APPLE CORE THEATER COMPANY
Proudly Presents the World Premiere of

A MODEST SUGGESTION
A comedy—about genocide and racism
Written by KEN KAISSAR

Starring JEFF AUER*, BOB GREENBERG*, ETHAN HOVA*, RUSSELL JORDAN*, JONATHAN MARBALLI, ROBERT W. SMITH*

Directed by WALTER J. HOFFMAN

MAY 10 –27, 2012 AT THE STUDIO THEATRE
OPENING NIGHT IS TUESDAY, MAY 15 AT 7 P.M.
TICKETS ON SALE AT TELECHARGE.COM

APPLE CORE THEATER COMPANY (ACTC) is pleased to announce the world premiere production of a daring new satire by Israeli-American playwright, Ken Kaissar: A MODEST SUGGESTION.  Directed by Walter J. Hoffman, A MODEST SUGGESTION will play a limited engagement at the Studio Theatre at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street, between 9th/10th). Performances begin Thursday, May 10 and continue through Sunday, May 27. Opening Night is Tuesday, May 15 (7 p.m.). 

In an anonymous conference room, in an anonymous city, an anonymous group of businessmen meet to discuss the next item on their agenda. As the four yes-men weigh the pros and cons of one pretty tough question, A Modest Suggestion asks: Why do racism and anti-Semitism exist? What does it mean to be Jewish? How does racism turn into violence? And do Jews eat bacon? ACTC seeks to inspire an honest, thought-provoking discussion around these difficult topics – oh, and to make you laugh.

The production stars Jeff Auer* (ACTC's As Is), Bob Greenberg (The Jazz Singer)*, Ethan Hova* (The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler), Russell Jordan* (Beirut), Jonathan Marballi (Upright Citizens Brigade), and Robert W. Smith (Boy Gets Girl)*.

The production features scenic design by Jared Rutherford, costume design by David L. Zwiers, and lighting design by Jordan Acosta.

A MODEST SUGGESTION plays the following regular schedule through Sunday, May 27:

Tuesdays at 7 p.m. | Wednesdays at 8 p.m. | Thursdays at 8 p.m.  |  Fridays at 8 p.m. | Saturdays at 8 p.m.  |  Sundays at 3 p.m.

Tickets are $15 and are available online at www.telecharge.com or by calling 212-239-6200.  Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Theatre Row Box Office, noon to 8 p.m. Monday – Saturday, noon until curtain on Sundays.

Running Time: 80 minutes

Website: www.applecoretheatercompany.org

The Studio Theatre at Theatre Row: 410 West 42nd Street New York, NY 10024

BIOGRAPHIES
KEN KAISSAR (Playwright) Born in Ramat Gan, Israel, playwright Ken Kaissar holds a BFA in directing from Carnegie Mellon University and an MFA in playwriting from Columbia University.  His adaptation of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales was commissioned by Columbia in 2008, and his ten-minute play Ceasefire (written in response to Israel’s war with Hezbollah in 2006) was the winner of the West Boca New Play Competition and a regional winner in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.  His play The Victims, or What Do You Want Me To Do About It was a runner-up for the 2009 Princess Grace Award and was honored by the Lark Play Development Center as part of the Middle East America Play Commission.  A Modest Suggestion was recently produced as an independent film and has also been performed at the Jewish Theatre Workshop in Baltimore. 
WALTER J. HOFFMAN (Director) is a New York City-based actor and director, as well as a co-founder and the associate artistic director of Apple Core Theater Company.  Most recently, Walter directed Undertow by Mel Nieves in the Downtown Urban Theater Festival (HERE Arts Center).  ACTC directing credits include By the Dawn's Early Light, an evening of two one act plays (Los Embrujados and Midnight Mass), by Mel Nieves, the 25th Anniversary production of As Is by William M. Hoffman, and Won and Lost (Pvt. Wars by James McLure and The Return of Odysseus by Steven Gridley).

APPLE CORE THEATER COMPANY produces emotional, entertaining plays by American writers.  Valuing the immediacy and intimacy of theater, they present plays that cut down to the core and go straight to the heart.  Believing that theater should be accessible to all people, they are committed to providing affordable theater to New York City.

ACTC debuted with Won and Lost, two one-acts about the American veteran experience: "Pvt. Wars" by James McLure and "The Return of Odysseus" by Steven Gridley.  Appearing at the TBG Arts Center in April 2009, the production was received enthusiastically by audiences and critics alike, with Martin Denton of nytheatre.com writing. "The high level of work on display here portends great things for Apple Core Theater Company."  As part of their commitment to provide affordable theater to NYC, they welcomed numerous veterans to the production for free through the NYC Mayor's Office of Veterans Affairs and established their current top ticket price as $15.

