The Re:Group Theatre Co. Presents A Reading of BIG NIGHT 12/6

Adding to their acclaimed reading series of the "Lost" Group Theatre plays, The Re:Group will next present Big Night . Dawn Powell's satire of the advertising industry and not-so-great expectations will be presented along with a wine reception for one night only.

Monday December 6th, 2010 at 8 PM at
St. Luke's Theatre
308 West 46th Street

Suggested donation is $15. To RSVP please call (212) 340-1054 or email RSVP@regrouptheatre.org

Featuring the talents of George Bartenieff, Tyler Burke, Libby Collins, Linda Glick, Ben Leasure, Kelsey Moore, Allie Mulholland, Dana Panepinto, Alexandar Ristov & Lindsay Teed.

First presented by The Group Theatre in 1933, Big Night featured the acting talents of Stella Adler, Clifford Odets and J. Edward Bromberg. Big Night takes place at a party thrown by Ed & Myra Bonney in hopes of snagging a lucrative advertising account from one of Myra's wealthy admirers. Party crashers, lots of alcohol and hidden desires fuel the party, and when the night is over, Mr. & Mrs. Bonney will never be the same.

Of her characters, Ms. Powell said, "I give them their heads. They furnish their own nooses." The Group Theatre spent 6 months rehearsing the play, only to have it close after 4 days. It would go down as The Group's biggest flop. Years later, famed director, teacher and original Group member, Bobby Lewis claimed that the Group had "ruined" the play with their production.
The Re:Group hopes to redeem the play's reputation!

Dawn Powell, born 1896, was the author of 16 novels, including She Walks in Beauty, Dance Night and A Time to Be Born, hundreds of short stories, and 10 plays, of which Big Night was her favorite. Though frequently compared to fellow New York wit and satirist of the time, Dorothy Parker, Ms. Powell never achieved Parker's level of fame. In her lifetime, Powell had a dedicated cult fan base, but by the time of her death in 1965, most of her writings were out of print. It wasn't until recently that she has been rediscovered by a new generation, and her works, including two volumes of her diaries, finally receive the acclaim that had eluded them for so long.

THE RE:GROUP THEATRE COMPANY is a non-profit company born to present
thought-provoking and relevant theatre that was being neglected. Only in their first year, they have been described by esteemed critic Peter Filichia as, "quickly becoming one of the town's most valuable troupes."
Believing that the audience should leave the theatre differently from when they entered, they will present theatrical experiences with the same vision of The Group Theatre.
"Propaganda for a better life."

Their first presentation was a reading of the new play
Labor Days,
directed by Austin Pendleton, and featured Marsha Mason,
James Naughton, Molly Regan and Ally Sheedy.

During the summer of 2010, they began their first main project, a reading series of "Lost" Group Theatre Plays and, for the first time in nearly 80 years, presented John Howard Lawson's Success Story, Claire & Paul Sifton's '1931-' and Sidney Kingsley's Pulitzer Prize winning play Men in White.

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