicon Theatre, Capital Rep, Florida Repertory, Hartford TheatreWorks, Cape Playhouse, and Passage Theatre. As founding artistic director of Penguin Rep Theatre, he has directed 150+ productions. He commissioned and directed the play The Man Who Was Peter Pan, which became the Broadway musical and film Finding Neverland. Joe was named Best Director by L.A. Scene for Santa Claus is Coming Out (The Santa Closet), received two Rockland County Executive Awards, and was nominated for Helen Hayes and New England's IRNE awards. www.joebrancato.com.

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