The Public Slates Talk Backs, Speakers and More for New Musical SOUTHERN COMFORT

A friendly reminder! The Public Theater will begin previews for the new musical Southern Comfort, the true story of a group of transgender friends living life on their own terms in the back hills of rural Georgia, on Tuesday, February 23. As an ongoing advocate for the theater as an essential cultural force, The Public has also announced a variety of Talk Backs, Audience Conversations, and Speaker Series discussions focusing on the larger themes of Southern Comfort.

Directed by Thomas Caruso and based on the film by Kate Davis, Southern Comfort features book and lyrics by Dan Collins, music by Julianne Wick Davis, choreography by Ryan Kasprzak, and was conceived for the stage by Robert DuSold and Thomas Caruso. The new musical will run through Sunday, March 27 in The Public's Anspacher Theater, with an official press opening now on Tuesday, March 8.

On Monday, March 7 at 7:00 p.m. The Public will host a free Public Forum entitled A TOWN HALL MEETING: GENDER IDENTITY, REPRESENTATION, THEATER in the Anspacher Theater. At a moment when questions of representation are at the forefront of national discussion, The Public has been engaged in conversations with groups in the transgender community around this question identifying the need for a town hall meeting to ask: What can we - The Public, the theater community, and the media - be doing better or differently? The event will primarily be an open forum for the audience to speak and be heard. There will be an on-stage panel comprised of members of the transgender community and its allies, including author and performance artist Kate Bornstein, ArtsEmerson artistic director and Southern Comfort production dramaturg Polly Carl and moderated by The Public's Director of Special Artistic Projects Stephanie Ybarra. Tickets for the Town Hall are free and available by calling (212) 967-7555, www.publictheater.org, or in person at the Taub Box Office at The Public Theater at Astor Place at 425 Lafayette Street.

This spring The Public will debut a series of Audience Conversations beginning with Southern Comfort. These lively Audience Conversations will be a new form of post-show interaction modeled on the work of Harvard Professor Michael Sandel that poses a big question and then invites the audience to engage with a moderator and with each other in the pursuit of answers. Audience Conversations scheduled for Southern Comfort will be held after the performances on Friday, March 11 at 7:00 p.m.; Saturday, March 12 at 7:00 p.m.; Tuesday, March 15 at 7:00 p.m.; Thursday, March 17 at 7:00 p.m.; and Saturday, March 19 at 7:00 p.m.

In addition to Audience Conversations, The Public's Speaker Series will bring in prominent thinkers for post-show talks about a broad spectrum of issues facing the LGBT community today. Speaker Series dates for Southern Comfort will be on Sunday, March 13 at 1:00 p.m.; Sunday, March 20 at 1:00 p.m.; and Wednesday, March 23 at 7:00 p.m.

Post-Show Talk Backs will be held immediately following performances on Thursday, March 3 and Wednesday, March 16 with members of the show's cast and creative team.

The Public's First Performance "Free for All" will be available beginning February 16, via TodayTix mobile lottery.

Based on Kate Davis' 2001 Sundance Award-winning documentary, Southern Comfort is a courageous, heart-soaring musical that tells the true story of a group of transgender friends living life on their own terms in the back hills of rural Georgia. Winner of the prestigious Jonathan Larson Award, this folk and bluegrass-inspired musical is a celebration of redefining family and choosing love over every obstacle.

The complete cast of Southern Comfort features Donnie Cianciotto (Sam); Lizzie Hagstedt (Storyteller Musician, Bass); Jeffrey Kuhn (Jackson); Elizabeth Ward Land (Storyteller Musician, Percussion); David M. Lutken (Storyteller Musician, Guitar); Jeff McCarthy (Lola Cola); Morgan Morse (Musician); Annette O'Toole (Robert Eads); Aneesh Sheth (Carly); Robin Skye (Melanie); and Joel Waggoner (Storyteller Musician, Violin).

SOUTHERN COMFORT will feature scenic design by James J. Fenton; costume design by Patricia E. Doherty; lighting design by Ed McCarthy; sound design by Andrew Keister; hair design by David Brian Brown; and choreography by Ryan Kasprzak.

The Public Theater, under the leadership of Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, is the only theater in New York that produces Shakespeare, the classics, musicals, contemporary and experimental pieces in equal measure. Celebrating his 10^th anniversary season at The Public, Eustis has created new community-based initiatives designed to engage audiences like Public Lab, Public Studio, Public Forum, Public Works, and a remount of the Mobile Shakespeare Unit. The Public continues the work of its visionary founder, Joe Papp, by acting as an advocate for the theater as an essential cultural force, and leading and framing dialogue on some of the most important issues of our day. Creating theater for one of the largest and most diverse audience bases in New York City for nearly 60 years, today the Company engages audiences in a variety of venues-including its landmark downtown home at Astor Place, which houses five theaters and Joe's Pub; the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, home to free Shakespeare in the Park; and the Mobile Shakespeare Unit, which tours Shakespearean productions for underserved audiences throughout New York City's five boroughs. The Public's wide range of programming includes free Shakespeare in the Park, the bedrock of the Company's dedication to making theater accessible to all; Public Works, an expanding initiative that is designed to cultivate new connections and new models of engagement with artists, audiences and the community each year; and audience and artist development initiatives that range from Emerging Writers Group and to the Public Forum series. The Public is located on property owned by the City of New York and receives annual support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; and in October 2012 the landmark building downtown at Astor Place was revitalized to physically manifest the Company's core mission of sparking new dialogues and increasing accessibility for artists and audiences, by dramatically opening up the building to the street and community, and transforming the lobby into a public piazza for artists, students, and audiences. The Public is currently represented on Broadway by the Tony Award-winning Fun Home and Lin-Manuel Miranda's acclaimed American musical Hamilton. The Public has received 47 Tony Awards, 167 Obie Awards, 52 Drama Desk Awards, 48 Lortel Awards, 31 Outer Critics Circle Awards, 13 New York Drama Critics Awards, and four Pulitzer Prizes. For more, go to www.publictheater.org.