In October 2010 at Theatre Row, ACTC produced As Is by William M. Hoffman, one of the first plays about the AIDS crisis as it hit the gay community of NYC.  Continuing their audience outreach efforts, they participated in TCG's Free Night of Theater and donated free tickets to Gay Men's Health Crisis.  After asking audience members to contribute to a great cause, they raised over $1,500 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.  They were thrilled to sell out houses and garner rave reviews, including one from the Village Voice calling the production a "powerful revival of William M. Hoffman's revolutionary play."

This past August, ACTC produced By the Dawn's Early Light, two new one-acts by Mel Nieves (Los Embrujados and Midnight Mass) illustrating the impact of September 11 on three Latino families in NYC.  In their first effort in new play development, they were thrilled to commission Los Embrujados to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11. During this production, ACTC continued their ongoing philanthropy, raising money from their audiences for the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

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Theater For The New City, Crystal Field, Artistic Director
in association with the cell, A Twenty First Century Salon™

present The Hive's

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S (QUEER) DREAM

The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth

“Easily the most persuasive and compelling Midsummer of the dozen I have seen… bold choices unlock a level of this play which is rarely discovered… The Hive's vision shows us real people in real pain. It's still a comedy, but with a bitter edge — a remarkably effective balance of kinky delights and profound frustration.” – Show Business Weekly

“Ground-breaking interpretation of this play…A MUST SEE!” – nytheatre.com

“The timing of this gender-bending version of Shakespeare's ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ couldn't be more appropriate given New York State's recent legislation for same-sex marriage.” – Back Stage

“Immensely enjoyable…with wit and wicked imagination, artistic director Matthew A.J. Gregory challenges marriage inequality” – The Advocate

“This is not your 10th grade English class's Shakespeare.” – Broadway World

“The buzz on the Hive’s Midsummer could not be sweeter, busier, more joyful, and oh, so worth the tiny ticket price… revisit Shakespeare’s wealth of words, marvel at the perfection of couples brought together from pure love and lust with no meddling laws to obstruct. It is perfect that a play penned five centuries ago is a modern vehicle to celebrate the summer of same sex marriage.” – Edge

“Staged with the playful spirit and insane lust as many previous Midsummer productions but with a few twists that ultimately reinforce the show’s classic ribbing on the passion, dysfunction, power plays, and half-crazed acts of love… In changing the gender roles and the expectations that come with it, the characters gain complexity while displaying the universal draw of forbidden romance, unrequited love, and the constant one-upmanship for dominance over your partner. – Women About Town

“The cell and The Hive’s rendition totally hit the spot… Shakespeare’s text with a mélange of characters and scenes that truly reflect relevant cultural issues… A Midsummer Night’s Dream was a dream I never wanted to wake up from.” – Inside New York

Written by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Starring RON BOBST*, CHRIS CRITELLI*, SAMUEL T. GAINES*,

FERNANDO GAMBARONI*, SHIRA GREGORY*, MEGHAN GRACE O’LEARY*,

SARAH KAUFFMAN, MARISSA PARNESS, GLENN QUENTIN, GUY RADER,

MICHAEL RAVER*, CHRIS THORN, ALAN WINNER*

*Performing Courtesy of Actor’s Equity Association. AEA approved showcase.

Directed by MATTHEW A.J. GREGORY

FOUR-WEEK LIMITED ENGAGEMENT

APRIL 25 – MAY 19 AT THEATER FOR A NEW CITY

 

OPENING NIGHT IS FRIDAY APRIL 27

 

TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT SMARTTIX.COM

Theater For The New City, Crystal Field, Artistic Director in association with the cell are pleased to present an encore engagement of The Hive's critically-acclaimed gender-bender production of William Shakespeare’s A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S (QUEER) DREAM, directed by Matthew A.J. Gregory. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S (QUEER) DREAM will play a limited engagement at the Johnson Theatre-Theatre for the New City (155 First Avenue, btw. 9th/10th). Performances begin Wednesday, April 25 and continue through Saturday, May 19. Opening Night is Friday, April 27 (8 p.m.).

 

“The course of true love never did run smooth, and it doesn’t run straight either in the Hive Theater Company’s immensely enjoyable mounting of Shakespeare’s comedy about star-crossed Athenian lovers. With wit and wicked imagination, artistic director Matthew A.J. Gregory challenges marriage inequality simply by casting a woman as Lysander and a man as Helena — not to mention the fairy drag queen Titania and drag king Oberon.” – The Advocate

 

This is not your grandmother’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but one for 21st century NYC—a modern re-imagining of Shakespeare’s classic, which casts Hermia and Lysander as lesbian lovers with Demetrius and Helena as a gay couple. In the midst of the national gay marriage controversies, this production exposes contemporary America's sexual hang-ups and resistance to gay marriage. Concepts of what constitutes gender, sexual orientation and power will be explored and exploded! A wild bacchanal of every fetish imaginable--filled with delectable and dangerous fairies straight out of everyone’s fantasies and fears.

