Sam Waterston to Host ERS Benefit Performance of MEASURE FOR MEASURE at The Public

Elevator Repair Service announced that on September 26, 2017 Sam Waterston will co-host a celebration to benefit the non-profit theater company.

The evening features a preview performance of their new co-production with The Public Theater, Measure for Measure, and is followed by a reception at the home of ERS board member and theater producer Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz.

Measure for Measure is directed by ERS founding Artistic Director, John Collins, and features a company of ERS veterans, including Scott Shepherd (the Duke; The Wooster Group, Jason Bourne; Norman; Bridge of Spies; upcoming: X-Men: Dark Phoenix), Rinne Groff (Isabella; her play Fire in Dreamland is upcoming at the Public) and Pete Simpson (Angelo; 2017 Obie winner for Sustained Excellence of Performance). The complete cast includes Lindsay Hockaday (Pompey, Juliet); Maggie Hoffman (Provost): Mike Iveson (Lucio); Vin Knight (Escalus); April Matthis (Francisca); Gavin Price (Froth, Friar, Boy, Barnardine, Messenger); Greig Sargeant (Claudio); and Susie Sokol (Mistress Overdone, Elbow/Abhorson,Varrius). The creative team is: Jim Findlay (sets); Kaye Voyce (costumes); Mark Barton and Ryan Seelig (lights); Gavin Price (sound); Eva von Schweinitz (projections); Amanda Villalobos (specialty and prop design) and it is produced by Ariana Smart Truman.

With athletic theatricality and Marx-Brothers-inspired slapstick, the ERS ensemble brings exciting new life to this story of impossible moral choices in 17th-century Vienna. Radical experiments with speed set the play's combination of the comically absurd and the tragically serious in stark relief, and deliver a remarkable new show that marries the company's unique performance style with the Bard's exquisitely lyrical language

The announced six-week run has already been extended to November 5th. Due to extremely limited ticket availability the benefit is one of the few performances with tickets still on sale. On the occasion of the benefit performance, an intimate reception with the evening's hosts, the ERS Board of Directors, and the Measure for Measure company will follow the performance in the beautiful loft home of longtime ERS Board member Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz.

Under the direction of founding Artistic Director John Collins, ERS is known for creating original works of theater with an ongoing ensemble. Gatz, their verbatim staging of The Great Gatsby, was called "the most remarkable achievement in theater of this decade" by The New York Times. It garnered international acclaim, enjoying over 20 engagements world-wide, including at the Sydney Opera House, London's West End, the A.R.T. in Cambridge, and two sold-out runs at New York's The Public Theater. Over 25 years, the company has created 16 full-length works for theater. They recently celebrated their 25th anniversary with a star-studded gala hosted by Stephen Colbert, featuring remarks by The Public Theater's Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis, and performances by Steve Martin and the extended ERS company.

Measure for Measure is a co-production of Elevator Repair Service and The Public Theater, and was originally commissioned by The Public Theater, Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director and Patrick Willingham, Executive Director. Measure for Measure was developed in residencies at New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn, in collaboration with The Public Theater; PlayMakers Repertory Company, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Vivienne Benesch, Producing Artistic Director; and the Access Theater Residency Program.

Elevator Repair Service is a New York City-based ensemble that has been making original theater since 1991, under the direction of Artistic Director John Collins. The company has achieved national and international recognition with its extensive body of work, and has influenced a generation of theater-makers. The company's works have been presented in Europe, Australia, Asia, South America, and across the United States. The company has been recognized with many awards, including an Obie Award for Sustained Excellence, a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grant, and a Lucille Lortel Award and an Elliot Norton Award for Gatz. Next up for the company is the world premiere of Everyone's Fine with Virginia Woolf a new play written for the company by ensemble-member and acclaimed author Kate Scelsa. Coming to Abrons Arts Center in June 2018, tickets go on sale in September. For more information visit elevator.org.

