South Ark Stage Presents World Premiere of Kesselman's THE BLACK MONK with Austin Pendleton

South Ark Stage (Rhoda Herrick, Producing Artistic Director) has announced that it will present the world  premiere of the new chamber musical  The Black Monk, with book, lyrics and music by Wendy Kesselman.  Under the  direction of Kevin Newbury, the four-member cast features Austin Pendleton (pictured) as the Monk, Scott Robertson as Igor, Elon Rutberg as Andrei, and Sarah Ziegler as Tanya.  Performances begin Tuesday, November 25, 2008 for a limited run through Sunday, January 4, 2009 at The Samuel Beckett Theater  (410 West 42nd Street between 9th & 10th Avenues).   Opening night is set for Thursday, December 4, 2008 at 8:00 p.m.

A stunning new chamber musical inspired by Anton Chekhov's story, The Black Monk, follows the life of a gifted young artist Andrei.  After five years in Moscow, Andrei returns home to his adopted father Igor and childhood love Tanya.  As his talent blossoms, will Andrei be able to hold on to love, family, and his sanity or will the power of the mysterious Black Monk drive him into the unknown.

The creative team for The Black Monk includes Charlie Corcoran (Set), Jessica Jahn (Costumes), D.M. Wood (Lights), Christopher Berg (Music Director, Pianist, Arranger), and Arthur Cook (Cello).  The Production Stage Manager is Kate McDoniel.

The Black Monk will play the following performance schedule: Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m., Wednesdays through Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 3:00 p.m.

Single tickets for The Black Monk are priced at $47.50 and may be purchased by calling Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200, online at www.ticketcentral.com, or in person at the box office (410 West 42nd Street between 9th & 10th Avenues.

Wendy Kesselman (Book, Lyrics, Music). Her new adaptation of The Diary Of Anne Frank received a Tony Award Nomination and was produced on Broadway. Her plays include My Sister In This House; The Notebook; The Executioner's Daughter; The Foggy Foggy Dew; The Last Bridge; I Love You, I Love You Not; The Juniper Tree, A Tragic Household Tale (Book, Music And Lyrics); Maggie Magalita; Merry-Go-Round; Becca (Book, Music and Lyrics); and A Tale Of Two Cities (Book, Music and Lyrics). A member of the Dramatists Guild, she is the recipient of the New England Theatre Conference Major Award for Outstanding Creative Achievement in the American Theatre, the AT&T Onstage Award, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the first annual Playbill Award, the Roger L. Stevens Award, the Jane Chambers Playwriting Award, the Lecomte du Noüy Annual Award, a Massachusetts Cultural Council Grant, and a Guggenheim, McKnight, and two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships. Ms. Kesselman's screenplays include Sister My Sister (adapted from My Sister In This House), directed by Nancy Meckler, with Joely Richardson, Julie Walters and Jodhi May; I Love You, I Love You Not (adapted from her play of the same name), directed by Billy Hopkins, with Jeanne Moreau, Claire Danes and Jude Law; and Mad Or In Love for Fox 2000. She won a Writers Guild of America (WGA) award for her screen adaptation of John Knowles' A Separate Peace, directed by Peter Yates.

Austin Pendleton (Monk) began his association with the New York musical theatre scene in the original cast of Fiddler on the Roof as Motel the Tailor. This was followed by an Off-Broadway run in the title role of The Last Sweet Days of Isaac by Gretchen Cryer and Nancy Ford, for 500 performances, for which he won several awards. Later Off- Broadway, he played Adam in Up From Paradise, the musical by Arthur Miller and Stanley Silverman based on the Book of Genesis, and then appeared as Harry in the musical What About Luv by Howard Marren, Susan Birkenhead and Jeffrey Sweet, based on the play Luv by Murray Schisgal. And still later he took over the role in Grand Hotel originated by Michael Jeter. Twice in the last three years he has sung with Alice Playten, Judy Kaye and David Green for the Warren (Ohio) Philharmonic, with Susan Davenny Wyner as musical director, in concerts devoted to theatre music. Mr. Pendleton apprenticed and acted and directed for many years at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and is a member of the Ensemble in Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre. His most recent appearances in New York have been Mother Courage, with Meryl Streep and Romeo and Juliet with Lauren Ambrose, both in Central Park, and at the Abingdon Theatre in Another Vermeer by Bruce Robinson.

