Photo Flash: THE MAN WHO ATE MICHAEL ROCKEFELLER At Arclight

Written by Jeff Cohen and based on a short story by Christopher Stokes, THE MAN WHO ATE ROCKEFELLER is directed by Alfred Preisser -- the founding artistic director of the award-winning Classical Theatre of Harlem -- where he directed acclaimed productions of KING LEAR starring Andre De Shields, a revival of Melvin Van Peebles' AIN'T SUPPOSED TO DIE A NATURAL DEATH, DREAM ON MONKEY MOUNTAIN and ROMEO AND JULIET. Presently, his production of BLACK NATIVITY NOW - which he co-wrote with Tracy Jack -- is playing Off-Broadway.

THE MAN WHO ATE MICHAEL ROCKEFELLER takes a startling and surprisingly humorous, upside-down view of what happens when the Western world intrudes on an ancient, so-called primitive culture, telling the story from the native peoples' point-of-view: set among the Asmat tribe of New Guinea, the play explores the still-unsolved disappearance in 1961 of Michael C. Rockefeller, the 23-year-old son of New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller and a celebrated anthropologist who collected artifacts from the Asmat culture during two expeditions there.

The Asmat culture - which developed for thousand of years in isolation before being discovered in the mid-20th century, and whose woodcarving traditions are now world-renowned - expresses its revered, centuries-old spiritual relationship between the living and their dead ancestors in rituals such as head-hunting and cannibalism.

When THE MAN WHO ATE MICHAEL ROCKEFELLER debuted in September, The New York Times selected the play as a "Critic's Pick" and called it "smart and briskly entertaining," praising the play's "excellent cast." Theater Online called the play "A rare thinking man's comedy...a sophisticated script...expertly directed." Backstage wrote, "Fornication can be hilarious...at least it is in THE MAN WHO ATE MICHAEL ROCKEFELLER."

The cast that debuted THE MAN WHO ATE MICHAEL ROCKEFELLER last fall will return - intact - for its Off-Broadway run: David Brown, Jr., Shannon Dorsey, Tracy Jack, David King, Daniel Morgan Stanley and Aaron Strand.

The play will be produced Off-Broadway - as its world-premiere was in the fall -- by Dog Run Rep.

Scheduled through March 13, THE MAN WHO ATE MICHAEL ROCKEFELLER will perform Wednesdays through Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 and $55 and can be purchased by calling SmartTix at 212 868 4444 or online at www.smarttix.com. For more information about the play, visit www.dogrunrep.com.

Photo Credit: Lia Chang