'Man-Made' Explores Human Adaptation, Opens March 2 at Ohio Theatre

Creation Production Company will present the world premiere of Susan Mosakowski's full-length drama Man-Made, which she will also direct. Man-Made will be presented at the Ohio Theatre, 66 Wooster Street (between Spring and Broome Streets). Previews begin February 29, and the official Opening Night will be Sunday, March 2 at 7PM. Performances will run through Saturday, March 22.

"Man-Made is about the first bio-genetically engineered woman, Eugenie Doe. Mosakowski's provocative drama takes us on an exploration of human evolution and adaptation channeled through the discoveries of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, the Creature in Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein,' and finally to the current experiments in biotechnology. Survival is pitched against the rigid morality of the nineteenth century, and later in the twenty-first century when the tyranny of organized religion and corporate America threaten to halt science," explain press notes.

Susan Mosakowski's works as a playwright and director in New York City include: Cities Out of Print at Manhattan Theatre Club; Nighttown at the Flea; Inferno (Theater for the New City); Commie Stories (P.S. 122); Ice Station Zebra (The Ohio); and The Rotary Notary and His Hot Plate in collaboration with architects Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio, Harry and the Cannibals, and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (La MaMa ).

The seven-member company will be headed by OBIE Award-winner James Himelsbach as Charles Darwin. Also featured will be: Bryant Bradshaw (The Creature), Kate Hall (Mary Shelley), Eva Patton (Emma Darwin), Richard Prioleau (Thursday), Michael Kevin Ryan (Alfred Russel Wallace), and Amelia Workman (Eugenie Doe).

The set design will be by Bessie Award-winning theatrical designer Michael Casselli, the costume design by Dorothy Fennell, the lighting design by long-time Creation collaborator Pat Dignan (also frequently with Karole Armitage, Theodora Skipitares, Yoshiko Chuma), and the sound design by Timothy Anderson.

Creation Production Company (www.creationproduction.org) generates innovative forms of theater through experiments with language, new music theatre, and explorations of political issues, seamlessly integrating the visual arts, music, dance, technology, and architecture. Since 1977, the company has produced forty-nine stage plays, two plays for radio, two full-length video works, European tours, numerous U.S. tours and residences, two records, and the publication of many of its plays.

The complete performance schedule for Man-Made (February 29 through March 22) will be: Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 7:00 p.m. There will be no performance on Sunday, March 16. Tickets will be $18.00. Student tickets will be $15.00 (at the door only). The box office number for reservations is 212-868-4444 or visit www.smarttix.com.

Clockwise from top left: Kate Hall (Mary Shelley), James Himelsbach (Charles Darwin), Amelia Workman (Eugenie Doe), and Bryant Bradshaw (The Creature). Photo by Carol Rosegg