The production stars Chris Critelli* (frequent appearances at Lincoln Center Songbook Series, Off Broadway – THE NEW HOPEVILLE COMICS) as Puck/Philostrate, Meghan Grace O'Leary* as Oberon/Hippolyta, Samuel Gaines* (KING LEAR at Kansas City Rep) as Titania/Theseus, Shira Gregory* (FROST/NIXON on Broadway) as Lysander, Alan Winner* (Trevor Nunn’s GONE WITH THE WIND in the West End) as Demetrius, Marissa Parness as Hermia, Michael Raver * (Notable credit - VIEUX CARRE at The Pearl Theatre Co directed by Austin Pendleton) as Helena, Ron Bobst * (Notable credits - WOYZECK at Toy Box Theatre Company, TOGETHER THIS TIME at NY Fringe (Lucille Lortel Theatre)) as Egeus/Tom Snout/Peasblossom, Chris Thorn* as Nick Bottom, Sarah Kauffman as Quince/Moth, Fernando Gambaroni* (Flea Theatre – MRS. FARNSWORTH with Sigourney Weaver, Mac Wellman’s CELLOPHANE) as Robin Starveling.

The production features scenic design by Justin Couchara (Recent:  Asst. Scenic Designer for Peter and the Starcatcher, Lead Props Sculptor for Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson), costume design by Elizabeth Barrett Groth, and lighting design by Nick Gonsman (Recent:  Field Project Coordinator for ETC). Stephanie Riddle is the sound designer, Kyle Haggerty is the assistant director, Jen Littlefield is the choreographer, Scott Barrow is the fight director, Kirin McCory is the assistant fight director, Joseph Jonah Therrien is the shadow puppet designer and Lauren Williams is the stage manager.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM plays the following schedule through Saturday, May 19:

Wednesday at 8pm

Thursday at 8pm

Friday at 8pm

Saturday at 3pm and at 8pm

Sunday at 8pm – pay what you can at the door

Tickets are $25 ($20 student/senior; plus Sunday performances are pay what you can at the door) and are available at www.smarttix.com or (212) 868-4444. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the theater ½ hour prior to performance.

Theatre for the New City – Johnson Theatre

155 First Avenue

(between 9th and 10th Streets)

Running Time: 120 minutes including a 15-minute intermission

Website: http://www.theaterforthenewcity.net/

http://www.thecelltheatre.org/

http://www.thehivetheatre.com/

Photos: http://bit.ly/MidsummerQueer

 

BIOGRAPHIES

 

MATTHEW A.J. GREGORY (Director) As a director, actor and costume designer, Matthew has worked on and off Broadway, and in venues across the country. He has directed productions for the Secret Theatre, Saratoga Second Stage, NYU and most recently directed a modern re-imagining of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the cell theatre in Chelsea. He has performed at the Kennedy Center, the Saratoga Shakespeare Company and Off-Broadway at the Mint Theater.  His designs have been seen at the Juilliard School, the Theatre for the New City and the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. Matthew has also worked as a costume artisan on various films including “X-Men”, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, and “Charlie’s Angels”. As an educator, Matthew has taught at Adelphi University, SUNY Albany, Siena College and is now a member of the faculty at CUNY - Kingsborough.

Matthew is the Artistic Director and a founding member of the Hive Theatre Company.  He is dedicated to promoting social and economic justice through theatre and education.

THE HIVE THEATRE COMPANY is an experiment in collaboration dedicated to building and serving community through play.

The Hive is committed to:

· Producing original works created from the ground up by the full company, reinventing the classics, and fostering the work of new and under-exposed playwrights.

· Providing affordable productions that engage audiences as participants in an immersive theatrical event rather than simply spectators.

· Nurturing artists in and around the NYC metro area.

· Continuing to demonstrate how theatre raises social awareness.

· Reaching out to artists, audiences and sponsors in order to enrich and expand our community.

 

About the cell: A Twenty First Century Salon™

Since its inception in 2006, the cell: A Twenty First Century Salon™ (Nancy Manocherian, Founding Director; Kira Simring, Artistic Director) has been, and continues to be, an incubator for creative projects.  Through its strong commitment to cultivate undiscovered artists, the cell has created residencies for diverse groups including the Tandem Reading Series, Center for Contemporary Opera and The Blackboard Reading Series. the cell is located in the heart of Chelsea, New York City.  For more information, please visit www.thecelltheatre.org.