Scott Robertson (Igor) celebrates 35 years on the New York stage. Broadway: Herr Schultz in Cabaret, Boys From Syracuse, Mayor, Grease, Pajama Game, Damn Yankees with Jerry Lewis (Broadway & London), and Annie 2 (Kennedy Center). Off-Broadway: The Glorious Ones, Hello, Muddah, Song of Singapore, Its Only A Play (MTC). Regional: Falsettos, All In The Timing, Foreigner (La Jolla), Merry Widow Canadian Opera. Films/TV: “Tenderness”, with Russel Crowe, “In And Out”, Heartbreak Hospital”, “Zelig”, “L&O”, “Trial By Jury”, “SVU”, “Spin City”, “Third Watch”, “Jamie Kennedy”. Writer/Performer: Bucknaked (produced by Manbites Dog Theatre on Theatre Row). CD: “Just One More Song” (cdbaby.com). Elon Rutberg (Andrei) NY credits include world premieres of Pulitzer Prize-nominee Steven Drukman's Fox Hollow (Linhart Theatre), Rainy Day People (2nd Ave Theater), and the NY Premiere of Charles Mee's Full Circle (Loewe Theatre). TV: FOX's "On the Lot." Also a writer, director, and musician, he won a 2005 Emmy Award for his work on the PBS "Great Performances" broadcast of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Passion. Training: NYU's Tisch School of the Arts/PHTS.

Sarah Ziegler (Tanya) is thrilled to make her NYC debut. Originally from upstate NY, Sarah attended Hamilton College (B.A. music and comparative literature, Phi Beta Kappa) and the Boston Conservatory (M.M. musical theater). Her recent credits include Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun (Millbrook Playhouse, PA), West Side Story (Boheme Opera NJ), Beguiled Again (Broward Stage Door Theater, FL) Rhetta in Pump Boys and Dinettes (Millbrook Playhouse), Phyllis in Iolanthe (The Boston Conservatory), and Ludmilla in Bed and Sofa (The Boston Conservatory).

Kevin Newbury (Director) Recent New York credits include Candy and Dorothy, The Second Tosca, Kiss and Cry, The Eumenides, concerts at Joe's Pub, Birdland, Ars Nova. Recent opera: Falstaff (Santa Fe Opera), Magic Flute (Houston Grand Opera, Opera Colorado), Figaro and Trovatore (Minnesote Opera). Upcoming: Bernstein: MASS (Baltimore, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center), Cenerentola (Glimmerglass), Eugene Onegin (Opera Theatre of St. Louis), Le Voyage Dans La Lune (Wexford Festival), Devereux, Bolena and Stuarda (Minnesota Opera) and the world premiere An Inspector from Rome (Wolf Trap and St. Louis).

South Ark Stage (Producer) was founded in 2007 by Producing/Artistic Director Rhoda Herrick to produce exciting new voices in the theatre as well as dynamic voices of the past. Previous productions include None of the Above (Lion Theatre, Theatre Row) and The Bully Pulpit (Samuel Beckett Theatre, Theatre Row). Now in its second season SAS will be producing Coyote On A Fence by Bruce Graham in March 2009. www.SouthArkStage.com Rhoda Herrick (Producer) Founder and Artistic/Producing Director of South Ark Stage, Ms. Herrick’s credits also include directing The Gardens of Frau Hess (Jewish Rep) as well as producing the following: Balm In Gilead, Distant Fires, You Should Be So Lucky, Hamlet Machine, Lusting After Pipino’s Wife and, in association with Playwrights Horizons, Sunday In The Park With George.

Photo Credit Linda Lenzi

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