LAST MAN CLUB Returns June 5-28

Axis Company presents a return engagement of Last Man Club, written and directed byAxis Artistic Director Randy Sharp, June 5-28. The "atmospheric, expertly structured one-act drama" (The New York Times), presented first in 2013 and now again as part of Axis's 20th anniversary season, exemplifies the company's work-raw, unblinking theater, staged in Axis's intimate West Village space, that frequently explores dark moments in America's past. As news stories about the acceleration of climate change and its human toll break daily, the production takes audiences to the Dust Bowl, another era of environmental and economic strife catalyzed by unrestrained human greed.

From 1930-1939, the Great American Desert of the Texas and Oklahoma plains-destroyed by the expansion of wheat farming, which plowed beneath the bluestem and buffalo grass holding the dirt in place-blew up into the air in dust storms that packed enough static electricity to power the city of New York. Many refused to leave their dust-covered farms, even after all the animals died and they were eating bitter roots to survive. Last Man Club is about one of the families who stayed. With no one else around for a hundred miles, Major's family lives in a one room dugout as he tries to reconcile himself to the fact that his own kin has taken the money and run. Out of the biggest storm in the history of the Dust Bowl-200 miles wide, 15,000 feet high-come two desperate men promising a way out.

The cast of Last Man Club includes Spencer Aste, Brian Barnhart, George Demas, Britt Genelin, Jon McCormick, and Lynn Mancinelli. The creative team is Randy Sharp (Writer / Director), Marc Palmieri (Dramaturg), Chad Yarborough (Set Designer), Karl Ruckdeschel (Costume Designer), David Zeffren (Lighting Designer), Steve Fontaine (Original Sound Designer), Paul Carbonara (Composer, Sound Designer), Lynn Mancinelli (Props Designer), and Amy Harper (Assistant Lighting Designer). Erik Savage is the Production Stage Manager, and Laurie Kilmartin is the Assistant Stage Manager.

Upon its premiere in 2013, Last Man Club was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Best Sound Design and garnered considerable critical praise. Theatermania wrote, "Axis Company offers a deeply unsettling sensory overload in their dark and disturbing play about die-hard survivors of the Dust Bowl." The Huffington Post proclaimed, "If you are a student of theatrical design, a Dust Bowl history buff, or very drawn to the tragic, then this play is for you."

Last Man Club Performance Dates and Ticketing, and Location Information

Performances of Last Man Club take place June 5-28: Wednesdays - Saturdays at 8pm, with an added performance on Monday, June 24, at 8pm.

Tickets are $30 for adults, $20 for seniors/students, and $10 for artists and people under 30, and can be purchased online at www.axiscompany.org or by calling 212.352.3101. All performances are FREE (with advance reservations) for veterans and active U.S. service members and their families.

Axis Theatre is located at One Sheridan Square in Manhattan's West Village, just off 7th Avenue (accessible from the 1/9 train at Christopher Street or the A/B/C/D/E/F/M at West 4th Street).

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