Primary Stages' THE TRIBUTE ARTIST Extends Through March 30th

Primary Stages, Daryl Roth, and Ted Snowdon in association with Jamie deRoy has announced a two week extension for The Tribute Artist, a new world premiere comedy written by and starring Tony-nominee Charles Busch (The Divine Sister, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Olive and the Bitter Herbs). Extended through March 30 at Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters, the production is directed by Busch's long-time collaborator Carl Andress (The Divine Sister, The Third Story), and features Mary Bacon (Harrison, TX...; Giant), Cynthia Harris (Lost in Yonkers, "Mad About You"), Julie Halston (Olive and the Bitter Herbs, Anything Goes) Keira Keeley (Angels in America, The Glass Menagerie), and Jonathan Walker (The Assembled Parties, The Divine Sister). The Tribute Artist features a scenic design by Anna Louizos, costume design by Gregory Gale, lighting design by Kirk Bookman, sound design by Jill BC Du Boff, original music by Lewis Flinn, and wig design by Katherine Carr.

"We're thrilled with the response to The Tribute Artist from critics both and audiences alike," says Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director, Primary Stages. "It is always a delight to be working with the ever-resourceful, always surprising Charles Busch on a new play. The Tribute Artist is our third production and our second commission with Charles."

Primary Stages welcomes back their favorite farceur Charles Busch, the author of Primary Stages' hits You Should Be So Lucky and Olive and the Bitter Herbs, and Broadway's The Tale of the Allergist's Wife. This new comedyfeatures Mr. Busch himself as an out-of-work female impersonator who, when his elderly landlady dies in her sleep, takes on her identity in order to hang on to her valuable Greenwich Village townhouse. This "perfect" plan goes awry and leads to a wild path of twists and reversals plotted by an eccentric rogues gallery of outrageous schemers. Expect Busch's signature blend of quick-witted banter and gender-bending hijinks in this new play written specifically for Primary Stages from the master of Off-Broadway farce.

LISTINGS INFORMATION: The Tribute Artist has extended its limited engagement at Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street) through March 30. Performances are Tuesday-Thursday at 7pm, Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm & 8pm, and Sunday at 3pm. There will be a special Wednesday matinee at 2pm on Wednesday, February 19. There is no performance on March 5 and March 12. Single tickets are priced at $70 for all performances. Tickets may be purchased by calling Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200, online at www.primarystages.org, or in person at the 59E59 Theaters Box Office. Group Tickets (10+) are $49 each for all performances. Group sales are available by calling (212) 840-9705, ext. 204. Visit the website at www.primarystages.org, or call (212) 840-9705 for additional information.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

CHARLES BUSCH (Playwright/Jimmy) is the author and star of such plays as The Divine Sister, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, and The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, which ran for nearly two years on Broadway and received a Tony nomination for Best Play. He wrote and starred in the film versions of his plays, Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommie Die, the latter of which won him the Best Performance Award at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2003, Mr. Busch received a special Drama Desk Award for career achievement as both performer and playwright. He is also the subject of the acclaimed documentary film The Lady in Question is Charles Busch. Mr. Busch's history with Primary Stages includes the world premieres of his plays You Should Be So Lucky and Olive and the Bitter Herbs.

CARL ANDRESS (Director) Directing credits include: The Divine Sister (Soho Playhouse); Die Mommie Die! (New World Stages); The Third Story (MCC Theater, La Jolla Playhouse); Shanghai Moon (Drama Dept., Bay Street Theater); Judith of Bethulia (Theater for the New City); Bunnicula (TheaterWorks USA); The Cartells (Drama Dept.); The Tale of the Allergist's Wife (Paper Mill Playhouse; Coconut Grove Playhouse); Crush the Infamous Thing (Coconut Grove Playhouse); Rum & Coke (Abingdon Theater Co.); Queen Amarantha (WPA Theater); Times Square Angel (Theater for the New City); Being Comden & Green (Lyrics & Lyricists - 92nd St. Y); Harold & Maude, I Love My Wife, The Mad Show and in 2014 Tenderloin (all for "Musicals in Mufti" - York Theater Co.); numerous galas and special events, including The Valley of the Dolls (Actors Fund); Charles Busch & Julie Halston Together on Broadway (Music Box Theater); the New York concert premieres of Kander, Ebb and McNally's The Visit, (Ambassador Theater) and Harnick and Raposo's A Wonderful Life (Shubert Theater). Carl is also the co-writer and costar of the independent feature, "A Very Serious Person" (Tribeca Film Festival).

