Photo Flash: Long Wharf's AGNES UNDER THE BIG TOP

Long Wharf Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein and Managing Director Ray Cullom, presents the new play Agnes Under the Big Top, written by Aditi Brennan Kapil, directed by Eric Ting.

The play will take place from March 2 through April 3 on Long Wharf Theatre's Stage II. Tickets are $45-$65.

The press opening will take place on Wednesday, March 9 at 7:30 p.m.

Exploring the intersecting lives of immigrants making their way in an American city, Agnes Under The Big Top is a magical tale of hope and disillusionment, identity and reinvention, isolation and migration. It celebrates not simply that which makes us different, but the very common thread of our different-ness. "Aditi has written a play that at its heart is an expression of the immigrant spirit--that leap of faith that so many of our ancestors took in uprooting themselves from their familiar world to come to this new place in the hope of finding a better life," said Eric Ting, Long Wharf Theatre's associate artistic director.

Agnes, a Liberian immigrant, discovers she is dying of cancer. This sets in motion a series of events pitting her elderly rheumatoid employer, Ella, on a collision course with a subway train driven by a former Bulgarian ringmaster. Along the way, Agnes encounters characters that have lived alongside her, unnoticed, for years. In allowing them to affect her, and in affecting them in return, she rediscovers her lost place in the world.

"Aditi spins a tale that is profoundly familiar to all of us: about a young man dreaming of fame, a woman uncomfortable in her own skin, a man with so much to say but no one to listen, an old woman who let her son grow so distant from her, and a woman who, simply, wants to be the best mother she can be," Ting said.

Kapil is an actress, writer, and director, of Bulgarian and Indian descent. She was raised in Sweden, and resides in Minneapolis, MN. She is a graduate of Macalester College with a BA in English and Dramatic Arts, has performed extensively in the Twin Cities and around the country, and her writing has been nationally produced to critical acclaim. Her play Love Person was nominated for numerous awards, and received the 2009 Stavis Award. Agnes Under the Big Top was selected as a Distinguished New Play Development project by the NEA as administered by Arena Stage.

The ensemble includes Eshan Bay (Happy), Francesca Choy-Kee (Agnes), Michael Cullen (Shipkov), Laura Esterman (Ella), Sam Ghosh (Busker), and Gergana Mellin (Roza).

Bay has appeared in Golden Boy, Edmond, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (The Lee Strasburg Institute), and Sex Relationships and Sometimes ... Love, among others.

Choy-Kee appeared in She Stoops to Conquer (McCarter), Evergreen (The Prospect Theater Co.), Cold Hard Cash, Please Stop Talking, Schmoozy Togetherness, The Egglayers, Chopin's Preludes, and Golden Gate (Williamstown Theatre Festival.)

Michael Cullen has appeared on Broadway in Bus Stop, Off-Broadway in Bug, Cobb, Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, among others. His film credits include Margot at the Wedding, Dead Man Walking and Malcolm X.

Esterman won OBIE, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for her performance in Marvin's Room. Her Broadway credits include The Show-Off, Metamorphosis, The Suicide, Teibele and her Demon and God's Favorite. She has worked extensively Off-Broadway in works like Pericles, Two Rooms, Macbeth and The American Clock, among many others. Her film and television appearances include Addams Family Values, The Doors, Awakenings, "Third Watch," "Law and Order," among others.

Ghosh has appeared in Coney Island Avenue, Shoot the Messenger, The History of the Drum, Life Science and Buonanotte Fiorellino, among others. He also has numerous film and television appearances.

Mellin performed numerous classical roles at the National Theatre of Bulgaria, including A Doll's House, A Threepenny Opera, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Three Sisters among others. She has appeared in films and television in both Bulgaria and here in the United States.

The creative team is comprised of Frank Alberino (sets), Jessica Wegener Shay (costumes), Tyler Micoleau (lights), Katie Down (sound and composition), Sam Ghosh (composition), Amy Stoller (dialects), Liz Engelman (dramaturg), James Calleri CSA (casting) and Megan Schwarz Dickert (stage manager).

For more information, visit www.longwharf.org or call 203-787-4282.

Photo Credit: T. Charles Erickson