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For Immediate Release
March 29, 2012
Media Contact: Katie Rosin / Kampfire PR
917-562-5670 / Katie@kampfirefilmspr.com

THE ASTORIA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
11th SEASON

Recipient of Best Musical 2010 NYIT Award for Children of Eden

proudly presents

“Elegant, entrancing…The best American musical of the Broadway season.”- Time Magazine (Broadway 1991)

“The first original voices in musical theatre that America has produced since Sondheim.” - Lanford Wilson

“A splendid, intelligent musical…It’s all you can hope for in children’s theatre. But the best surprise is that this show is the most adult new musical of the season.” - USA Today (Broadway 1991)

THE SECRET GARDEN
Book and Lyrics by MARSHA NORMAN

Music by LUCY SIMON

Based on the novel by FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT

Starring Jane Bunting*, Mario Castro, Marisa DEVETTA*, Jennifer Evans*, Britain Gebhardt, Jonathan Gregg*, Clint J. Hromsco, Jaimie Kelton*, Hannah Lewis, Michael Jennings Mahoney*, Benjamin J. McHugh*,

Mary-Elizabeth Milton, Eric Morris*, JAN-PETER PEDROSS*, Lia Peros, Jason Pintar, Sam Poon*, Patrick Porter*, Spencer Robinson, Jacqueline Sydney*, Richard Vernon*, Elizabeth Wharton
*Appearing courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association. AEA approved showcase.

Musical staging by CHRISTINE O’GRADY

Musical direction by JEFFREY CAMPOS

Directed by TOM WOJTUNIK

LIMITED ENGAGEMENT

MAY 3 – 19, 2012 AT THE GOOD SHEPHERD METHODIST CHURCH
OPENING NIGHT IS SATURDAY, MAY 5 AT 8 P.M.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT APACNY.ORG

THE ASTORIA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (APAC) is pleased to reunite the creative team behind their The Human Comedy and Children of Eden with THE SECRET GARDEN, musical staging by Christine O’Grady, musical directed by Jeffrey Campos and directed by APAC Artistic Director Tom Wojtunik. THE SECRET GARDEN will play a limited engagement at the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church (30-44 Crescent St, Astoria, NY 11102. Entrance on 30th Road.) Performances begin Thursday, May 3 and continue through to Saturday, May 19. Opening Night is Saturday, May 5 (8 p.m.).  Press performances are Thursday May 3, Friday May 4 and Saturday May 5. (Unofficial press dates will be accommodated.)

Living in a lonely manor house in 1906 England, Archibald Craven yearns for his beautiful, late wife. He blames his crippled son, Colin, for his wife’s death and has left him neglected and isolated. Their quiet routine is turned upside down when young Mary Lennox, a rich, spoiled child, is sent to live with them following the death of her parents by cholera in India.

While living at the manor house, Mary discovers a secret walled garden hidden in the grounds and releases the magic and adventures locked inside, changing their lives forever. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Marsha Norman, in collaboration with composer Lucy Simon, achieved Broadway success with the moving book and lyrics adapted from Frances Hodgson Burnett's beloved 1911 novel. Using the classic form of the traditional American musical, they have fashioned a faithful rendition of the novel, equally appealing to children and adults, to devotees of the novel and to Secret Garden newcomers as well.

The Secret Garden premiered on Broadway at the St. James Theatre on April 25, 1991, and closed on January 3, 1993, after 709 performances. Directed by Susan H. Schulman with choreography by Michael Lichtefeld, the cast featured Daisy Eagan as Mary. It won the 1991 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Daisy Eagan), and Best Scenic Design (Heidi Landesman). Eagan at age 11 was the youngest female recipient of a Tony Award.

The musical was subsequently produced in Australia in 1995, and in a heavily revised version at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Straford, UK in 2000, which transferred to the West End in 2001.

The Secret Garden was The Third Annual World AIDS Day Benefit Concert, held on December 5, 2005 at the Manhattan Center Studios Grand Ballroom, New York City, directed by Stafford Arima, but has not been seen in New York City in a full production since its Broadway premiere.

The production stars Jennifer Evans* (Ragtime and A Tale of Two Cities, Broadway) as Lily, Benjamin J. McHugh* (Mamma Mia! and Hairspray, Nat'l Tours) as Dr. Neville Craven, Jaimie Kelton* (Greenwillow, The York) as Martha, Hannah Lewis (Seussical, Westchester Broadway Theatre) as Mary Lennox, Michael Jennings Mahoney* (Camelot, B'way Concert) as Dickon, Sam Poon* (Les Misérables, Nat'l Tour) as Colin, Patrick Porter* (Blood on the Dining Room Floor, WPA) as Archibald Craven, Jacqueline Sydney* (The Children's Hour, APAC) as Mrs. Medlock, Richard Vernon* (The Human Comedy, APAC) as Ben, as well as Jane Bunting*, Mario Castro, Marisa Devetta*, Britain Gebhardt, Jonathan Gregg*, Clint J. Hromsco, Mary-Elizabeth Milton, Eric Morris*, Jan-Peter Pedross*, Lia Peros, Jason Pintar, Spencer Robinson, and Elizabeth Wharton.

