Playwrights Horizons Opens Online Lottery For 1st Preview Of Lindsey Ferrentino's THIS FLAT EARTH

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) begins accepting entries today, Monday, March 5, for the LIVE for FIVE online lottery for $5 tickets to the world premiere of This Flat Earth, a new play by Lindsey Ferrentino (Ugly Lies the Bone, the current Amy and the Orphans). Directed by Tony Award winner Rebecca Taichman (Familiar, Stage Kiss, Milk Like Sugar at Playwrights; Indecent), the play is the fourth production of the theater company's 2017/2018 Season.

The LIVE for FIVE lottery for This Flat Earth will be for tickets to the first preview on Friday evening, March 16 at 8PM at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street). The production has an Opening Night set for Monday, April 9 at 7PM and will play a limited engagement through Sunday, April 29.

Celebrating over a decade, LIVE for FIVE was created by Playwrights Horizons in 2007 as part of their Arts Access program to reach out to those who may not be able to afford the cost of a full-price theater ticket. The ticketing initiative 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). Since its inception, over 2,000 theatergoers have been able to attend the theater thanks to the LIVE for FIVE initiative.

Details for the LIVE for FIVE lottery are as follows: beginning today, Monday, March 5 at 12 Noon, theatergoers can enter the lottery by filling out an entry form at www.phnyc.org/L45. Entries will be accepted until Thursday, March 8 at 12 Noon. Winners of the lottery will be notified via email no later than 3PM on Thursday, March 8 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 Friday, March 9 on a first-come, first-served basis. One or two tickets may be purchased by winners for $5 each.

The cast of This Flat Earth features Drama Desk and Theatre World awards winner Cassie Beck (The Whale, Prayer for My Enemy, The Drunken City at Playwrights; The Humans), Ella Kennedy Davis (Matilda, Mary Poppins, "Blue Bloods"), Theatre World Award winner Lynda Gravátt (Miss Witherspoon at Playwrights, Skeleton Crew, King Hedley II, The Old Settler), Lucas Papaelias (Essential Self-Defense at Playwrights including Drama Desk nomination for Original Music in a Play, Once, the film School of Rock) and Ian Saint-Germain (Tamburlaine at TFANA, "The Americans"). The production also features Grammy-nominated cellist Christine H. Kim.

At a middle school in this seaside town, the unthinkable has happened, placing a bewildered community in the national spotlight. Stuck at home in a state of shocked limbo, Julie (Ms. Davis) and Zander (Mr. Saint-Germain), two thirteen-year-olds, try to make sense of the chaos they witnessed, their awkward crushes and an infinitely more complicated future - but the grown-ups are no help at all. An urgent response to our times, This Flat Earth is a startling and deeply felt story of growing up in our confounding world.

The production features scenic design by Dane Laffrey, costume design by Tony Award winner Paloma Young, lighting design by two-time Tony Award and three-time Drama Desk Award winner Christopher Akerlind and sound design by Mikhail Fiksel. Music Director is Christian Frederickson. Production Stage Manager is Cole P. Bonenberger.

The performance schedule for This Flat Earth is Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7PM, Thursdays and Fridays at 8PM, Saturdays at 2:30 & 8PM and Sundays at 2:30 & 7:30 PM. Single tickets, $39-$89, may be purchased online via www.phnyc.org, 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).

Also reflecting Playwrights Horizons' ongoing commitment to making its productions more affordable to younger audiences, the theater company will offer HOTtix, $30 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.

LIVE for FIVE and HOTtix are two 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.

Following This Flat Earth, the Playwrights Horizons 2017/2018 Season will continue with DANCE NATION, the world premiere of a new Susan Smith Blackburn Prize-winning play by Obie Award winner Clare Barron, directed and choreographed by Obie Award winner Lee Sunday Evans (April 2018); and conclude with LOG CABIN, the world premiere of a new play by Pulitzer Prize finalist Jordan Harrison, directed by Tony Award and Obie Award winner Pam MacKinnon, featuring Jesse Tyler Ferguson (June 2018).

Flex Passes (customizable bundle, $220+) and Memberships ($45 to join, $25 preview tickets) are also now on sale. Packages are available at www.phnyc.org .

Patron Program Memberships begin at $1,800 (all but $550 is tax-deductible) and include two reserved house seats and personalized concierge service to all six Playwrights Horizons productions, as well as a variety of exclusive benefits including invitations to attend special events with artists, staff and board members. Complete benefits list at www.phnyc.org.

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 with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature 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, the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation and the Time Warner Foundation.