Abandon All Hope's world premiere will be a single performance at Theatre Row on Saturday, June 10th at 7:00 pm.
Bucks County, Pennsylvania playwright Peter Fenton will make his Off-Broadway debut with the world premiere of his dramedy play, Abandon All Hope. The play will be staged as part of the fifth annual Rogue Theater Festival, which will be held at Theatre Row on 42nd Street. Abandon All Hope takes inspiration from The Good Place, Knives Out, and Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit as it explores ethics, organized Christianity, and identity with clever wit and a streak of dark comedy.
The play is directed by actor and New York City theater veteran Gorman Ruggiero (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Calf Rope) and produced by Peter Fenton and Avery Kellington with special thanks to Suzanne Fisher. Kellington will originate the role of fun-loving demon TERESA, joined by cast members Yuliana Sleme, Jonathan P. Chen, and Michael De Los Angeles. Avery Kellington is represented by The Avenue Agency and Yuliana Sleme is represented by Arcos Management.
"From the moment Peter shared an early draft of the script with me, I've been entranced by TERESA and the intense, provocative world of Abandon All Hope," says Kellington. Ruggiero adds, "I've fallen in love with this play due to the originality of the characters and their relationships. It is a devilish little play full of fun and games, touched with divine humor."
"I'm deeply moved that this very personal story is resonating with so many," shares Fenton. "If 42nd Street is where Abandon All Hope starts, I can't wait to see where we go next!"
Abandon All Hope's world premiere will be a single performance at Theatre Row on Saturday, June 10th at 7:00 pm. Tickets will be sold through Theatre Row starting May 22nd for $35 before fees.
Peter Fenton makes his Off-Broadway debut with the world premiere of Abandon All Hope! A member of the Dramatists Guild of America since 2019, Fenton's theatrical work has been previously seen in the Philly Fringe Festival and Jukebox Theater at Wheaton College. He is an alum of the postgraduate apprenticeship at Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia and currently teaches theater classes through Bucks County Playhouse. In addition to writing and producing theater, Fenton is an emerging screenwriter and film producer, winning awards for writing Filling In (2017) and both producing and writing Night Voices (2023) through Dadley Productions. @peterfent www.byPeterFenton.com
When three college freshmen (a scrappy activist, a naïve evangelical and a cocky analyst) meet in Hell, which appears as a dorm room, a fun-loving demon challenges them to a game with astronomical stakes, which draws out each one's fatal flaws in their confrontations with each other and themselves. The winner will go to Heaven at the cost of the others' eternal torture.
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