TOUCH, with ONCE's Katrina Lenk, Comes to 59E59 Theaters Tonight

59E59 Theaters welcomes Libra Theater Company with TOUCH, written by Toni Press-Coffman and directed by Nathaniel Shaw. TOUCH began performances on August 18 for a limited engagement through Sunday, September 4. Press opening is tonight, August 24 at 7:30 PM.

The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday and Saturday at 8:30 PM; and Sunday at 3:30 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $18 ($12.60 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or go to www.59e59.org.

A poignant play about the nature of love, loss, and humanity's overwhelming desire for a moment of connection by award-winning writer Toni Press-Coffman. During a chance meeting in a high school physics class, aspiring astronomer Kyle Kalke meets and falls in love with vivacious, flamboyant, and open-hearted Zoe. When a random act of violence rips her from him six years later, Kyle's life is sent into turmoil. Can Kyle move past grief to find a human connection that will allow him to love again?

TOUCH received its world premiere in 2000 at the Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville, and its NYC premiere at the Women's Project Theater in 2003, where it was called "a gripping, heart-wrenching, tender drama whose scenes shift seamlessly, character to character, past to present" by The New York Times.

The cast features Pete McElligott (Don Juan at the Pearl Theatre), Katrina Lenk (Once on Broadway), Emily Batsford (The Brightness of Heaven at the Cherry Lane Theater), and Amadeo Fusca (Daredevil on Netflix; Upright Citizens Brigade).

The design team includes Craig Napoliello (scenic design); Kristin Isola (costume design); Carl Wiemann (lighting design); and Julian Evans (sound design). The production stage manager is Sydney Golden.

Toni Press-Coffman (playwright) is the recipient of several national playwriting awards. Her play Touch has been produced at the Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville, and the Theatre of N.O.T.E. in Los Angeles, as well as other theaters throughout the United States and Europe. In 2000, Press-Coffman was awarded an NEA/TCG Playwright Residency Award. Additionally, she was one of 12 playwrights selected to participate in the 1995 Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference. Toni Press-Coffman has received fellowships and awards from the California Arts Council, the Arizona State Playwriting Contest, the Negro Ensemble Theatre Company, the Invisible Theatre, Wisconsin Women in the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Peninsula Community Foundation (which later merged with Community Foundation Silicon Valley to become the Silicon Valley Community Foundation), and the Shubert Foundation. She has a BA in Playwriting from UCLA and an MA in Theatre and Film from the University of Connecticut, and has taught Playwriting at several major universities. Toni Press-Coffman is Literary Coordinator of Borderlands Theatre in Tucson, where she lives, writes, teaches and acts. She is also a member of the Dramatists Guild and, as Literary Committee Chair, serves on the Executive Committee of the National New Play Network.

Nathaniel Shaw (director) is an Associate Choreographer for ONCE, supervising both the Broadway production and the First National Tour. He is also the Development Director for Glass Half Full Productions, Tony and Olivier Award Winning Producers of Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, The Mark Rylance Shakespeare Revivals and Sunny Afternoon amongst many others. He was the founder and Artistic Director of The Active Theater (www.theactivetheater.com). For Active, he directed the first New York City revival of The Violet Hour (INNOVATIVE THEATRE AWARD nomination for Best Revival), the World Premiere of Bridgeboy, and the World Premiere ofBody Language (4 MIDTOWN INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL nom's). He later remounted Body Language with Active, featuring Christian Campbell. Nathaniel's regional credits include the direction of Peter and the Starcatcher at Virginia Rep, the direction and choreography of South Pacific at West Virginia Public Theatre (starring Jessica Lee Goldyn), Hair and Hairpsray (a combined 20 NEW HAMPSHIRE THEATRE AWARD nom's including Best Production, Best Director, and Best Choreography for each), Legally Blonde, Damn Yankees (starring Jessica Lee Goldyn and Dirk Lumbard), Miracle on South Division Street, Grease, Stop the World I Want To Get Off, A Chorus Line and Spelling Bee. He has also choreographed The Wizard of Oz at Phoenix Theatre, Les Miserables, Fiddler on the Roof, Annie, Babes in Toyland, and The Tenement (BEST WORLD PREMIERE- azcentral.com), as well as the film Perception by Daedalus Productions. With Active, he oversaw the development of several plays, including In the Middle by MEGAN SASS, Timepiece by Ben Bartolone, River Ditty and Bridgeboy by Matthew Keuter, and Body Language by Jennie Contuzzi. Under his leadership the company collaborated with artists such as Tony nominees Marcia Milgrom Dodge and Xanthe Elbrick, Jeremy Dobrish, Michael McGlone, Marc Robin, ACME Sound, Bobby Pearce, and Paul Miller. Estelle Parsons, David Hyde Pierce, Austin Pendleton, Dee Hoty, Chuck Cooper, and Bobby Steggert all raised their voices in support of Active and its mission. Active produced in collaboration with Greg Schaffert (Peter and the Starcatcher), Craig Haffner and Karl Held (Ragtime), and Bud Martin (Time Stands Still). Upcoming projects include Directing West Side Story and A Chorus Line at Cortland Rep. He has been officially named the new Artistic Director of Virginia Repertory starting in October 2016.

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