Three Week Extension Set For LADY at Cherry Lane, Runs Thru 12/20

The Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce St. in Manhattan) announces a three-week extension - now through December 20, 2009 -- of David Rambo's play THE LADY WITH ALL THE ANSWERS starring Tony Award-winner Judith Ivey as the legendary advice columnist Ann Landers Off-Broadway.

Following previews October 7 and opening October 14, the Off-Broadway limited engagement of LADY was originally scheduled to end on November 29, now extended to December 20.

THE LADY WITH ALL THE ANSWERS is directed by BJ Jones. The production is presented Off-Broadway by Cherry Lane Theatre; Angelina Fiordellisi, Artistic Director and James King, Managing Director.

THE LADY WITH ALL THE ANSWERS portrays the legendary advice columnist Ann Landers on the night that she is preparing to write the most difficult column of her long and storied career: the now-famous column in which she informed her 60 million readers that her own marriage had failed, after advising them for decades that divorce was never an appropriate solution.

Funny and touching, THE LADY WITH ALL THE ANSWERS has been enthusiastically received by audiences and critics alike. When the play opened in October, The New York Daily News wrote, "Judith Ivey is letter-perfect as Ann Landers." The New York Times said Ivey's performance has "touching authenticity," and the Associated Press said LADY is "absolutely charming." As one fan of the play observes, "THE LADY WITH ALL THE ANSWERS tells you everything you didn't know about a woman who told you everything."

For decades, newspaper columnist and American icon Ann Landers dispensed wit and wisdom to lovelorn teens, confused couples and countless others in need of advice in her enormously popular, nationally syndicated column. In THE LADY WITH ALL THE ANSWERS, Landers finds herself writing a column about a new kind of heartbreak -- her own. Drawn from Landers' life and letters, THE LADY WITH ALL THE ANSWERS is a touching and comic portrait of a wise, funny, no-nonsense woman who was, in fact, one of the most influential figures in America by virtue of the millions of readers who wrote to her seeking her indispensable advice and sometimes controversial opinions on matters ranging from marriage, divorce, life, death and sexuality, to the proper way to hang a roll of toilet paper in the bathroom.

Ann Landers, who was born Esther "Eppie" Pauline Friedman Lederer in 1918, wrote her first advice column in 1955, and the column ended with her death in 2002.

THE LADY WITH ALL THE ANSWERS has set design by Neil Patel; costume design by Martin Pakledinaz, lighting design by Nicole Pearce, sound design by Kevin O'Donnell and wig design by Paul Huntley.

Judith Ivey won Tony Awards for her performances in the plays STEAMING and HURLYBURLY. She recently played Amanda Wingfield in THE GLASS MENAGERIE at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, giving a performance acclaimed by Charles Isherwood in The New York Times, and others. Her many stage credits include having played "Mommy" in Cherry Lane's celebrated productions of Edward Albee's "AMERICAN DREAM," directed by the playwright last year, and the solo play WOMEN ON FIRE. Ms. Ivey's film credits include "Devil's Advocate," "Washington Square" and "Brighton Beach Memoirs," and she starred in four television series including "Designing Women."

David Rambo's plays include GOD'S MAN IN TEXAS, THE ICE-BREAKER, THE SPIN CYCLE, a new adaptation of Sinclair Lewis' "Babbitt" and an all-new book for the Lerner and Loewe musical PAINT YOUR WAGON. He has adapted several screenplays for live performance including ALL ABOUT EVE, CASABLANCA, ADAM'S RIB and SUNSET BOULEVARD performed at the Hollywood Bowl. He is a writer and producer of the hit TV series "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

B.J. JONES is the Artistic Director of Northlight Theatre outside Chicago. He has directed the world premieres of Craig Wright's LADY, Larry Gelbart's BETTER LATE and ROUNDING THIRD, along with productions of GREY GARDENS, THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN, THE PRICE and GLENGarry Glenn ROSS.

THE LADY WITH ALL THE ANSWERS is drawn from the the life and letters of Ann Landers with the cooperation of Margo Howard.

Tickets to THE LADY WITH ALL THE ANSWERS are priced at $40 and $50. Thru November 29, THE LADY WITH ALL THE ANSWERS will perform Wednesdays at 2 and 8 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Starting Thursday, December 3 and through December 20, LADY will perform Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. For ticket reservations and performance information call Tele-charge at 212 239 6200. Or visit www.cherrylanetheatre.org.

As New York's longest, continuously-running Off-Broadway theater, Cherry Lane Theatre is known as "the birthplace of Off-Broadway," having helped to define American drama by fostering theater that is daring and relevant for the past 83 years. Cherry Lane Theatre is dedicated to sustaining a community of playwrights and supporting seasoned and emerging theater artists that work together to reveal the social consciousness of our ever-changing world. In this way, the company serves the cultural needs of the larger New York City community, while developing a dedicated, returning audience. It is Cherry Lane's guiding tenet that "live" theater be accessible, articulate and provide a social mirror through which we gain greater understanding of ourselves, our families, our government and our global community. Cherry Lane Theatre takes up the challenge to explore the horizons of theatrical content and form, to expand our creative boundaries, and to discover the future of American drama.

Guided by the legacy of iconoclastic writers whose work has been at home at The Cherry Lane since the 1920s - O'Neill, Saroyan, Auden, Albee, Odets, Orton, Mamet, Lanford Wilson and many more - along with such distinctive actors as Ruby Dee, James Earl Jones, Colleen Dewhurst, Cicely Tyson, Frank Langella, Tyne Daly, Estelle Parsons, Dennis Quaid and others who have performed on its stage, Artistic Director Angelina Fiordellisi set out to revive the theatre's spirit and preserve its history, providing opportunities for bold new voices today when she founded a resident non-profit theatre company in 1997. She also undertook a major renovation of the building (once part of a farm in 19th century New York) and its stages, including the creation of the 60-seat Studio Theatre and the celebrated Cherry Lane Mentor Project in 1998.

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