The production features scenic design by Michael P. Kramer, costume design by Ryan J. Moller, and lighting design by Dan Jobbins. Colin Whitely is the sound designer, Ashley Cavadas is the props designer and Jessa Nicole Pollack* is the stage manager.

THE SECRET GARDEN plays the following regular schedule through Saturday, May 19:
 Thursdays at 8 p.m.  |    Fridays at 8 p.m.  |   Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.  

Tickets are $18, available online at www.apacny.org or by calling 866-811-4111. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Theatre Box Office, 30 minutes prior to the performance.

PERFORMANCE VENUE
Good Shepherd United Methodist Church
30-44 Crescent St (@30th Rd)
Astoria, NY 11102

Directions: Take the N or Q Subway to 30th Avenue. Walk down 30th Ave. to Crescent St. (Mount Sinai Hospital is on the corner.) Walk one block South to 30th Road. Turn left on Crescent Street. Walk one block south, then turn right onto 30th Rd. Entrance is second set of red doors on left.

Running Time: 135 minutes

Website: www.apacny.org
BIOGRAPHIES

Frances Hodgson Burnett (original novel) November 24, 1849 - October 29, 1924. Burnett was an English playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy. Born Frances Eliza Hodgson in Manchester, England, her family emigrated to Knoxville, Tennessee, after the death of her father in 1864. Frances soon found herself the head of a family of four younger siblings when her mother died in 1867. She turned to writing to support the family. Soon she was being published regularly in Godey's, Scribner's Monthly, Peterson's Ladies' Magazine and Harper's Bazaar. Her main writing talent was combining realistic detail of working-class life with a romantic plot. In 1886 she published Little Lord Fauntleroy. It was originally intended as a children's book, but had a great appeal to mothers. It created a fashion of long curls (based on her son Vivian's) and velvet suits with lace collars (based on Oscar Wilde's attire). The book sold more than half a million copies. Her later works include Sara Crewe (1888) - later rewritten as A Little Princess (1905); The Lady of Quality (1896) - considered one of the best of her plays; and The Secret Garden (1909) - for which she is probably best known today. From the mid-1890s she lived mainly in England, but in 1909 she moved back to the United States, after having become a. citizen in 1905. Frances Hodgson Burnett died in Plandome, New York, and is buried in Roslyn Cemetery.
Marsha Norman (Book and Lyrics) received the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for The Secret Garden. She is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of ‘night, Mother. For that play, she also received the coveted Hull-Warriner Award and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Her first play, Getting Out, received the Gassner Medallion and the Newsday Oppenheimer Award. Her other plays include Third and Oak, The Laundromat, The Pool Hall, Sarah and Abraham, and Loving Daniel Boone. She has also published a novel, The Fortune Teller. Norman also wrote the libretto for the Broadway musical The Color Purple. She has received grants from the National Endowment, the Rockefeller Foundation and the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.           

Lucy Simon (Music) made her Broadway debut with The Secret Garden, for which she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Score. Fanny Hackabout Jones, a collaboration with Erica Jong and Susan Birkenhead, was produced at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven. Ms. Simon also contributed songs to the Off-Broadway hit  A…My Name is Alice. In addition to her musical theatre work, Ms. Simon has won two Grammy Awards for her In Harmony albums, which she wrote and produced, and has recorded two solo albums for RCA Records. Ms. Simon began her professional singing, composing and recording career at 16, with her sister Carly, as part of the Simon Sisters. She lives in New York with her husband David Levine and their children, Julie and James.

Tom Wojtunik (Director) is the artistic director of the Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC), where he directed The Human Comedy, Children of Eden (NY IT Award, Outstanding Musical), The Pillowman, Ragtime and Proof. Other NY credits: It Is Done (Mean Fiddler Bar); The Play About the Naked Guy, Edenville (NY IT Award Nomination for Best Director, Emerging Artists Theatre); Grease 3: Threase (UCB/The Pit), The Miss Education of Jenna Bush (FringeNYC, Best Solo Show & Audience Favorite); Bright Lights, Big City (Marymount Manhattan College); The Who’s Tommy, Man of La Mancha, Six Degrees of Separation, Urinetown (NY IT Award, Outstanding Musical), Take Me Out (Gallery Players); I'm In Love With Your Wife (Midtown International Theatre Festival); The Good Thief and Rum and Vodka (Prospect St). Tom was a Resident Director for the Ensemble Studio Theatre, where directed workshops of Bella Via and David’s Play. Tom is a member of EAT and the LCT Directors’ Lab. BFA: Marymount Manhattan College. SDC Member.

