WWII Drama BASEMENT Opens Tonight at The Gene Frankel Theatre

Roly Poly Productions will present the World Premiere of BASEMENT by Michael Hagins. Directed by Janet Bentley, previews began September 28 at The Gene Frankel Theatre. Opening is slated for tonight, October 6.

A Tuskegee Airman and a French farm girl in 1944 are brought together by the mayhem of war. Alone and forced to fend for herself, Katrine Faustin rescues Lt. Michael Crawler when he crash-lands near her devastated family home. An unexpected friendship endures language barriers and bombs as the radio fills the air with news both frightening and hopeful.

BASEMENT stars Alexandra Cohler (Romulus Linney's 2 Off-Broadway), Ian Campbell Dunn (the 2011 award-winning revival of Lanford Wilson's Balm in Gilead) and Anthony T. Goss (Black Angels Over Tuskegee at St Lukes Theatre). The production team includes Andy Evan Cohen (sound designer/musician/producer), You-Shin Chen (set), Lucky Gilbert Pearto (lighting), Janet Mervin (costumes), Kira Carlton (stage manager), Jane Silverstein, (assistant stage manager/props) and Theo Dage (dramaturg).

Michael Hagins is an award-winning playwright and 17-year veteran of New York indie theatre. His play Hit and Match won the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity's award for Outstanding Playwriting in 2013, and the Audience Favorite Preview Award at Chicago Fringe in 2016. He has also been nominated for the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity Playwriting Award for The Quest of the Hero, The Long Rail North, Circe and Michael is Black. Michael's other works include The Renaissance Dueling Plays, The Vengeance Room, Coffee/Evil and Catherine of the Plague. His plays have been seen on four continents, with Hit and Match being presented in Africa, Asia and Europe in various festivals. In addition to his playwriting, Michael is an award-winning fight director and actor.

Janet Bentley is a director, dramaturg, writer, actor, sound designer, composer, and musician. She holds an MFA in dramaturgy from the University of Iowa and a BA in theatre from the University of South Florida. Among her numerous New York directing credits are the world premieres of The Dark and Our Fantasia by John Patrick Shanley with Nylon Fusion Theatre Company, Horse at Planet Connections Theatre Festivity 2017 (nominated for 10 awards including Outstanding Direction and Overall Production), The Troubadour Struck by Lightning by Ed Malin at FringeNYC 2016, Abu Casem's Slippers by August Strindberg at Strindberg Repertory, After Tartuffe by Judy Klass at The Wild Project, Queers for Fears by Ed Malin at The Brick, and Coventry Carol by James McLindon at Emerging Artists Theatre. Janet is co-artistic director of the newly formed Roly Poly Productions LLC and a member of Nylon Fusion Theatre Company.

BASEMENT runs September 28 - October 15, Wednesday - Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 3pm with an additional performance Saturday, October 7 at 3pm. The Gene Frankel Theatre is located at 24 Bond Street, between Bowery and Lafayette -- accessible from B,D,F,M trains at Broadway/Lafayette or the #6 at Bleecker. Tickets are $25, available at www.rolypolyproductions.com.

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