Cake Productions presents SPEAKING IN TONGUES AT 4th Street Theater

By: Oct. 07, 2010
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Cake Productions (winner of the 2010 NY Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Featured Actor and nominated for Outstanding Costume Design) revives Andrew Bovell's Speaking in Tongues, presented at New York Theatre Workshop's 4th Street Theatre. Previews November 4th; Press Night November 5th.

Speaking in Tongues, by Australian playwright Andrew Bovell (winner of the 1997 AWGIE Award for Best Stage Play), will be remounted in NYC by Cake Productions for the first time since its US premiere in 2001. The play is directed by Louis Wells. Performances will be at New York Theatre Workshop's 4th Street Theatre, 83 East 4th Street, between Second Avenue and Bowery, Tuesdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 3pm, from November 4th through 20th. All tickets are $18, and reservations can be made at www.BrownPaperTickets.com/event/129138 or by calling (800) 838-3006.

Two couples put their own estranged lives in perspective as they share the stories that changed them forever in this partner-swapping, film noir thriller. Jane confronts her suspicious neighbor about a missing woman seen on the news. Leon admits to verbally assaulting a stranger, who he later learns was suicidal. Sarah avoids all communication from the man she agreed to marry, then deserted. The mysteries of these events unfold as communication deteriorates, leaving the characters to deal with threats of violence and betrayal in their once perfect community.

In Cake's revival, Director Louis Wells strips away the concepts that made earlier productions more producible but less accessible. By opting for a large ensemble rather than doubling, Cake's nine-person cast allows the audience to more clearly focus on the play's surprising, interconnected web of relationships. Whereas in the past the two separate realities of the play were depicted through mirrored scenic elements, Wells creates a singular space for all the characters to inhabit, blending the staging and enhancing the theatricality of these clashing couples. Performed at the intimate 4th Street Theatre, Speaking in Tongues gives audiences a charged, live experience of the type of detective thriller we've previously only known from watching television crime shows and David Lynch films.

Founded in 2009 by Francesca Day and Marta Kuersten, this all-female company produces off-off-Broadway revivals that are culturally significant to modern, urban audiences. Winner of the 2010 NY Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Featured Actor (Amir Darvish) and nominated for Outstanding Costume Design (Brooke Berry and Mark Mears), Cake Productions is geared towards commercially appealing, thought-provoking, edgy plays. Their inaugural production, Modern Dance for Beginners by Sarah Phelps, opened at the Cherry Lane Studio and was followed by EVan Smith's Psych, presented in the East Village (Fourth Arts Block). In addition to creating opportunities for women as performers, administrators and designers, Cake focuses heavily on production values and presents their work in welcoming, accessible downtown venues. Entertainment is central to their aesthetic, and there's always cake at intermission!

The cast includes Cake Productions' co-founders Francesca Day and Marta Kuersten, company members Brooke Berry* and Sarah Brill, as well as Joachim Boyle, David Douglas*, Christopher Halladay*, Bryan Kaplan and Christopher McLinden*.
*Appears Courtesy of Actors' Equity Association

Written by Andrew Bovell, Directed by Louis Wells, Scenic Design by Lea Anello, Lighting by Jessica Burgess, Sound Design by Louis Wells, Costumes by Mark Caswell, Stage Management by Courtney Ferrell, Assistant Stage Management by Chelsea Moroski.

Performance Details:
New York Theatre Workshop's 4th Street Theatre
83 East 4th Street (between Second Avenue and Bowery)
Nearest Subways: 6 to Astor Place / F to Second Avenue

November 4th - 20th, 2010
Tuesdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 3pm
Running Time: 2 hours

For Tickets: www.BrownPaperTickets.com/event/129138
All Tickets: $18



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