AN EVENING WITH KIRK DOUGLAS to Open at FringeNYC, 8/10

AN EVENING WITH Kirk Douglas,  a new play by Katherine Maughan, will have its worldwide premiere as part of the 16th annual New York International Fringe Festival – Fringe NYC – running from August 10-26, 2012. Tickets are $15-$18. For tickets visit www.FringeNYC.org

Directed by Kerry McGuire (Pinkalicious: The Musical), the cast includes Brian Faas (VH1's Best Week Ever), Morgan Jarrett (Big Fish, The Today Show), and Winston Noel (ESPN), and other leading performers from New York's Upright Citizen Brigade Theatre. The show will appear at La MaMa's First Floor Theatre (74A E. 4th St) in the city's East Village, on Friday August 10th (5 p.m.), Saturday August 18th (7 p.m.), Sunday August 19th(1.45 p.m.), Monday August 20th (3 p.m.), and Wednesday August 22nd (9.45 p.m.).

An Evening With Kirk Douglas consists of two darkly comedic, subversive, one-act plays: The Death of Kirk Douglas and Kirk Douglas Goes to Heaven. When high-strung Maisie Kingsley and her husband, Walter, embark on a trip to celebrate their first wedding anniversary, they don't plan to hit anyone with their car. But after killing an old man in a hit & run, (the victim also happens to be the legendary actor Kirk Douglas), the couple are forced to confront the secrets they've hid from each other, their panic in the face of a manslaughter, and the body that's now laying in a motel bathroom. Meanwhile, an overworked Saint Peter mans the gates of Heaven on the day of Kirk Douglas's scheduled arrival. Joined by a frustrated Jesus, a demanding God, an earnest Evangelical, a stripper, and more, Peter must struggle to survive the day and give Kirk Douglas the Heavenly welcome he deserves.

An Evening With Kirk Douglas is written by Katherine Maughan. As a very recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Katherine's work can currently be seen in the monthly sketch show SKOMP! at the People's Improv Theatre, and onstage in assorted shows at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. She is also a comedic performer and currently hosts a weekly show – The Summer Improv Party – at Under St. Mark's Theatre in New York's East Village. An Evening With Kirk Douglas marks her New York theater debut.

Photo credit: Ari Scott