Playwrights Horizons Now Accepting Lottery Entries to First BOOTYCANDY Preview

Playwrights Horizons is now accepting accepting entries for its popular LIVEforFIVE online lottery for up to two $5 tickets each to the New York premiere of Bootycandy, a new play written and directed by Obie Award winner Robert O'Hara (director of In the Continuum, author of Antebellum and Insurrection: Holding History). Bootycandy is the opening production of the Playwrights Horizons 2014/2015 Season

The LIVEforFIVE lottery for Bootycandy will be for tickets to the first preview on Friday evening, August 22 at 8PM at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street). The production has an Opening Night set for Wednesday, September 10 and will play a limited engagement through Sunday, October 12.

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.PHnyc.org).

Details for the LIVEforFIVE lottery are as follows: beginning today, theatergoers can enter the lottery by filling out an entry form at www.PHnyc.org. Entries will be accepted until Tuesday, August 19 at 12 Noon. Winners of the lottery will be notified via email no later than 3PM on Tuesday, August 19 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, August 20 on a first-come, first-served basis. One or two tickets may be purchased for $5 each.

The cast of Bootycandy features Phillip James Brannon (The City of Conversation, Belleville, Love and Information), three-time Helen Hayes Award nominee Jessica Frances Dukes (including for Mr. O'Hara's Insurrection: Holding History), Jesse Pennington (Rodney's Wife and Franny's Way at PH; Richard II), Audelco Award winner Benja Kay Thomas (Insurrection: Holding History, Unspeakable, Pearl's Gone Blue) and Lance Coadie Williams (New York debut).

Sutter (Phillip James Brannon) is on an outrageous odyssey through his childhood home, his church, dive bars, motel rooms and even nursing homes. A kaleidoscope of sketches that interconnect to portray growing up gay and black, Robert O'Hara's subversive, uproarious satire crashes headlong into the murky terrain of pain and pleasure and... Bootycandy.

The production features scenic and costume design by Clint Ramos, lighting design by two-time Tony Award nominee Japhy Weideman, sound design by Lindsay Jones, projection design by Aaron Rhyne and hair and make-up design by Dave Bova. Production Stage Manager is Marisa Levy.

The performance schedule for Bootycandy will be Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7PM, Thursdays and Fridays at 8PM, Saturdays at 2:30 PM & 8PM and Sundays at 2:30 PM & 7:30 PM. There's an added Monday evening performance on September 8 at 7PM and the Thursday evening, September 18 performance (a special performance for those age 30 and under) has an early 7PM curtain. Single tickets, $75-95, may be purchased online via www.TicketCentral.com, by phone at (212) 279-4200 (Noon-8pm daily) and in person at the Ticket Central Box Office, 416 West 42nd Street (between Ninth & Tenth Avenues).

Through the ticketing program launched last season, FIRST ROW SUNDAYS, Playwrights Horizons makes available front row tickets for all Sunday evening performances. Tickets, $25 each, will be available for those age 30 years and younger and can be purchased in advance online via www.TicketCentral.com, by phone at (212) 279-4200 (Noon-8pm daily), or in person at the Ticket Central Box Office, 416 West 42nd Street (between Ninth & Tenth Avenues). Tickets are limited to one per customer and are subject to availability. Purchased tickets for FIRST ROW SUNDAYS can be picked up one hour before curtain on the day of the performance, with proof of age required at the door.

Also reflecting Playwrights Horizons' ongoing commitment to making its productions more affordable to younger audiences, the theater company will offer 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. Cash only.

LIVEforFIVE, FIRST ROW SUNDAYS and HOTtix are three of Playwrights Horizons' popular Arts Access initiatives, which allow 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, McGraw Hill Financial and an Anonymous Individual Donor.