WM. & JAS. - A GHOST STORY Premieres At Theater For The New City

THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY in the East Village presents "Wm & Jas - A Ghost Story" by Gina Russell Tracy in their historic Off-Off-Broadway Cino Theater, featuring Sean A. Buckley as William Gillette and Stephen Goodin playing James O'Neill in this story of two legendary men of the Gilded Age Theatre striving to obtain what the other one has. Set at The Players Club founded by their colleague, friend and mentor, Edwin Booth, on the evening of Gillette's Broadway premiere of "Sherlock Holmes" fifteen blocks north at the Garrick, "Wm & Jas" explores the relationship between these two leading men of the late 19th Century, one on the cusp of his most memorable creation, the other already feeling the golden shackles of his matinee idol success.

The ghosts they conjure up under the direction of Christopher Tracy (beyond the characters they've built upon the timeless creations of Doyle and Dumas) go back to Shakespeare and Dickens and the lost souls of their youth and forward to their as-yet unrealized dreams, and the two stars duel with words, bows, canes and foils as each strives to show the other the value of their own blessings. Spiritualism and Catholicism, marriage and children, mentors and protégés, truth and illusion... all are laid bare in their battle over style and substance until the men are left with only one another and the still winter's night of Gramercy Park.

Playwright Gina Russell Tracy's works were most recently represented on TNC's Community Stage last September when her Climate Change Cycle of Plays - "1969", "Starlight" and "permafrost" - received an Equity Approved Staged Reading as part of #ClimateWeekNYC 2021's Opening Day, featuring Tony Capone, Shana Farr, Alison Fraser, Erin Hill, Michael Marotta, Jeff McCarthy, Ashley McLeod, Vincent Ticali, Mary Tierney and Sam Tsoutsouvas; back in early July film actress Tanna Frederick joined Mary Tierney in a World Premiere staged reading of "permafrost". Prior to that Gina's "Potters Wheel" received its World Premiere production in January of 2020 a few short weeks before the pandemic shut down the City.

"Wm & Jas - A Ghost Story" will run Thursday through Saturday at 8:00pm and Sunday at 3:30pm from December 16 through January 9; tickets are $18 ($15 for seniors/students) and may be purchased at http://www.theaterforthenewcity,net or by calling 212-254-1109; the following COVID Protocol and Etiquette will be enforced: As of August 17th, 2021, all persons 12 and older are required to show proof that they have received at least one dose of an approved COVID-19 vaccine authorized for emergency use by the FDA or WHO. Proof of vaccination may include NYC Vaccination Record, CDC Vaccination Card (or photo), Excelsior Pass, or NYC COVID Safe App. All patrons must be vaccinated in order to see shows; please provide proof before purchasing tickets. Face masks must be worn throughout the building and for entry into the theater.

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