THE POOR OF NEW YORK to Run in First Production Since 1931 at Connelly Theater, 4/24-27

A lost American classic, The Poor of New York, powerfully dramatizes the world's first global financial crisis, the New York Panic of 1857. The play follows the banker Gideon Bloodgood and the intertwining fates of the families he imperils, casting an uncompromising eye on characters in every strata of society, from Park Avenue privilege to Dickensian squalor.

Mixing riotous humor, visceral emotion and political potency, the production reinvigorates the vibrant, but neglected, tradition of American melodrama. This is a New York story with global resonance that speaks to the most pressing concerns of our age.

This will be the first time The Poor of New York has been performed professionally since 1931, when it was staged in response to the Wall Street Crash and its aftermath. The production represents an additional homecoming for the play, as The Connelly Theater is itself an original Victorian building, constructed on the edge of the notorious 5-Points slums, where much of the story is set.

THE POOR OF NEW YORK runs through April 27 at The Connelly Theater, 220 East 4th Street, New York, NY. Performance schedule: 8:00pm April 24-26, 2:00pm and 8:00pm April 27. Tickets: $15 General Admission; $5 Seniors; FREE to Students with valid ID. For more information, visit columbiastages.org.

CREATIVE TEAM:

Director Tyne Rafaeli
Producer Michael Csar
Production Stage Manager Alexandra Hall*
Set and Lighting Designer Jiyoun Chang
Composer and Music Director Stephanie Johnstone
Costume Designer Andrea Hood
Sound Supervisor Jon Bremner
Movement Director Rachel Garis
Dramaturgy Christina Hurtado-Pierson
Props Consultant Katie Fleming
Assistant Stage Manager Jenny Ainsworth
Associate Music Director Chris Nolan
Assistant Music Director Jaye Hunt
Company Manager Christina Boursiquot

FEATURING: Dana Berger, Matthew Bovee, Salty Brine, Andrew Broaddus, Tucker Bryan, Quincy Ellis, Tristan Farmer, Ben Fisher, David Goldberg*, Brian Hastert*, Arden Kelly*, Jarret Kerr, Drew Madland*, Erin McGuff, Vayu O'Donnell*, Angel Joel Ortiz, Justin Perez, Kati Schwartz, Ariana Seigel, Andrina Smith, Hanley Smith*, Natalie Smith*, Adriana Spencer, Macy Sullivan, Chris Tocco*

Musicians: Blake Allen (viola), Alex Mallett (banjo), Susan D. Mandel (cello), Kevin Jones (bass), Chris Nolan (drums), Mike Perdue (percussion), David Personne (guitar), Helen Yee (violin)

*Appears Courtesy of Actors' Equity Association

Tyne Rafaeli is a British-American director based in New York City. She is currently Assistant Director to David Cromer on Richard Nelson's new play Nikolai and the Others at the Lincoln Center Theater. Tyne recently assisted Bartlett Sher on the Lincoln Center Theater's production of Golden Boy by Clifford Odets at The Belasco Theatre.

Tyne's latest directing projects in New York include Cowboy Mouth by Sam Shepard, The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov, and an original devised piece inspired by the work of Harold Pinter. She works extensively with new writing, directing original work at theatres throughout the City.

Tyne's theatre work in the UK, includes directing The Ducks at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, winner of The Observer Award for Best Double Act of 2011.

Tyne received her BA in History at University College London. She then trained in classical acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, headed by Patsy Rodenberg, whom she subsequently assisted on various theatrical and literary projects on both sides of the Atlantic. Tyne will be graduating from Columbia University's Directing MFA program this May.

The cast and creative team of this production are actively engaged in a community outreach program that involves a partnership with The Foodbank for New York City, high schools in the East Village and several immigrant community institutions across the city.

At the invitation of the Museum of American Finance, there will be a staged reading of the play at the MOAF on April 9, 2013, accompanied by remarks on the 1857 financial panic by Museum President David Cowen.

Columbia Stages is the producing arm of the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University School of the Arts. Columbia Stages presents an annual season of graduate actor and director productions, as well as a festival of new plays by emerging playwrights.

The 2012-2013 season marks the first in which Columbia Stages productions are presented in Off-Broadway venues downtown, including 3LD, The Connelly Theater, and La MaMa.

The Theatre Program at Columbia University School of the Arts offers MFA degrees in: Acting, Directing, Playwriting, Dramaturgy, Stage Management, and Theatre Management & Producing. For more information about the Columbia University School of the Arts Theatre Program visit http://arts.columbia.edu/theatre.