Playwrights Horizons Now Accepting LIVEforFIVE Entries for THE WHALE

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) begins accepting entries today, Wednesday, October 3, for its popular LIVEforFIVE online lottery for $5 tickets to the New York premiere of THE WHALE, a new play by Obie Award winner Samuel D. Hunter (A Bright New Boise), directed by Davis McCallum (February House, A Bright New Boise, the upcoming Water By the Spoonful at Second Stage). Due to the overwhelming response to Playwrights Horizons' 2012/2013 season, all productions are now playing longer runs to accommodate the larger subscription base. The limited engagement of THE WHALE, originally announced through Sunday, November 18, will now play through Sunday, December 2.

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 THE WHALE will be for tickets to the first preview on Friday evening, October 12 at 7:30 PM at Playwrights Horizons' Peter Jay Sharp 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 at www.PlaywrightsHorizons.org. Entries will be accepted until Tuesday, October 9 at 12 Noon. Winners of the lottery will be notified via email no later than 3PM on Tuesday, October 9 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 Wednesday, October 10 on a first-come, first-served basis. One or two tickets may be purchased for $5 each. Up to 30 tickets will be available for Sharp shows via the lottery.

The cast of THE WHALE features Theatre World Award winner Cassie Beck (The Drunken City and Prayer for My Enemy at PH, The Norman Conquests), Reyna de Courcy (Burning), Tony Award and Obie Award winner Shuler Hensley (Oklahoma!, Sweet and Sad, Young Frankenstein), Tasha Lawrence (Wilder, Wilder, Wilder; Good People) and Cory Michael Smith (The Shaggs at PH, the current Cock).

On the outskirts of Mormon Country, Idaho, a six-hundred pound recluse (Mr. Hensley) hides away in his apartment eating himself to death. Desperate to reconnect with his long-estranged daughter (Ms. de Courcy), he reaches out to her, only to find a viciously sharp-tongued and wildly unhappy teen. Big-hearted and fiercely funny, THE WHALE tells the story of a man's last chance at redemption, and of finding beauty in the most unexpected places.

Writing in The Denver Post on the World Premiere of THE WHALE at Denver Center Theatre in January, Ray Mark Rinaldi called it, "A rich night of theater. Very much a play of today and audiences ready to engage the times should understand its rewards."

The production features scenic design by Mimi Lien, costume design by Jessica Pabst, lighting design by Jane Cox and sound design by Fitz Patton. Production Stage Manager is Alaina Taylor.

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.

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).

One additional Membership package to Playwrights Horizons' 2012/2013 season is now available: 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 exclusive mailings of Playwrights Horizons Bulletins. Packages are available at www.TicketCentral.com.

Playwrights Horizons' season productions are generously supported in part by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Playwrights Horizons is supported in part by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. In addition, Playwrights Horizons receives major support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation.

Currently playing on Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theatre (now through October 7, with two additional weeks added October 16-28), is the theater company's highly-acclaimed, sold out production of DETROIT, the New York premiere of a new play by Pulitzer Prize finalist and Obie Award winner Lisa D'Amour, directed by Obie Award winner Anne Kauffman and featuring two-time Tony Award winner John Cullum, Darren Pettie, Oscar and two-time Tony Award nominee Amy Ryan, Emmy Award nominee David Schwimmer and Drama Desk Award nominee Sarah Sokolovic. Following DETROIT and THE WHALE, Playwrights Horizons' 2012/2013 season will continue with THE GREAT GOD PAN, the World Premiere of a new play by Amy Herzog, directed by Carolyn Cantor and featuring Becky Ann Baker, Tony Award nominee Peter Friedman, Sarah Goldberg, Keith Nobbs, Jeremy Strong, Joyce Van Patten and Erin Wilhelmi; THE FLICK, the World Premiere of a new play by Obie Award winner Annie Baker, directed by Obie Award winner Sam Gold; THE CALL, the World Premiere of a new play by Tanya Barfield, directed by Obie Award winner Leigh Silverman; and FAR FROM HEAVEN, the World Premiere of a new musical featuring a book by Tony Award winner & two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Richard Greenberg, music by Tony Award nominee Scott Frankel, lyrics by Tony Award nominee Michael Korie and directed by three-time Tony Award nominee Michael Greif, featuring four-time Tony Award nominee Kelli O'Hara. THE MUSICAL is based on the Focus Features / Vulcan Productions motion picture Far From Heaven, written and directed by Todd Haynes.

For membership and ticket information to all Playwrights Horizons productions, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200, Noon to 8 pm daily, or purchase online at www.TicketCentral.com.