The Flea Announces 2009-2010 Season: Tough Plays for Tough Times Featuring New Work By Will Eno, Itamar Moses & More

Jim Simpson, Artistic Director and Carol Ostrow, Producing Director announce the line up for The Flea Theater's Fourteenth Season.

Says Simpson "In choosing a season we aim for a balance between planning and spontaneity that allows us to continue producing work that reflects and responds to the world around us." Adds Ostrow, "In the fall of 2009 we will produce just such a work-- we have commissioned six gifted writers to create ten-minute plays that explore the impact of the economic crisis on their generation. The evening, presented under the title The Great Recession will feature new work by Thomas Bradshaw, Sheila Callaghan, Erin Courtney, Will Eno, Itamar Moses and Adam Rapp-- all writers recently nurtured by The Flea. The plays will be performed by The Bats, and each writer is creating their piece especially for the talents of our company." The show begins previews November 20th, opening night is December 10th, and the show runs through December 30th.

First up, however, is another World Premiere. The Oldsmobiles, a one-act by political pundit Roger Rosenblatt will open in early October. Previously, The Flea produced the World Premiere of Rosenblatt's Ashley Montana Goes Ashore in the Caicos...starring Bebe Neuwirth and Jeffrey DeMunn. Perched on top of the Manhattan Bridge, Mr. and Mrs. Oldsmobile, a couple who are aging but not yet old, who are still in great shape contemplate what's left to come and if it is worth living for. Previews are scheduled to begin October 1st, opening night is October 17th at 7pm, and the show runs through November 14th.

In January 2010, The Flea plays host to The Best of Edinburgh. We welcome the winner of The Carol Tambor Award for best new play which will be selected this August in Edinburgh. To be eligible for this award a show must have received a four or five star rating in The Scotsman. The Flea is delighted to be chosen as the venue this season. The show will begin performances during the week of January 4th and run through January 31st.

The centerpiece of our spring season shows The Flea at its audacious and eclectic best with The Vultures, written in 1882 by iconoclast playwright Henri Becque. Brilliantly exposing everything from human avarice to institutional fraud, the play is incredibly timely. It calls for a cast of 16 and will be directed by Simpson. The Vultures will be performed in repertory in two parts, for 6 weeks by a combination of emerging actors chosen from The Bats and established names. The Vultures Part One begins previews February 25th. The Vultures Part Two begins previews February 26th. Opening for both shows is February 28th, and the plays run in repertory through March 27th.

Last up will be a production of The Parents' Evening by Bathsheba Doran. Ms. Doran plays include, among others, Fifteen Minutes, Odes and Gameshows, The War Play and Feminine Wash. She has been produced at the Edinburgh Festival, The Atlantic Theatre in New York City, The Old Vic Theatre and the Drury Lane in London and the play was a part of the Mentors Project series at the Cherry Lane Theatre in 2003. In The Parents' Evening, Mother and Father confront conflicted views about parenting and the boundaries of love. The play begins previews April 16th, opens May 6th and runs through June 12th.

Throughout the season The Flea will continue to present its free and ongoing music and dance series - Music With A View and Dance Conversations. As always, there are sure to be some surprises Downstairs @ The Flea, the theater's 40-seat late-night venue.

The Flea Theater, under Artistic Director Jim Simpson and Producing Director Carol Ostrow, is one of New York's leading off-off-Broadway companies. Winner of a Special Drama Desk Award for outstanding achievement, Obie Awards and an Otto for political theater, The Flea has presented over 80 plays and numerous dance and live music performances since its inception in 1996. Past productions include Anne Nelson's The Guys, A.R. Gurney's O Jerusalem, Screenplay, Mrs. Farnsworth, Post Mortem and A Light Lunch, Roger Rosenblatt's Ashley Montana Goes Ashore..., Kate Robin's The Light Outside, Elizabeth Swados' JABU and Kaspar Hauser, Talking Band's The Parrot, Karen Finley's Return of the Chocolate Smeared Woman, Glyn O'Malley's A Heartbeat to Baghdad, Yussef El Guindi's Back of the Throat, Julian Sheppard's Los Angeles, Adam Rapp's Bingo with the Indians, Will Eno's Oh, The Humanity and other exclamations, Beau Willimon's Lower Ninth, a revival of CATO by Joseph Addison, Dawn by Thomas Bradshaw, and the World Premiere production of Love/Stories or But You Will Get Used to It by Itamar Moses.

The Flea is located at 41 White Street between Church and Broadway, three blocks south of Canal, close to the 1, N, R, Q, W, 6, A, C and E subway lines. Tickets are available at 212-352-3101 or www.theflea.org.

Photo credit Walter McBride

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