Playwrights Horizons Continues 2009/2010 Season With CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION, Previews 9/24

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) continues its 2009/2010 Season with the World Premiere of CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION, a new play by Annie Baker (Body Awareness at Atlantic Theater Company).

Directed by Sam Gold (Jollyship the Whizbang at Ars Nova, Rag and Bone at Rattlestick, The Black Eyed at New York Theatre Workshop), the production is currently in rehearsals and will begin previews on Thursday, September 24 with an Opening Night set for Tuesday, October 13 at 7PM. The limited engagement will run through Sunday, November 1 at Playwrights Horizons' Peter Jay Sharp Theater (416 West 42nd Street).

The cast features Obie Award winner Reed Birney (last season's The Savannah Disputation at Playwrights Horizons, Blasted, "Gossip Girl"), Tony Award nominee Peter Friedman (Ragtime, Playwrights Horizons' The Heidi Chronicles, 2009 Drama Desk nomination for Ms. Baker's Body Awareness), Obie Award winner Deirdre O'Connell (Manic Flight Reaction and Spatter Pattern at Playwrights Horizons, Drama Desk nomination for Love and Anger), Tracee Chimo (Irena's Vow, 365 Days/365 Plays) and Obie Award winner Heidi Schreck (Drum of the Waves at HERE, Amazons and Their Men at Clubbed Thumb).

In CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION, when four lost New Englanders enrolled in a Shirley, Vermont community center drama class experiment with harmless games, hearts are quietly torn and tiny wars of epic proportions are waged and won. Annie Baker's new comedy is a beautifully crafted diorama, a petri dish in which we see, with hilarious detail and clarity, the sweet sadness of a motley quintet.

The production will feature scenic and costume design by David Zinn, lighting design by Mark Barton and sound design by Leah Gelpe. Production Stage Manager is Alaina Taylor.

Playwrights Horizons' season productions are generously supported by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.

Playwrights Horizons is supported in part by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate. In addition, Playwrights Horizons receives major support from Carnegie Corporation of New York, Charina Endowment Fund, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Shubert Foundation and Time Warner Inc.

CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION has received generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Jerome Foundation, Tiger Baron Foundation and Peter Jay Sharp Foundation.

The performance schedule for CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION will be Tuesdays through Fridays at 7:30 PM, Saturdays at 2PM & 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2PM & 7PM. Tickets, $50, may be purchased online via TicketCentral.com, by phone at (212) 279-4200 (Noon-8pm daily), or in person at the Ticket Central Box Office, 416 West 42nd Street (between Ninth & Tenth Avenues).

A ticketing initiative created as part of the theater company's Arts Access program, LIVEforFIVE makes available $5 tickets for the first preview performance of each Playwrights Horizons production through a lottery via the company's website. The LIVEforFIVE Lottery for CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION will be for tickets to the first preview on Thursday, September 24 at 7:30 PM. Details for the lottery are as follows: beginning Wednesday, September 16 at 10AM, theatergoers can enter the lottery by filling out an entry form at www.playwrightshorizons.org. Entries will be accepted until Monday, September 21 at 12 Noon. Winners of the lottery will be notified via email no later than 3PM on Monday, September 21 with instructions on how to book their $5 tickets. Unclaimed tickets will be offered via email starting at 12 Noon on Tuesday, September 22 on a first-come, first-served basis. One or two tickets may be purchased for $5 each. A total of 40 tickets will be available for Sharp shows via the lottery.

Reflecting Playwrights Horizons' ongoing commitment to making its productions more affordable to younger audiences, the theater company will offer HOTtix, $20 rush tickets, subject to availability, day of performance only, starting one hour before showtime to patrons aged 30 and under. Proof of age required. One ticket per person, per purchase. STUDENT RUSH, $15 rush tickets, subject to availability, day of performance only, starting one hour before curtain to full-time graduate and undergraduate students. One ticket per person, per purchase. Valid student ID required.

LIVEforFIVE, HOTtix and STUDENT RUSH are some of Playwrights Horizons' popular Arts Access initiatives, which allow the institution to reach out to those who may not be able to afford the cost of a full-prIce Theater ticket. This program is supported, in part, by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The McGraw-Hill Companies and the Elroy and Terry Krumholz Foundation.

In addition, special Post-Performance Discussions with members of the cast and creative team will take place immediately after the following three performances: Friday evening, September 25 at 7:30 PM, Wednesday evening, September 30 at 7:30 PM and Saturday matinee, October 17 at 2PM.

For subscription and ticket information to all Playwrights Horizons productions, call TICKET CENTRAL at (212) 279-4200, Noon to 8PM daily, or purchase online at the Playwrights Horizons website at www.playwrightshorizons.org