Stage Adaptation of COOL HAND LUKE to Play 59E59 Theaters

Due to unforeseen circumstances, BRITANNIA WAVES THE RULES has pulled out of the 2015 Brits Off Broadway festival at 59E59 Theaters. Replacing the show is Godlight Theatre Company's production of COOL HAND LUKE, an adaptation of Donn Pearce's searing novel. This production is not part of Brits Off Broadway. COOL HAND LUKE is adapted for the stage by Emma Reeves and directed by Joe Tantalo. COOL HAND LUKE begins performances on Tuesday, May 5 for a limited engagement through Sunday, May 31. Press opening is Thursday, May 7 at 7:15 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7:15 PM; Friday at 8:15 PM; Saturday at 2:15 PM & 8:15 PM; and Sunday at 3:15 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $30 ($21 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or go to www.59e59.org.

Godlight Theatre Company brings another iconic work of literature to the stage: Donn Pearce's searing novel, COOL HAND LUKE. Beneath a scorching Florida sun, Boss Godfrey watches the chain gang and keeps his eye on Cool Hand Luke - war hero, trouble-maker, and inspiration to his fellow inmates - just the kind of man the Boss wants to crush. He'll always get back up after a beating. He'll eat fifty eggs in an hour to win a bet. A man who won't conform no matter what the cost. This powerful new adaptation for the stage by Emma Reeves is a raw, uncompromising tale of sticking it to "The Man." Donn Pearce's novel was the basis for the Academy-Award Winning film starring Paul Newman.

The cast features Kristina Doelling, Lars Drew, Lawrence Jansen, Mike Jansen, Nick Paglino, Jason Stanley, Julia Torres, Brett Warnke, and Jarrod Zayas.

The design team is Maruti Evans (set and lighting); Ien DeNio (sound); and Orli Nativ (costumes). Rick Sordelet is the fight choreographer. Original music is by Bryce Hodgson and Danny Blackburn. The production stage manager and dramaturge is Christina Hurtado-Pierson. The stage manager is Cris Knutson.

Emma Reeves (adaptation). A previous version of Emma's adaptation of Cool Hand Luke was performed at the Aldwych Theatre in London's West End. Other stage adaptations include Hetty Feather (West End and tour), Carrie's War (Lilian Baylis, Apollo Theatre WE, national tour), Anne of Green Gables (Lilian Baylis), Little Women (Lilian Baylis and Duchess Theatre WE), Sherlock Holmes (French tour), Mary Barton and 1984 (for Arts Educational Schools). Short plays and podcasts include The Psycho's Tale for Dirty Protest and Reunion for the Sherman. Radio work includes Leaving This Land, On The Cusp, Clinging to Lord Nelson, Stoppage Time (with Amit Sharma), Something for Nothing and Belonging Still. Television work includes episodes of Hetty Feather, The Dumping Ground, The Story of Tracy Beaker, Tracy Beaker Returns, Doctors, Belonging, Dead Gorgeous, Sadie J, My Almost Famous Family, Spirit Warriors, Half Moon Investigations, Young Dracula, Chuggington and a TV movie, The Murder of Princess Diana. Emma has recently co-created and written several episodes of Eve for CBBC and is currently working on season 2. Emma has twice been nominated for awards by the Writers' Guild of Great Britain. In 2012 Tracy Beaker Returns won a Royal Television Society Award with Emma's nominated script Money.

Joe Tantalo (director) has been Artistic Director of Godlight Theatre Company since 1994. Special Drama Desk Award winner for consistent originality and excellence in dramatizing modern literature, and especially for the vibrant theatricality of Godlight Theatre Company's innovative productions. Drama League New Directors/New Writer's Fellow. 59E59 Theaters: James Dickey's Deliverance (premiere), Clifford Chase's Winkie (premiere), John Ball's In the Heat of the Night (premiere), George Orwell's 1984 (premiere), Jim Carroll's The Basketball Diaries (workshop production), Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five (premiere), Jose Saramago's Blindness (premiere), Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 (premiere), Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange (premiere). New Ohio Theatre: Will Elliott's The Pilo Family Circus (premiere). On Stage at Kingsborough: Donn Pearce's Cool Hand Luke, Dale Wasserman's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Emelin Theatre: Lee Stringer's Grand Central Winter (adapted by Sean Tyler). Theatre Row: An Impending Rupture of the Belly by Matt Pelfrey (premiere). Ensemble Studio Theatre: Only We Who Guard The Mystery Shall Be Unhappy, The Trial of George W., Brown, Big Al, Beds Are Made to Lie In. Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Fahrenheit 451, A Clockwork Orange. Godlight was part of the 2010 People of the Year by nytheatre.com.

Donn Pearce (author) is an American author best known for the novel and screenplay Cool Hand Luke. His other books included Pier Head Jump (1972) and Dying in the Sun (1974). During the seventies and early eighties he was a freelance journalist, often contributing to magazines such as Playboy and Esquire. In 2005 he published a fourth book, Nobody Comes Back, a novel about the Battle of the Bulge.