WELCOME TO THE WOODS Gets Its U.S. Premiere At The Witzenhausen Gallery 11/14-12/10

Welcome to the Woods, a provocative play where "Revolutionary Road" meets "Little Red Riding Hood," will receive its U.S. premiere in a site-specific production at the Witzenhausen Gallery (232) (548 West 28th Street, 2nd Floor NYC). Written by celebrated Dutch filmmaker/playwright Alex van Warmerdam, Welcome to the Woods unfolds in a wonderfully bizarre fairy-tale-like world where nature, sex, imagination and religion come together in an unusual exploration of the significance (and insignificance) of life.

After yet another marital crisis, Dora, accompanied by her friend Fannie, seeks solace in the woods. But the forest doesn't offer a safe haven or a peaceful escape. Instead, both friends encounter strange, lustful creatures that mirror their desires and the challenges they face in their day-to-day lives. Everyone has a secret. Everyone is on the run. But from what? From whom? The woods quickly become a prison that Dora and Fannie cannot avoid, like their neighborhoods, their lives, and their minds. Welcome to the Woods is a true Van Warmerdam play: surprising, intriguing, and mercilessly funny.

Translated from the Dutch play and directed by Erwin Maas (Van Warmerdam's The Northern Quarter, The Sanford Meisner Theater and Please Stop Talking, Cherry Lane Theatre), Welcome to the Woods stars Glory Gallo (Guilty, The Acorn Theater), Jonathan Co Green (St. Joan of Stockyards, PS122) and Robin Riker (All My Sons, The Geffen Playhouse). The production team includes Laura Jellinek (set design) and Tim Cryan (lighting design).

Tickets to Welcome to the Woods are $18 and available at http://www.SmartTix.com or by calling 212-868-4444. Performances run November 14 through December 10, Wednesday through Sunday at 8:00 pm except for November 25 through 27 when there is no performance due to the Thanksgiving holiday. All performances take place at Witzenhausen Gallery (232) (548 West 28th Street, 2nd Floor; between 10th and 11th Ave. Subway: C/E to 23rd St.). The running time is 75 minutes.

This production is made possible by the generous support of The Netherland-America Foundation, OTYS Recruiting Technology, Dr. Hendrik Muller Fonds, Mariners Gate LLC, HeinekenUSA and the Elaine Cancilla-Orbach Studio Award.

Alex van Warmerdam (Playwright) most recent film, "De Laatste Dagen van Emma Blank" ("The Last Days of Emma Blank"), won the top prize for the Venice Days at the Venice Film Festival and also received the highest award for a screenplay at the Amsterdam Film Festival. He wrote the script and the storyboard for Hauser Orkater's film "Entrée Brussels." He made his first feature film, "Abel," in 1986, followed by "De Noorderlingen" ("The Northerners"), "De Jurk" ("The Dress"), "Kleine Teun" ("Little Tony"), "De Stedeling" ("The Townee"), and "Ober" ("Waiter"). His plays include De wet van Luisman (Luisman's Law), Onnozele Kinderen (Innocent Children), De Leugenbroeders (The Lying Brothers), Het Noorder Kwartier (The Northern Quarter) and De Verschrikkelijke Moeder (The Horrible Mother).

Erwin Maas (Director) obtained his MFA in Theatre Directing at Columbia University's School of the Arts in New York City. He also holds a Masters degree in Documentary Filmmaking (Media Arts & Production) from the University of Technology in Sydney - Australia, where he explored the relationship between story telling in cinema and theatre. Maas has taught and directed in Australia, England, Germany, Austria, Spain, Republic of Belarus, Belgium, the Netherlands and USA. In New York he directed plays for the Off Broadway Cherry Lane Theatre, Sanford Meisner Theater, Chashama, Miller Theatre, Ontological Theater, The Connelly Theatre and HERE Arts Center. As assistant director, Erwin worked for Elizabeth LeCompte and The Wooster Group in their production of Poor Theater in New York City and for Mons de Goede and the popular Stichting Theaterplan in their productions of the musicals Man of LaMancha and Move in the Netherlands.

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