Theatre Row Hosts Staged Reading Of RAY BRADBURY LIVE (FOREVER)

Emmy-winner Bill Oberst Jr. will portray author Ray Bradbury in an Off-Broadway show planned for the 2019-20 season, under a license agreement with the Ray Bradbury Estate. The first staged reading of Ray Bradbury Live (forever) is set for Thursday, April 12, 2018 at 7pm at Theatre Row, 410 W 42nd Street, New York. A limited number of complimentary seats are available on a first-come basis. To request seating please write to raybradburyliveforever@gmail.com.

The stage portrayal of Ray Bradbury, with a script by Oberst adapting Bradbury's own words, comes at a time of renewed cultural interest in the celebrated sci-fi & fantasy author, who died in 2012: HBO Films' adaptation of Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, starring Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon, has attracted major industry buzz ahead of its world premiere on May 19.

In addition to the Ray Bradbury Estate, the script was vetted by Dr. Jonathan Eller, the author of two Bradbury biographies and the Director of IUPUI's Center For Ray Bradbury Studies, and Dr. Phil Nichols of Bradbury Media and the University Of Wolverhampton, England. Ray Bradbury Live (forever) is performed by permission of Ray Bradbury Literary Works and Don Congdon Associates, Inc.

Oberst, who previously adapted Bradbury's Pillar Of Fire for the solo stage in New York and Los Angeles, describes the new show as "a mix of Epcot ride, Planetarium show and dream." Ray Bradbury Live (forever) features Bradbury bringing excerpts from his own works to life onstage, including A Sound Of Thunder (the story which gave the world the phrase "butterfly effect,") Something Wicked This Way Comes and The Martian Chronicles.

The New York staged reading, directed by Michael Joseph Ormond, will feature Oberst as Bradbury and Off-Broadway veterans Steven Hauck and Zoe Watkins as narrator and Bradbury's wife, Maggie, respectively. Details on the show and the April 12 reading are at https://raybradburyliveforever.com.