THE LONG SHRIFT, Directed by James Franco, Opens Off-Broadway Tonight

The Off-Broadway production of The Long Shrift, written by Robert Boswell and directed by James Franco, opens tonight at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. The Long Shirt began previews on July 7th and will run through August 23rd. This play is James Franco's directing debut.

The Long Shrift tells the story of Richard Singer, who, as a dorky teenage boy, was accused of rape and thrown in jail, tearing his parents apart. Richard is released nine years later, and The Long Shrift follows what happens when his accuser reappears in his life.

Robert Boswell (Playwright) has published seven novels, three story collections, and two books of nonfiction. The Long Shrift is his second play. Tumbledown is his most recent novel. His work has earned him two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Iowa School of Letters Award for Fiction, a Lila Wallace/Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, the PEN West Award for Fiction, theJohn Gassner Prize for Playwriting, and the Evil Companions Award. The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards was a finalist for the 2010 PEN USA Award in Fiction. What Men Call Treasure was a finalist for the Western Writers of America Nonfiction Spur Award. Both the Chicago Tribune and Publisher's Weekly named Mystery Ride as one of the best books of the year. The London Independent picked The Geography of Desire as one of the best books of the year. Virtual Death was a finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award and was named by the Science Fiction Chronicle as one of the best novels of the year. Boswell has published more than 70 stories and essays. They have appeared in the New Yorker, Best American Short Stories, O. Henry Prize Stories, Pushcart Prize Stories, Esquire, Colorado Review, Epoch, Ploughshares, and many other magazines and anthologies. He teaches at the University of Houston, where he shares the Cullen Endowed Chair in Creative Writing with his wife, Antonya Nelson. He and his wife live in Houston, Texas, and Telluride, Colorado.

James Franco (Director) is an actor, director, screenwriter, producer, teacher and author. He began his career on "Freaks and Geeks" and received a Golden Globe Award for his performance in the biographical film James Dean. Notable film credits include Oz: The Great and Powerful, Spring Breakers, Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man trilogy, Milk, and 127 Hours, for which he received Academy Award, SAG and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor. He is currently starring Of Mice and Men on Broadway. He has directed, written and produced features and been published several times in magazines and his own books. He is currently teaching college courses at UCLA, USC and CalArts and acting classes at Studio 4.

The cast includes Allie Gallerani (My Children! My Africa!, "Elementary"), Scott Haze ("Child of God," "As I Lay Dying"), Brian Lally ("L.A. Confidential," "Funny People"), Ahna O'Reilly ("The Help," "How I Met Your Mother") and Ally Sheedy ("The Breakfast Club," "Psych").

The set design for The Long Shrift is by Andromache Chalfant; costume design is by Jessica Pabst; lighting design is by Burke Brown; sound design is by Bart Fasbender; properties master is Matt Frew; assistant properties master isJudy Merrick. The production manager is Eugenia Furneaux; the production stage manager is Andrew Slater; associate production manager is Jeremy Pape; the assistant stage manager is Taylor Alyssa Marun.

Individual tickets for The Long Shrift are now available. They can be purchased at www.rattlestick.org or by calling OvationTix at 866.811.4111.

Memberships for Rattlestick's 2014-2015 season are now available. They can be purchased at www.rattlestick.org or by calling OvationTix at 866.811.4111. Season Memberships are priced at $160. Memberships are also available exclusively for The Long Shrift and Phoenix. They are priced at $60. Rattlestick Playwrights Theater is located at 224 Waverly Pl (off Seventh Avenue South).