The Public's OLD-FASHIONED PROSTITUTES Begins 4/30

The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) will begin previews for the world premiere of OLD-FASHIONED PROSTITUTES (A TRUE ROMANCE) on Tuesday, April 30. Written, directed, and designed by Richard Foreman, who has been working with The Public Theater for more than 36 years, OLD-FASHIONED PROSTITUTES (A TRUE ROMANCE) and runs through Sunday, June 2, in The Public's Martinson Theater, with an official press opening on Tuesday, May 7.

Single tickets, starting at $60, are on sale now and can be purchased by calling (212) 967-7555, www.publictheater.org, or in person at The Public Theater at Astor Place at 425 Lafayette Street. The Library at The Public will also be open nightly for food and drink, beginning at 5:30 p.m., and Joe's Pub will continue to offer some of the best music in the city.
The complete cast of Richard Foreman's OLD-FASHIONED PROSTITUTES (A TRUE ROMANCE) features Stephanie Hayes (Gabriella), Alenka Kraigher (Suzie), Nicolas Norena (Michelin Man), Rocco Sisto (Samuel), and David Skeist (Alfredo).

Foreman has a long history with The Public Theater that began in 1977 when he directed the Shakespeare in the Park production of The Threepenny Opera. His other Public Theater credits include Penguin Touquet (1981), Three Acts of Recognition (1982), Don Juan (1982), Egyptology: My Head Was A Sledgehammer (1983), The Golem (1984), Largo Desolato (1986), What Did He See? (1988), Venus (1996) and most recently, Idiot Savant in 2009, which he wrote, directed and designed.

Snapshots from an enigmatic fairy-tale in which Suzie, the elusive coquette, brings Samuel to his knees - from where he worships a life he only half understands, OLD-FASHIONED PROSTITUTES (A TRUE ROMANCE) is an expressionistic chamber-play that twists emotional heartache into a landscape of continual mental invention. Marking the return to theater of a celebrated artist who the New York Times has dubbed "the Godfather of the American avant-garde," it is presented in association with Ontological-Hysteric Theater.

OLD-FASHIONED PROSTITUTES (A TRUE ROMANCE) features costume design by Gabriel Berry, and lighting design by Yael Lubetzky.

Richard Foreman (Playwright/Director) has been the Founder and Director of Ontological-Hysteric Theater since 1968 and has written, directed and designed more than 50 of his own plays in New York City and abroad. Among his honors are 10 OBIE Awards (including one for Sustained Achievement); a MacArthur "Genius" fellowship; a Guggenheim fellowship; the Literature award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters; a Lifetime Achievement Award in the Theater from the National Endowment for the Arts; the PEN Club Master American Dramatist Award; and election to the Order of Arts and Letters of France. He most recently directed Idiot Savant with Willem Dafoe at The Public Theater in 2009. His other Public Theater credits include The Threepenny Opera (1977), Penguin Touquet (1981), Three Acts of Recognition (1982), Don Juan (1982), Egyptology: My Head Was A Sledgehammer (1983), The Golem (1984), Largo Desolato (1986), What Did He See? (1988), and Venus (1996).

Stephanie Hayes (Gabriella) has recently appeared at The Public Theater in Gabriel Kahane and Seth Bockley's February House. She has also worked as an actor, writer, and musician in Sweden, the UK, and Canada. Her credits at the Yale School of Drama include The Seagull, Eurydice, Much Ado About Nothing, Homebody/Kabul, and Orestes. Her written plays include Rigor Mortis; Exit; Commander Kitty!; and Vaska Vaska Glöm: A Tale of Foreigners and Fish.

Alenka Kraigher (Suzie) last appeared at The Public in Idiot Savant. Her film credits include Slovenian Girl, My Little Darlings, and Rooster's Breakfast. She has written and directed the documentaries The Big Jump and Monika for the European Broadcasting Union, as well as the short films The Dog Died at the Right Time, Eye of the Tiger and Peter.

NICOLAS NORENA (Michelin Man) is a performance artist who recently graduated from the Experimental Theatre Wing at TSOA-NYU, where he created a show called Morning to be Changed from the morning to the Morning. In the past few months, he has performed at the Incubator in Katie Brook's Lady Han, at The Basin Artist Refuge in Mary Overlie's The BunnyTail Range, and interned for Big Dance Theatre. He's the co-editor and contributor in a performance-art online publication called Morning to Morning.

Rocco Sisto (Samuel) has appeared at The Public in The Bacchae; Macbeth; Silence, Cunning, Exile; The Merry Wives of Windsor; All's Well That Ends Well; 'Tis Pity She's a Whore; Machinal; The Winter's Tale; What Did He See?; My Uncle Sam; and Hamlet. His Broadway credits include Seminar, To Be Or Not To Be, Amadeus, and A Month in the Country. His additional Off-Broadway credits include Volpone; Measure for Measure; Palace of the End; Iphigenia 2.0; Soul of Naples; and The Harlequin Studies; among others. His select film and television credits include Donnie Brasco, The Alphabet Killer, "The Sopranos," "JAG," "NYPD Blue," "Alias," and "666 Park Avenue."

David Skeist (Alfredo) has appeared at The Public as a member of the 2011 Shakespeare Lab. His additional theater credits include Open Up, Hadrian; Beginning of the End of the...; Shlemiel the First; Forth; and Salamander Leviathan. His film and television credits include Veronika Decides to Die, Memorial Day, "Law & Order: SVU", and "All My Children."