ASTORIA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (APAC), The Astoria Performing Arts Center, Inc. (APAC), a not-for-profit organization, was founded in 2001with a mission to bring high quality theater and entertainment to Astoria/Long Island City and to support local youth and senior citizens. APAC is a professional theater company that complements a full season of award-winning mainstage productions with unique community programming.  

Each year, APAC produces musicals and plays. We are also invested in developing new works of American theater, through readings and workshops. Our mainstage productions have been recognized for their quality and exceptional production values. To date, APAC has received fifteen New York Innovative Theatre Award nominations and four wins (Children of Eden & Ragtime), as well as an Off-Off Broadway Theatre Review Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical (Is There Life After High School?).

APAC also offers annual community programs for children and senior citizens Examples includes a free musical theater performance program for children ages 8-13 (Summer Stars – 9 years running),an after school playwriting program for middle school students (Astoria Playmaking – 7 years running, and Senior Stars, a performance program for Queens residents over the age of 60. 

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October 24, 2011; New York, NY: The First Annual Times Square International Theatre Festival (TSITF) is officially accepting submissions for the January 16-22, 2012 season. TSITF will kick off the New Year with stimulating National and International theatrical performances in the most exciting city in the World; New York City! The Time Square International Theater Festival is dedicated challenging the status quo, presenting work that exhibits artistic excellence and invention and innovation in all of it's aspects, and work that offers new ways of seeing and being, as both artists and as global citizens.

TSITF fosters reciprocal collaboration of art by encouraging participants to join forces and learn from each other. TSITF produces projects that integrate genres and art forms, break with traditional forms of representation, and develop democratic and cross-cultural conversation. We believe that through the practice of collaboration, a group of artists working together can have a significant impact upon both contemporary theater and the world at large. Join us as we re-imagine the theater district.

TSITF will make it possible for an assortment of plays and performance pieces to be seen in the heart of Broadway that might not have had the opportunity otherwise. TSITF will offer companies of limited resources, but great artistic merit, the opportunity to show their art in the heart of the theatre capital of the world!

Applications will be accepted through November 17th, 2011. The application, which is available at www.tsitf.com includes a $20 fee, cover letter, company biography, a copy of the script, and a DVD/video tape (if available).  For more information visit www.tsitf.com.

Festival Dates: January 16-22, 2012

Festival Location: Roy Arias Studios and Theatres, 300 West 43rd St., New York, NY

Tickets: $18 in advance and $20 at the door.   Tickets will be available after the show line-up is announces at www.royariasstudios.com.

Double Play Connections and Doing Life Productions
Jane Dubin, Executive Producer

are pleased to invite you into the studio of the artist
where painting and poetry ignite

"A tour de force.Rap, poetry, painting and beguiling recitations are the hallmark of this gifted artist." - Herb Boyd, Amsterdam News

"Seeing a person trying to be honest about himself and his life is always riveting, but to see someone who is immensely talented do so is beyond amazing." - Caribbean Life

"Mandingo also demonstrates his abilities as a singer, dancer, performance artist, standup comedian and storyteller...Mandingo combines his talents and produces a multimedia performance that is entertaining, thought-provoking and truly beautiful." - Show Business Weekly

unFRAMED

A Man in Progress

Written and Performed by Iyaba Ibo Mandingo

Directed by Brent Buell

SPECIAL NEW YORK ENGAGEMENT
Thursday, November 17 at 9:00pm
Sunday, November 20 at 1:00pm

THE ALL FOR ONE THEATER FESTIVAL

THEATRE 80 St. Marks

The nation misread him, the prison enraged him, his art expressed him,
his woman believed him, his poetry saved him.Winner of the 2011 Award for Excellence in Theatre from the DC Black Theatre Festival, "In unFRAMED writer and performer Iyaba Ibo Mandingo tells the story of his journey from Antigua to America. It wasn't without tribulations; navigating treacherous times without a father, Mandingo turned to art. unFRAMED puts the art front and center: Mandingo uses painting, poetry, prose and song to tell a story that echoes the lives of many."- Times Herald Record.

unFRAMED plays the following schedule:
Thursday, November 17 at 9:00pm
Sunday, November 20 at 1:00pm

Running Time: 85 minutes, no intermission

Tickets are $20

Tickets are available online at www.AFOfest.org or http://bit.ly/unFRAMEDtixatAFO
For unFRAMEDwebsite/photos/videos, visit http://www.unFRAMEDthePlay.com


Click here to get your $20 tickets now!

FRESHLY SQUEEZED CREATIVE JUICES THEATRE COMPANY
Proudly Presents the World Premiere of

GUTS
A multi-media fantasia

Performed by LIAT RON

Directed by SHOSHONA CURRIER

NOVEMBER 3 – 20, 2011 AT THE 9TH SPACE
Hellthy is a superwoman--smart, savvy, Israeli-American-New Yorker…she should have it all, why is it so hard?

