The Public Theater Extends STRAIGHT WHITE MEN

The Public Theater announced a one-week extension for the acclaimed STRAIGHT WHITE MEN, a new play written and directed by OBIE winner Young Jean Lee. A co-production with Young Jean Lee's Theater Company, STRAIGHT WHITE MEN began previews on Friday, November 7 and was originally scheduled to close on Sunday, December 7. It will now run an additional week through Sunday, December 14.

"Straight White Men is a brilliant, sly, disturbing jewel of a play and it is wonderful to see how our audiences have embraced it," said Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. "This is just one extension in what we hope will be a long series of Young Jean Lee shows at The Public."

Member tickets, priced at $35, and single tickets, starting at $45, are available now 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. The Library at The Public is open nightly for food and drinks, beginning at 5:30 p.m., and Joe's Pub at The Public continues to offer some of the best music in the city.

In the New York premiere of STRAIGHT WHITE MEN, Young Jean Lee defies expectations with a conventionally structured take on the classic American father-son drama. When Ed and his three adult sons come together to celebrate Christmas, they enjoy cheerful trash-talking, pranks, and takeout Chinese. Then they confront a problem that even being a happy family can't solve: when identity is the cornerstone of one's worth, and privilege is increasingly problematic, what is the value of being a straight white man?

The complete cast of STRAIGHT WHITE MEN features Austin Pendleton (Ed), Pete Simpson (Drew), James Stanley (Matt), and Gary Wilmes (Jake).

The creative team includes David Evans Morris (scenic design); Christopher Kuhl (lighting design); Chris Giarmo and Jamie McElhinney (sound design); Enver Chakartash (costume design); Faye Driscoll (fight choreography and movement); and Mike Farry (dramaturgy).

STRAIGHT WHITE MEN is a production by Young Jean Lee's Theater Company and is commissioned by the Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University, Center Theatre Group (Los Angeles), Steirischer Herbst Festival (Graz), Les Spectacles Vivants - Centre Pompidou (Paris), Festival d'Automne à Paris, and The Public Theater (New York).

Photo Credit: Julieta Cervantes

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