Primary Stages' CHASING MANET Cancels 4/22 Performance; Will Resume 4/23

This evening's performance of "Chasing Manet" at Primary Stages has been cancelled as cast member Vanessa Aspillaga rushes out of town to tend to a family emergency. Donnetta Grey, who recently appeared in "Shipwrecked! An Entertainment," will appear onstage, book in hand, when performances resume tomorrow evening at Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters.

Primary Stages (Casey Childs, Executive Producer; Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director; Elliot Fox, Managing Director) presents the final production of the 2008-2009 Season: the world premiere of the comedy Chasing Manet by Tina Howe. Michael Wilson returns to Primary Stages to direct the seven member cast that features Tony Award-winner Jane Alexander as Catherine, Vanessa Aspillaga, Lynn Cohen as Rennie, Jack Gilpin, Julie Halston, David Margulies, and Robert Christopher Riley.

Performances begin Tuesday, March 24, 2009 for a limited run through Saturday, May 2, 2009, at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Opening night is Thursday, April 9, 2009 at 8:00 p.m.

Chasing Manet is a new comedy in which a rebellious painter from a distinguished family in Boston and an ebullient Jewish woman with a huge adoring family form an unlikely bond. Inside the confining walls of Mount Airy Nursing Home, the two plot an escape to Paris aboard the QE2. But can they possibly pull it off amidst the chaos of their surroundings? The tension and comedy grow as they struggle to take wing for the last time.

Tony Award-nominated playwright Tina Howe is best known for Coastal Disturbances and Painting Churches. This world premiere of Chasing Manet marks her first collaboration with Primary Stages.

Casey Childs, Executive Producer at Primary Stages said, "I am thrilled to have Tina Howe join our growing roster of illustrious playwrights." Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director, added, "we are delighted to have Michael Wilson return to Primary Stages following the success of the critically acclaimed production of Dividing The Estate that recently ended on Broadway after receiving its New York premiere at Primary Stages."

The creative team includes Tony Straiges (Set Design), David C. Wollard (Costume Design), Howell Binkley (Light Design), and John Gromada (Sound Design). The Production Stage Manager is Susie Cordon.

Chasing Manet will play the following performance schedule: Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m., Wednesdays through Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m., Sundays at 3:00 p.m. on March 29th & April 12th and Wednesdays at 2:00 p.m. on April 15th, 22nd & 29th. There are no evening performances on April 22nd, 23rd, & 30th.

Single tickets for Chasing Manet are priced at $60 each with a specially priced $20 ticket available to patrons 35 and under. Tickets may be purchased by calling Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200, online at www.ticketcentral.com, or in person at the 59E59 THEATERS Box Office. Group Tickets (10+) are $45.00 each, and are available by calling (212) 840-9705, ext. 204. Please visit the website at www.primarystages.org, or call (212) 840-9705 for more information.

Primary Stages has instituted a Pay What You Can ticket offer (a policy instituted earlier this season) that will be available for the first two preview performances on March 24, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. and March 25, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets go on sale two hours prior to curtain and are limited to one ticket per person, cash only, no change given, must provide mailing address and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, only at the 59E59 Theater Box Office.

Primary Stages opened the 2008-2009 season with the New York premieres of Buffalo Gal by A.R. Gurney, A Body of Water by Lee Blessing, and the special added production of Love Child by Daniel Jenkins and Robert Stanton, followed by Shipwrecked! An Entertainment - The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told by Himself) by Donald Margulies. Primary Stages was recently represented on Broadway with Horton Foote's Dividing The Estate (produced by Lincoln Center Theater, by special arrangement with Primary Stages), which made its New York premiere last season.

Primary Stages recently announced their 2009-2010 season that highlights an all-female roster of playwrights: the world premiere of A Lifetime Burning by Cusi Cram (July 28 - September 5, 2009), the New York premieres of Night Watcher by Charlayne Woodard (September 22 - October 31, 2009), and Happy Now? by Lucinda Coxon (January 26 - March 6, 2010) at Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street).

3-play subscription packages are now available by calling TicketCentral at (212) 279-4200 or online at www.TicketCentral.com. For additional information about Primary Stages, please visit the website at www.primarystages.org.