The Pearl Stages NO EXIT, Now thru 3/30

The Pearl Theatre Company continues its 30th anniversary season-the second season in its new home on West 42nd Street-with a new production of No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre, adapted from the French by Paul Bowles. Linda Ames Key, making her Pearl debut, directs this touchstone of French existentialism in its first Off-Broadway production in over 15 years. The cast includes Pearl Resident Acting Company (RAC) member Jolly Abraham as Inez and Pearl RAC member Branford Cover as Cradeau along with Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris as Estelle and Pete McGilligot as Valet.

Performances of No Exit will take place today, February 25-March 30 (see schedule above) at The Pearl Theatre. Critics are welcome as of Tuesday, March 4 for an official opening of Sunday, March 9 at 7pm. The Pearl Theatre is located at 555 West 42nd Street in New York City. Tickets are $65 ($50 previews, $35 seniors, $20 student rush, $20 Thursday rush) and can be purchased by visiting pearltheatre.org or calling 212.563.9261.

Written in 1944, three months before Paris would be liberated from German occupation, Sartre's darkly comic masterpiece centers on three strangers who find themselves thrown together in hell. Damned to spend eternity in one another's company, the characters can only see themselves through one another's eyes. Their curiosity quickly turns cruel.

The creative team for No Exit includes Harry Feiner (Sets), Devon Painter (Costumes), Ann Wrightson (Lighting), Jane Shaw (Sound), Kate Farrington (Dramaturg) and April Ann Kline (Production Stage Manager).

About the Artists:

Linda Ames Key (director) is the Education Director of Vital Theatre Company. She was recently named a Fulbright Specialist and traveled to Rwanda to work with Drama Education teachers at the Kigali Institute of Education to create a devised piece called The Last Town on Earth. Directing credits include They'll Miss You... by Suzanne Bradbeer, Anton in Show Business by Jane Martin, Three Days of Rain by Richard Greenberg, The Laramie Project and The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later with Dreamcatcher Rep; 365 Plays/365 Days by Suzan Lori Parks for Gansfeld at Public Theater; Embracing Freedom by Nick Van Hoogstraten, Remember the Dream by Carla Cantrelle for the Ellis Island Foundation; Lone Star Grace and Rita Faye Pruitte by Suzanne Bradbeer for Six Figures Theatre Company; Alison's House and Of Sleep and Shadow at the Mint Theatre Company. Ames Key holds a MA in Applied Theatre from CUNY School for Professional Studies; BS in Performance Studies from Northwestern University; and a NYU Arts Administration Certificate.

Jolly Abraham (Inez) has been a Pearl Resident Acting Company member since 2008. Broadway credits include Coram Boy and Bombay Dreams. Favorites at The Pearl include Hamlet, Hard Times, and The Bald Soprano. Her off-Broadway credits include Twelfth Night (Sonnet Rep), The Grecian Formula (NYC Fringe Festival 2008), McReele (Roundabout). Regional: Scorched (Wilma Theater, Barrymore Nomination), Vaidehi (Chautauqua), Loves Labours Lost (The Shakespeare Theatre DC and RSC), and Pentecost (Old Globe). Three seasons at Lincoln Center Directors Lab. Abraham holds a BFA from The North Carolina School of the Arts.

Bradford Cover (Garcin) has been a Pearl Resident Company member since 1994. Broadway credits include A Thousand Clowns. His off-Broadway credits include Love Goes to Press (The Mint) Return of the Prodigal (The Mint) The Man of Destiny (Project Shaw) Waxing West (Lark Play Development Center) The Actors Company Theatre. Regional credits include The Human Race Theatre, Two River Theater, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Cleveland Play House, Vermont Stage Co., McCarter Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, New London Barn, Berkshire Theatre Festival, St. Michael's Playhouse, Texas Shakespeare Festival. Co-Founder and Associate Artistic Director of Bowman Ensemble.

Sameerah Luqmann-Harris (Estelle) is making her Pearl debut with No Exit. Her off-Broadway credits include A Mind-Bending Evening of Beckett (Irish Repertory Theatre), The Emperor Jones (Irish Repertory Theatre; Soho Playhouse) and ReEntry (Urban Stages). Additional New York credits include Lady Percy (The Public Theater/Shakespeare Lab 2012), Fefu and Her Friends (Culture Project) and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. Regional credits include Mary T. & Lizzy K. (World Premiere/Arena Stage), ReEntry (Actors Theatre of Louisville; Baltimore Center Stage) and Doubt (Asolo Repertory Theatre; Cape May Stage).

About The Pearl Theatre Company: Founded in 1984 by a small troupe of artists in Chelsea, The Pearl has grown into a renowned Off-Broadway company. The Pearl connects audiences to timeless classic plays, while providing an artistic home to theatre professionals, especially its core company of resident actors. As New York's only classical resident company, The Pearl has produced a body of work encompassing the full breadth of theatre history, from ancient Greek tragedy to contemporary works rooted in the classics. The Pearl has garnered numerous awards, including most recently, a special 2011 Drama Desk Award for "notable productions of classic plays and nurturing a stalwart resident company of actors." In October 2012, The Pearl celebrated the opening its first permanent home, located at 555 West 42nd Street.

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