UP Theater's First Production Of The New Year Is ST. PETER'S FOOT

St. Peter's Foot, is an UP Theater production, written by award-winning playwright Anna Theresa Cascio, 2019 Writers Guild Awards recipient, and opens on March 20 - April 6, as part of UP theater's 2019 season.

St. Peter's Foot is a two-character play about Mike and Roma, a quirky middle-aged, self-absorbed, childless couple, who have no idea how hilariously miserable they are. On the eve of a long-planned trip to Italy, to scatter the ashes of Roma's deceased mother into the Po River, a gift is left at their door that causes them to question their marriage, their illusion of happiness, and their priorities. The play asks - and answers this question: Is love enough to conquer regret?

Anna Theresa Cascio's play also touches on the never-ending discussion around abortion and the right of choice, and the currently trending conversation about a lifestyle decision that many couples are making: to live a child-free life.

Cascio is a prolific playwright with seven Writers Guild Awards, including one for this year 2019, and an Emmy for her work as a television writer.

Her plays have been produced by MCC Theater, ACT in San Francisco, and other regionals across the country, as well as by The Canadian Stage Company.

Of this play, she says the storyline grew organically from an incident with her husband, which sparked a realization of how much of our time is spent on the little things that drive us nuts. "I wanted to find a way to channel those ridiculous problems - the ones we all have, that endlessly frustrate us, that consume our time and our emotional energy - into something bigger."

St. Peter's Foot is directed by Molly Fowler, an award-winning producer, director, dramaturg and writer. Fowler served as a network executive at ABC in both drama and non-fiction programming. She has found her passion in compelling social justice documentaries, living in a men's maximum security prison to make Serving Life (2011), which she Executive Produced with Academy Award-winner Forest Whitaker for Oprah's Doc Club on OWN. She also collaborated with New York Times best-selling author Wes Moore, as producer, director and writer on the acclaimed, 3-part, PBS mini-series, Coming Back With Wes Moore (2012), which explored re-entry issues for American veterans. She is E.P. of an upcoming film about a surgeon who is pioneering techniques for transgender surgery.

Fowler's theater credits include a production of Emily Mann's Still Life which started in the U.S. and moved to the Edinburgh Festival then to London's West End and finally, to River Studios. She and Anna Theresa Cascio met at the Yale School of Drama and have previously collaborated on, Broad Channel and Home Invasion.

The play stars Doc Dougherty (Power,Law & Order, As The World Turns, Basketball Diaries, Bleeding Hearts), as Mike Tully, a retired 9/11 first responder and Laura Fois* (Sister's Dance, Ritual of Faith, Detained)as his wife of 20-years, Roma Ricci, an advertising executive who pulls no punches about the reality of age - either at work or at home.

The play is being produced by UP Theater Company, an off-off-Broadway production group located in the northernmost part of Manhattan. Established in 2010 by playwright James Bosley, UP has been quietly pushing the envelope, developing and producing daring new works that have attracted and employed a marvelous group of theatre professionals who work both on stage and behind the scenes. This off-off-Broadway theater group has the distinction of having produced 10 world premiere works since it was created. It has received support from The Lower Manhattan Cultural Foundation, The Puffin Foundation, The Neighborhood Fund of Columbia University Medical Center, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and Project Resources Group.

St. Peter's Foot opens on March 20 thru April 6. Performances will be held at The Fellowship Hall at Ft. Washington Collegiate Church, 729 W. 181stStreet, NYC 10033. For tickets go to st.petersfootup.bpt.me.

*Equity Member appearing with permission of Actors' Equity Association without benefit of an Equity contract in this Off-Off-Broadway production. AEA approved showcase.

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