Photo Flash: 'Dead Man's Cell Phone'

The Playwrights Horizons production of the New York premiere of Dead Man's Cell Phone, a new play by Pulitzer Prize finalist Sarah Ruhl, began previews on Saturday, February 9 at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street); and officially opens Tuesday March 4 at 7PM.

Dead Man's Cell Phone marks the return to the New York stage for Tony Award-winner Mary-Louise Parker (Proof, "Weeds"). Parker is joined by Drama Desk and Obie Award winner, Kathleen Chalfant, David Aaron Baker, T. Ryder Smith, Carla Harting and Kelly Maurer.

"Gordon is dead, but his cell phone lives on.  When Jean, an empathetic museum worker, answers his ringing phone beside her in a café, she is soon playing unwitting comforter and confessor to the man's grieving friends and family.  Before she knows it, Jean is ensnarled in the underbelly of the dead man's bizarre life.  A wildly imaginative new comedy, Dead Man's Cell Phone is the odyssey of a woman forced to confront her assumptions about morality, redemption and the need to connect in a technology-obsessed world," explain press notes.

The production will feature scenic and costume designs by G.W. Mercier, lighting design by Brian H Scott and soundscape by Darron L West.  Production Stage Manager will be Elizabeth Moreau.

Tickets, $70 each, are available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 (12 Noon to 8PM daily), going online at www.playwrightshorizons.org. Patrons may also visit the Ticket Central box office at Playwrights Horizons at 416 West 42nd Street (also 12 Noon to 8PM daily).

The performance schedule for Dead Man's Cell Phone will be Tuesdays through Fridays at 8PM, Saturdays at 2:30 & 8PM and Sundays at 2:30 & 7:30 PM.

Photos by Joan Marcus