Bar Crawl Promotes Plays &Players' TIITUS ANDRONICUS, 9/16

Streets and pubs of Philadelphia will be dripping with the (fake) blood of revelers as they go on a Bloody Bar Crawl Thursday, September 16 to celebrate the first public performance of Plays & Players' production of  William Shakespeare's earliest tragedy Titus Andronicus.
 
Titus Andronicus will have its first preview performance at the theatre at 8pm. Starting at 10 pm the Bloody Bar Crawl will kick off at Plays & Players' Quig's Pub on the theatre's top floor and will continue until 2am at local bars, including Fox & Hound, Bards and The Irish Pub. Attendees will receive a free drink, drink discount or free appetizers at each stop. Tickets are $15 in advance or with purchase of a ticket to Titus Andronicus, $20 at the door. Fake blood will be provided for those who need assistance in creating their "bloody" look and did not bring cleavers. To register, call 1-800-595-4TIX or go online to www.playsandplayers.org.
 
According to critic S. Clark Hulse, Titus Andronicus has "14 killings, 9 of them on stage, 6 severed members, 1 rape (or 2 or 3, depending on how you count), 1 live burial, 1 case of insanity, and 1 of cannibalism - an average of 5.2 atrocities per act, or one for every 97 lines."
 
The play runs to October 2, 2010 with four performances during the Philly Fringe. Titus Andronicus will be directed by Philadelphia-based director/actor Liam Castellan, a longtime ensemble member with Curio Theatre Company. Castellan performed in Plays & Players' Peanuts and Cracker Jacks New Play Festival earlier this year. "Titus is a great story of family and revenge, with some phenomenal poetry, but it's been unfairly dismissed as inferior and rarely performed because of its violence," said Castellan. "Plays & Players will give fans the full production they want to see while showcasing a great example of Shakespeare's early genius."
 
The evening will begin at 5:30 pm at Plays & Players Theatre on 1714 Delancey Place when Philadelphia Theatrical Supply presents a free Zombie Makeup Workshop in the upstairs Skinner Studio Theatre where can participants can bloody themselves up in style. The workshop is free to those who pre-register online at www.PTSonline.biz. Leading the workshop will be Ann Bartley, professional makeup artist and theatrical makeup teacher. While the class is free, those who want to take part in the workshop must have their own Zombiedelphia 2010 Makeup Kit. Kits are available for $15 either in advance from Philadelphia Theatrical Supply or at the event that night.
 
Tickets for Titus are $20 during the Philly Fringe, and $20 in advance/$25 at door for all other performances. After September 18 tickets will be available for $10 for groups of 10 or more. All performances will be on the Plays & Players Mainstage at 1714 Delancey Place (between Spruce & Pine Streets). Quig's Pub will be open on the third floor of Plays & Players during and after the performance.
 
For Philly Fringe tickets, contact the Festival Box Office at (215) 413-1318 or visit www.livearts-fringe.org.  After the Philly Fringe concludes on September 18, tickets may be purchased at www.playsandplayers.org or by calling (800) 595-4TIX. 
 
Plays & Players provides diverse work that ranges from high-voltage, edgy premieres and new takes on classics, selections from the canon of world-renowned plays and musicals, and intimately set dramas and comedies in their Third Floor Skinner Studio. Plays & Players is at once 99 years old and 1 year old, following a new mission to support local artists with professional quality theater, including regularly paying its performers and opening up its doors to a cadre of local artists performing and rehearsing in its historic space. This season will include four shows, a new play festival, a playwright residency program, and a continuation of the Super Heroes Who Are Super! and Hear Again Radio Project series this season. A 100th Anniversary celebration is in the works for November, 2011. Plays & Players offers year-round memberships that include both social and entertainment possibilities. To learn more please visit
www.playsandplayers.org.
 
PTS is your Philadelphia source for high quality theatrical products by industry leading manufacturers. In their Center City showroom, they currently stock, or can immediately order, almost anything used on a production.