MARY BACON (Christina) Broadway: Rock N' Roll, Arcadia. Theatre: Giant (Public Theatre), Harrison TX (Primary Stages), Becky Shaw (Second Stage), Eccentricities of A Nightingale (TACT/Clurman), Just Like Us (Denver Center), Children (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Misalliance (Old Globe), Triumph of Love (Long Wharf). TV/Film: Mildred Pierce, The Good Wife, Law & Order: SVU.

CYNTHIA HARRIS (Adriana) NY Select Theatre: Lost in Yonkers; Bad Habits; The Cocktail Party; Company; Merry Wives of Windsor (NY Shakespeare). Film: The Distinguished Gentleman; Three Men and a Baby; Isadora. TV: Now and Again; Mad About You (Series Regular); Rescue Me; Law & Order; Edward and Mrs. Simpson (BAFTA nom.); An American Daughter. Co-Artistic Director/Founding Member of TACT.

JULIE HALSTON (Rita) Recent Credits: The Guardsman at The Kennedy Center, The Divine Sister (Drama Desk nomination), and numerous Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. Television: Series Regular on The Class, Bitsy Von Muffling on Sex and The City. Miss Halston has won numerous comedy awards and is seen in Chris Rock's upcoming new film.

KEIRA KEELEY (Oliver/Rachel) Off-Broadway: Angels in America, Part 1 & Part 2, Signature Theatre; The Glass Menagerie, Roundabout Theatre (Theatre World Award); How To Make Friends And Then Kill Them, Rattlestick; The Thugs, SoHo Rep. Regional: Proof, Curse of the Starving Class, The Crucible, F2M, Lieutenant of Inishmore. Television: Rubicon. Education: Rollins College. www.keirakeeley.com

JONATHAN WALKER (Rodney) Broadway: The Assembled Parties, 20th Century, After The Fall. Off-Bway: World Premieres of plays by Richard Greenberg, Donald Margulies, Wendy McCloud, Doug Wright, James Lapine, Peter Parnell, Charles Busch. Film: Man On A Ledge, Michael Clayton, People I Know, Heights, Far From Heaven. TV: "Elementary," "The Good Wife," "The Big C," "Sex and the City," "Chapelle's Show," lots of "Law and Order." Recurring roles - "Zero Hour," "The Carrie Diaries."

PRIMARY STAGES is an Off-Broadway theater company dedicated to inspiring, supporting, and sharing the art of playwriting. We operate on the strongly held belief that the future of American theater relies on nurturing playwrights and giving them the artistic support needed to create new work. Since our founding in 1984, we have produced more than 120 new plays, including Donald Margulies' The Model Apartment (1994 New York premiere and current season hit), David Ives' All in the Timing (both the original 1993 production and 2013 revival); Kate Fodor's Rx; Charles Busch's Olive and the Bitter Herbs and You Should Be So Lucky; A.R. Gurney's Black Tie; Horton Foote's Harrison, TX and Dividing the Estate (Two 2009 Tony Awardnominations); Brooke Berman's Hunting and Gathering (one of New York Magazine's Top TenPlays of 2008); Terrence McNally's Dedication or the Stuff of Dreams (starring Nathan Lane andMarian Seldes) and The Stendhal Syndrome (featuring Isabella Rossellini and RichardThomas); Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter's In the Continuum (which went on to tour the U.S., Africa, and Scotland); and Conor McPherson's St. Nicholas (which marked the playwright's U.S. debut). In 2008, Primary Stages was honored with the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work, which encompasses much more than the plays we produce for the stage. Primary Stages supports playwrights and develops new works through commissions, workshops, readings, and our education and training programs: The Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, the Marvin and Anne Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA), and the Fordham/Primary Stages MFA in Playwriting. Through these programs, Primary Stages advocates for our artists, helping them make important-and often transformative-connections within the theater community.

Pictured: Julie Halston, Cynthia Harris, and Charles Busch in the Primary Stages production of The Tribute Artist © 2014 James Leynse.

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