Suzanne Douglas, Mike Hodge Set for JULIUS BY DESIGN

JULIUS BY DESIGN -- a new play by Kara Lee Corthron, winner of the Paula Vogel Playwriting Award -- will be given its world-premiere production Off-Broadway this summer, presented by Fulcrum Theater with an opening set for Sunday, July 10 at the Access Theatre (380 Broadway) in Manhattan.

Directed by Debbie Saivetz, the cast of JULIUS BY DESIGN is comprised of Suzanne Douglas (Broadway: INTO THE WOODS, THE TAP DANCE KID, THE THREEPENNY OPERA), Mike Hodge (Broadway: KING HEADLEY, FENCES, A FEW GOOD MEN), Johnny Ramey (Helen Hayes Award Winner, Lead Actor, SUPERIOR DONUTS), Crystal Finn (FIVE GENOCIDES), ChristiAnna Nelson (BLOODY MARY) and Curran Connor (PIDGEON).

The following performances of JULIUS BY DESIGN are offered for review:
Thursday, July 7 at 8 pm
Friday, July 8 at 8 pm
Saturday, July 9 at 8 pm
Sunday, July 10 at 7 pm -- press opening night

In JULIUS BY DESIGN, Josephine and Laurel's dreams of their golden years
together have been shattered by the untimely and violent death of their
teenage son seven years earlier. Having attempted to mask the loss with a routine
comprised largely of crossword puzzles and squabbling, the arrival of a
letter on the anniversary of their son's death catches them off-guard,
prompting Jo to finally fill the enormous void in her life in any way she can.

JULIUS BY DESIGN is the first production of Fulcrum Theater, which supports
New York-based playwrights-of-color and strives for a theater that values
new writers and matches the demographic reality of New York City. In
addition to Ms. Corthron, Fulcrum's initial class of resident playwrights includes
Raul Castillo, Jorge Ignacio Cortinas and Cusi Cram.

Winner of the Vineyard Theatre's Paula Vogel Award for Playwriting, Kara
Lee Cothron is the author of the plays ETCHED IN SKIN ON A SUNLIT NIGHT, and
HOLLY DOWN IN HEAVEN, winner of the Princess Grace Award. She is the
recipient of the Helen Merrill Award, Lincoln Center's Lecomte du Prize, and
residencies at MacDowell. She is currently commissioned by South Coast Rep, New
Georges and Naked Angels. A Juilliard alumna, she is a resident playwright
with Fulcrum Theater.

Debbie Saivetz directed Sarah Ruhl's LATE: A COWBOY SONG for Clubbed Thumb,
OUR DAD IS IN ATLANTIS for Working Theater, Catherine Filloux's
PASSION.COM, THE NEXT CYCLE for Women's Project and Productions, and TORCH for New
Georges. Regional credits include a staged reading of Jorge Ignacio Cortinas'
BIRD IN HAND for Hartford Stage and Wallace Shawn's MARIE AND BRUCE for
Parallax Theatre in Chicago.

JULIUS BY DESIGN has scenic design by Mikiko Suzuki, costume design by
Jessica Gaffney and lighting design by Scott Bolman.

Fulcrum Theater's support of playwrights includes awarding them five-year
residencies during which they are given two full productions of their plays.
The company's mission statement notes, "We create a space for playwrights
to develop new work on their own terms, we foster solidarity and community
between playwrights by turning them into collaborators, we place the
playwright at the center of the company's decision-making process and we produce new
plays in top-notch productions." www.fulcrumtheater.org.

 

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