When Hellthy moves back to Israel, after an exhausting breakup, she is the center of attention for her over-bearing parents. Hellthy battles with a dangerous obsession to fit into a size 0, at any cost. Her heart never seems to be in sync with her brain and her diary is her only real confidante.

How does she overcome it all? -- She has GUTS!

Written and performed by Liat Ron, GUTS is a multi-media fantasia that uses Middle Eastern dance and a shockingly honest comedic narrative to tell Hellthy's story. It’s the story of womanhood, testing ones internal strength, and making a way in two very different worlds.

GUTS plays the following schedule through Sunday, November 20:
Wednesdays at 8 p.m. | Thursdays at 8 p.m. | Fridays at 8 p.m. | Saturdays at 8 p.m. | Sundays at 5 p.m.

Tickets are $20 and are now available online at www.9thspace.org or by calling 866-811-4111. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Theatre Box Office, 30 minutes prior to the performance.

Running Time: 60 minutes

Website: www.gutstheplay.comClick here for your $20 tickets! 

MAIEUTIC THEATRE WORKS

Proudly Presents the World Premiere of

“[Rich Rubin]brings surprising humor..and sensitivity” to Alzheimer’s Disease. – Oregonian (Assisted Living)

“Hilarious, moving and Simonesque.”– Neil Simon Festival (Assisted Living)

“Quick-witted and fecking hilarious.” –Off-Off-Off Theatre (Hamlet in Hiding)

“Wicked Twist of a play.” –Sydney Short & Sweet Festival (Maid/Man)

“A great play … frank, funny and timely.”– Trustus Theater Company Playwright Competition (Costa Rehab)

COSTA REHAB
“I dunno who the fuck I am anymore. And then it gets worse … ‘cause sometimes I do know.”– Davis (in Costa Rehab)Written by RICH RUBIN

Directed by SHELLY FELDMAN

NOVEMBER 3 – 19, 2011THE WORKSHOP THEATER, 312 W 36th St, 4th Floor


Wheeler and Corso, two injured Iraq War veterans, recuperate in the rehab unit of a stateside Army hospital. Their friendship is based on a profane camaraderie and a shared, if unstated, experience of war. Both men, however, are bored and sliding towards burnout, worn down by the weight of their injuries and the impersonal face of the Army bureaucracy. The arrival of Davis, a third injured vet, serves to rejuvenate the other two soldiers, providing them with a fresh, if unconventional, mission to focus on. Their subversive quest on Davis’ behalf leads to a renewed sense of hope for all three of them.

Featuring Nicholas Urda* (Kidnapping Laura Linney) and MTWorks Company Members Peter Cappello*, Sarah Chaney*, Louise Flory, Rachel McPhee* (Vieux Carre, directed by Tony Award nominee Austin Pendleton) and Jacob Thornhill* (Mr. Roberts alongside Tony Award nominee Hunter Foster, directed by Tony Award nominee Robert Longbottom).



COSTA REHAB plays the following regular schedule through Saturday, November 19:

Tuesdays at 7 p.m. – Talk-Back Tuesdays with Special Guests leading a panel

Wednesdays at 7 p.m.

Thursdays at 7 p.m.

Fridays at 8 p.m.

Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Ticketsare $18 (veterans $12; students/seniors $15) and are now available online at www.mtworks.org or by calling 866-811-4111. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the theater’s box office ½ hour prior to performance.

Running Time:90 minutes, no intermission

Website: www.mtworks.org

HARRY DIESEL PRODUCTIONS
Proudly Presents

BOY GETS GIRL

Written by REBECCA GILMAN

"One of the finest, most disturbing American plays in years. (...) Gilman has a tragic vision of a society in which men and women cannot see each other as human beings. Yet her social comment grows organically out of credible, unexpected characters (...) Boy Gets Girl grasps at big ideas, but reaches the heart and the head with equal force." - Richard Zoglin, Time

"One of the most conspicuous members of a breed of rising dramatists who don't shy from the social problem play(...) The play is first-rate (…) [Gilman] is a connoisseur of self-consciousness (…) Ms. Gilman has it in her to create characters with the richness of ambiguity that lets actors bloom."– Ben Brantley, The New York Times

“It is an effective play (...) The characters are cannily drawn, the dialogue is witty, idiosyncratic, and incisive. There is genuine suspense and mounting terror."- John Simon, New York

"Gilman -- an acute and wiry writer -- puts her ideas into the structure rather than the speeches of her plays (...) But everyone performs unpredictably: one of the points of this penetrating drama is that the gap between motive and effect is enormous." - Susannah Clapp, The Observer

Directed by MICHAEL MENGER

NOVEMBER 3 – 20, 2011 AT THE ACCESS THEATRE



Theresa Bedell is an independent literary journalist living in New York City. Utterly devoted to her work, she struggles to find a meaningful relationship. When set up on a blind date with Tony, a handsome man new to town, with humor and suspense her life is turned upside down.