The Public Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, is the only theater in New York that produces Shakespeare, the classics, musicals, contemporary and experimental pieces in equal measure. In over 10 years at The Public, Eustis has created new community-based initiatives designed to engage audiences like Public Lab, Public Studio, Public Forum, Public Works, and a remount of the Mobile Unit. The Public continues the work of its visionary founder, Joe Papp, by acting as an advocate for the theater as an essential cultural force, and by leading and framing dialogue on some of the most important issues of our day. Creating theater for one of the largest and most diverse audience bases in New York City for nearly 60 years, today the Company engages audiences in a variety of venues-including its landmark downtown home at Astor Place, which houses five theaters and Joe's Pub; the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, home to Free Shakespeare in the Park; and the Mobile Unit, which tours productions for underserved audiences throughout New York City's five boroughs. The Public's wide range of programming includes Free Shakespeare in the Park, the bedrock of the Company's dedication to making theater accessible to all; Public Works, an expanding initiative that is designed to cultivate new connections and new models of engagement with artists, audiences, and the community each year; and audience and artist development initiatives that range from the Emerging Writers Group to the Public Forum series. The Public's work is also seen on tour throughout the U.S. and internationally and in collaborations and co-productions with regional and international theaters. The Public is located on property owned by the City of New York and receives annual support from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. In October 2012 the landmark building downtown at Astor Place was revitalized to physically manifest the Company's core mission of sparking new dialogues and increasing accessibility for artists and audiences, by dramatically opening up the building to the street and community, and transforming the lobby into a public piazza for artists, students, and audiences. The Public is currently represented on Broadway by the Tony Award-winning acclaimed American musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The Public has received 59 Tony Awards, 168 Obie Awards, 53 Drama Desk Awards, 54 Lortel Awards, 32 Outer Critics Circle Awards, 13 New York Drama Critics Awards, and six Pulitzer Prizes. Go to www.publictheater.org.

Sam Waterston was born in 1940 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where his father was a language teacher and his mother was a painter. He attended preparatory schools Brooks and Groton before earning a scholarship to Yale University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1962. Later that year, Waterston made his New York debut at the Phoenix Theater in Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad. Waterston's career goes on to include a plethora of film and television credits as well as repeated returns to the stage. His trophy case includes television awards such as the Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards and theater awards like the OBIE and Drama Desk. Other accolades include an Academy Award nomination for his role as journalist Sydney Schanberg in 1984's "The Killing Fields" and six Emmy Award nominations for his roles in "I'll Fly Away" and "Law & Order." Today, you can catch Sam's outstanding performance in the Emmy-nominated Netflix Original series "Grace and Frankie" As a member of the boards of The Public Theater, Oceana, and, for over 25 years, of Refugees International, Waterston gives time, talent and resources to these organizations in support of their vital programming and missions.

Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz graduated from Yale University (BA, JD), where he directed many plays. After college, he worked as literary manager of Atlantic Theater Company and assisted David Mamet on the off-Broadway productions of OLEANNA and Ricky Jay AND HIS 52 ASSISTANTS. On Broadway, he produced Mamet's SPEED-THE-PLOW and RACE, as well as Tom Stoppard's ARCADIA. Most recently, at the Public, he co-produced THE SOUND AND THE FURY, by Elevator Repair Service (and he also serves on the Board of Directors of ERS). By day, he is a Professor of Law at Georgetown and a Senior Fellow in Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute.

IF YOU GO:
Elevator Repair Service Benefit Performance of Measure for Measure
Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at 7:00 PM
At The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012
After-party at private home, location to be released
Tickets: $250, $500, $1,000
Purchase: www.elevator.org/m4mbenefit-tickets | 212-254-3137 | events@elevator.org

Proceeds from the event will support ERS in the development of new plays, the remounting of works from the repertoire, and educational programs. Elevator Repair Service Theater is recognized under the Internal Revenue Service Code 501 (c)(3) as a not-for-profit organization, and therefore in-kind contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

Elevator Repair Service Board of Directors: Doug Curtis (Chair), Steve Bodow (Vice Chair), Zoe E. Rotter (Vice Chair), Lucy Mallett (Treasurer), John Collins (President), R. Clay Ballard, Kenneth Cera, David Gilbert, Mindy Goldberg, Fritz Michel, Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz, Greig Sargeant, Bill Stasiulatis, Anne Stringfield, and Robert A. Wilson, Jr.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride