DOUBLE FEATURE Showcases 2 Of Gruen's Short Plays 3/19-4/19

Medicine Show THEATRE ENSEMBLE, one of NYC's longest-running experimental theatres, is pleased to announce the World Premiere of "DOUBLE FEATURE," an evening of two cinematically-inspired short plays by John Gruen. The production plays from March 19th through April 19th with an opening set for Friday, March 27th. The production plays at Medicine Show THEATRE, 549 West 52nd St., 3rd Floor (between 10th and 11th Ave.). The performance schedule is Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00 PM and Sundays at 4:00 PM. Tickets are $18 and are available from Smarttix at (212) 868-4444 or via the web at www.Smarttix.com. For more information, please log onto the company's website at www.MedicineShowTheatre.org.

"DOUBLE FEATURE" takes an alternately witty and poignant look at life through the lens of Hollywood by showcasing two new short plays. In the curtain-raiser "I Want To Live," an elderly film historian in the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease spends his days recalling the long-dead movie stars of his youth, blissfully unaware that his wife is considering leaving him for greener pastures. "Mother Loves Her Boys" is a comedy about an imperious, self-involved film actress in her declining years who traverses the globe in an increasingly futile attempt to get one of her sons--whomshe has not seen in over twenty years--to take her in.

"I Want To Live" is directed by Barbara Vann. "Mother Loves Her Boys" is directed by Mark Cannistraro.

John Gruen is the author of the recently published "Callas Kissed Me...Lenny Too!--A Critic's Memoir" (Power House Books) which was praised by the New Yorker for its "hearty candor" and dubbed "dynamite" by the New York Post's Liz Smith, "swooning" by Vanity Fair and "shocking" by Time Out New York. A well known cultural writer, Mr. Gruen has written on art, music and dance for the New York Herald Tribune and is a long-time contributor to the New York Times. Mr. Gruen, whose playwriting career began in the late 1960s with several of his plays being produced by Cafe LaMama ETC, was a member of the Playwrights Unit of the Actors Studio in the 1970s. He worked with Lee Strasberg and had an enduring friendship with renowned acting teacher Stella Adler.Mr. Gruen lives in NYC with his wife, the painter Jane Wilson.

Featured in the cast: DANIELA AMINI, MOE BERTRAN, Mark Dempsey, Ron Faber, RENEE HERMIZ, PETER JUDD, VIVIAN LANDAU, CHAVEZ RAVINE, FABIO TALIERCIO, PETER TEDESCHI, ALEX MARTINEZ WALLACE and Barbara Vann.

Director Barbara Vann is a founder of the Open Theatre as well as the Medicine Show, and won an Obie Award for her work on the musical "Bound To Rise" and appears in the Platinum Edition of "Who's Who." Director Mark Cannistraro's credits include James Still's "The Velocity Of Gary (Not His Real Name)" with Danny Pintauro from TV's "Who's The Boss" (NYC and SF), "Fairy Tales" (WPA Theatre) for which he won a Back Stage Bistro Award for Outstanding Direction, two productions of Joe Godfrey's "A Queer Carol," and, most recently, a staged reading of Meyer Levin's suppressed "Anne Frank."

Scenery is by CARL TALLENT, lighting is by RICHARD KEYSER and costumes are by UTA BEKAIA. Choreography is by JAIME GALLINDO.

Medicine Show THEATRE ENSEMBLE was founded in 1970 by Barbara Vann and the late James Barbosa. The company is dedicated to offering creative alternatives to conventional theatre by creating and presenting works that experiment with language, music, movement, form and ideas. The works are chosen to delight the mind, honor creativity, confound empty convention, encourage active compassion and present the many facets of the American experience within a global community.