What defines a stalker? How tenuous is one woman's control over her own life, when someone refuses to take no for an answer?

BOY GETS GIRL plays the following regular schedule through Sunday, November 20:
Thursdays at 8 p.m. | Fridays at 8 p.m. | Saturdays at 8 p.m. | Sundays at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $18 and are now available online at www.theatermania.com or by 866-811-4111. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the theater ½ hour prior to performance.

Access Theatre, 380 Broadway @ White Street. (2 blocks South of Canal) on the 4th Floor.

Running Time: 120 minutes

Website: www.boygetsgirltheplay.com


Click here to purchase your $18 tickets.

THE ASTORIA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
11th SEASON
Recipient of Best Musical 2010 NYIT Award forChildren of Eden
proudly presents the World Premiere of

A HARD WALL AT HIGH SPEED
And then the world went crazy.

Written by ASHLIN HALFNIGHT

“Mr. Halfnight has a gift for punchy, coarse dialogue; an interest in bittersweet detail; and an ear for the inarticulate angst of young people stuck in limbo.”-The New York Times

“A playwright who bears watching.”- Village Voice

“[Halfnight has] a finesse that is rare for a new writer.”-The New York Times

Directed by MAY ADRALES

NOVEMBER 3 – 19, 2011

THE GOOD SHEPHERD UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Donnie Cole is a Floridian with the ideal existence: he’s a charter pilot who loves to fly planes – he has the perfect family, owns his home, and basks in the respect of his community. But when he misjudges a situation at work, an unexpected burst of media attention turns an uneasy community against him. A play about one man's mistake, and how it changed the nation, A HARD WALL AT HIGH SPEED asks how we heal, how we forgive, and how far we've come.A HARD WALL AT HIGH SPEED features Tom O’Keefe*(“CSI”, Riverside Theatre) as Donnie,Sarah Kate Jackson* (Bride Wars, Ashlin Halfnight's God's Waiting Room) as June, Johnny Pruitt*("30 Rock", Dead Man Walking premiere at NYC Opera) as Trout and Ryan Templeton(NYC debut, web series "Dank and Nank") as Marcy. *appears courtesy of Actors' Equity Association

A HARD WALL AT HIGH SPEED plays the following schedule through Saturday, November 19:
Thursdays at 8 p.m. | Fridays at 8 p.m. | Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Tickets are $18,available online at www.apacny.org or by calling 866-811-4111. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Theatre Box Office, 30 minutes prior to the performance.

PERFORMANCE VENUE
Good Shepherd United Methodist Church 30-44 Crescent St (@30th Rd) Astoria, NY 11102

Running time:120 minutes (with one ten minute intermission)

Website: www.apacny.org

Click here for your $18 tickets to a World Premiere.

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THE CELL

Proudly Presents the Encore Production of

WINNER of FRINGENYC 2011 OVERALL EXCELLENCE AWARD

“Entertaining as hell... compelling script and excellent performance”

 –Joanna Bowzer, New York Theater Review

 

“Understated but brilliant... beautifully cinematic”

 –Michael Mraz, NYTheatre.com

HEROES AND OTHER STRANGERS

San Francisco. 1971. A tale of mystery, adventure, and running away.

Written by and Starring

ZAC JAFFEE

Directed by CHRISTIAN HAINES

LIMITED ENGAGEMENT

NOVEMBER 1 – NOVEMBER 19, 2011 AT THE CELL

OPENING NIGHT IS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3 AT 8 P.M.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT THECELLTHEATRE.ORG

It's 1971. Lenny is perfectly content with his life. He works at a camera shop in New York's Greenwich Village. He's not in the war, not fighting against it, not tuning in, turning on, or dropping out. He's not doing anything but standing on one side of a camera watching it all pass him by. But when a neighborhood girl disappears, Lenny finds himself searching for two runaway teenagers in San Francisco, where he finds hippies, revolutionaries, lovers, killers, heroes and other strangers, and, as it turns out, himself.

A noir tale told through a psychedelic lens.

HEREOES AND OTHER STRANGERS plays the following regular schedule:

 Thursdays at 8 p.m.

 Fridays at 8 p.m.

 Saturdays at 8 p.m.

There will be an added performance on Tuesday November 1.

Tickets are $15-18 and are now available online at www.thecelltheatre.org or by calling 1-800-838-3006. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the cell, ½ hour prior to performance

Running Time: 75 minutes

Website: www.thecelltheatre.org

Click here for $10 tickets the first weekend $15 all other performances with code: kampheroes