Playwrights Horizons Begins LIVEforFIVE for RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN Today

Playwrights Horizons begins accepting entries today, Wednesday, May 9, for its popular LIVEforFIVE online lottery for $5 tickets to the World Premiere of RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN, a new play by Pulitzer Prize finalist and Obie Award winner Gina Gionfriddo (Becky Shaw), directed by Peter DuBois (Becky Shaw, Sons of the Prophet, Measure for Pleasure, Jack Goes Boating, Artistic Director of Huntington Theatre Company).

A ticketing initiative created in 2007 as part of Playwrights Horizons’ Arts Access program, LIVEforFIVE makes a limited number of $5 tickets available for the first preview performance of each Playwrights Horizons production through a lottery via the company’s website (www.PlaywrightsHorizons.org).  The LIVEforFIVE lottery for RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN will be for tickets to the first preview on Friday evening, May 18 at 8PM at Playwrights Horizons’ Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street). 

Details for the LIVEforFIVE lottery are as follows: beginning today at 10AM, theatergoers can enter the lottery by filling out an entry form atwww.PlaywrightsHorizons.org.  Entries will be accepted until Monday, May 14 at 12 Noon.  Winners of the lottery will be notified via email no later than 3PM on Monday, May 14 with instructions on how to book their $5 tickets.  Unclaimed tickets will be offered via email to a limited standby list starting at 12 Noon on Tuesday, May 15 on a first-come, first-served basis.  One or two tickets may be purchased for $5 each.  At least 50 tickets will be available for Mainstage shows via the lottery.

The production will have its official opening on Tuesday, June 12 at 7PM and continue through Sunday, June 24.  The cast features five-time Emmy Award nominee Amy Brenneman (“Private Practice,” “Judging Amy,” “NYPD Blue”), Beth Dixon(Wings, Major Barbara, Vieux Carre), Virginia Kull (Assistance at PH, Man and Boy, Dividing the Estate, Old Acquaintance),Kellie Overbey (The Savannah Disputation and Betty’s Summer Vacation at PH, The Coast of Utopia) and Lee Tergesen(Good Boys and True, The Exonerated, Monster, Wayne’s World, “Oz,” “The Big C”).

After grad school, Catherine (Ms. Brenneman) and Gwen (Ms. Overbey) chose polar opposite paths.  Catherine built a career as a rockstar academic, while Gwen built a home with her husband and children.  Decades later, unfulfilled in polar opposite ways, each woman covets the other’s life, commencing a dangerous game of musical chairs – the prize being Gwen’s husband (Mr. Tergesen).  With searing insight and trademark wit, Gina Gionfriddo’s comedy is an unflinching look at gender politics in the wake of 20th century feminist ideals.

RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN was commissioned by Playwrights Horizons with funds from the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.

The production will feature scenic design by Alexander Dodge, costume design by Mimi O’Donnell, lighting design by Jeff Croiter and sound design by M.L. Dogg.  Production Stage Manager is Lisa Chernoff.

The Arts Access program at Playwrights Horizons allows the institution to reach out to those who may not be able to afford the cost of a full-price theater ticket.  This program is supported, in part, by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and The McGraw-Hill Companies.

Other Arts Access initiatives, both of which reflect Playwrights Horizons’ ongoing commitment to making its productions more affordable to younger audiences, include HOTtix, $25 rush tickets, subject to availability, day of performance only, starting one hour before showtime to patrons aged 30 and under. Proof of age required. One ticket per person, per purchase. STUDENT RUSH, $15 rush tickets, subject to availability, day of performance only, starting one hour before curtain to full-time graduate and undergraduate students. One ticket per person, per purchase. Valid full-time student ID required.

Arts Access memberships (where tickets can be purchased in advance, when single tickets go on sale) are: 30&UNDER MEMBERSHIP, $20 membership fee per season and one $20 ticket for each show, as desired (proof of age required for membership); and STUDENT MEMBERSHIP, $10 membership fee per season and one $10 ticket for each show, as desired (valid full-time student ID required for membership).

Two membership packages to Playwrights Horizons’ current 2011/2012 season are currently available:  FlexPass (4+ tickets, $45-50 per ticket); and Membership ($55 membership fee + one ticket at $40 or less for each show, as desired).  In addition to discounts on all season attractions, members receive priority booking and seating, ticket exchange privileges, parking and dining discounts, and access to Playwrights Horizons Bulletins.  Packages are available at www.TicketCentral.com.