Public Theater Announces The Public Lab Season Line-up

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) is pleased to announce the 2009 Public LAB season line-up, featuring new works by Darrell Dennis, Raúl Castillo, Alex Timbers and Michael Friedman, and Suzan-Lori Parks. Public LAB's second season, which began with the LAByrinth Theater Company's production of Philip Roth in Khartoum by David Bar Katz in December, will continue on February 20 with the U.S. premiere of Tales of an Urban Indian, a result of The Public Theater's Native Theater Initiative. The Public LAB season will also include the world premiere of Knives and Other Sharp Objects, the New York premiere of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, and a world premiere by The Public Theater's Master Writer Chair Suzan-Lori Parks. Tickets, priced at $10, go on-sale on Friday, January 30.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation supported Public LAB with one of the largest grants ever received by The Public Theater. It will be used, in part, to allow audiences to see these important new plays for only $10, cheaper than the price of a movie ticket. Building on the success of the inaugural Public LAB season, the 2009 performance schedule has been expanded from 19 performances to 27 performances for each show.

Public LAB is an annual series of new plays that lets New Yorkers see more of the work they love from The Public and LAByrinth Theater Company in stripped-down productions. Public LAB allows The Public Theater to support more artists, and gives audiences immediate access to new plays in development.

"Public LAB is what The Public Theater exists to do: bringing electrifying new work, without price barriers, to New York's most diverse audience," said Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. "These four shows together are a lightning-lit look at the past and future of our sprawling continent."

"Last year, we tested the idea of creating a new way for us to respond to artists and audience by creating the Public LAB. Today, as we jump into the second year of Public LAB, we're thrilled to see that the model works for artists to develop new work and for our audiences to see more work at The Public for only ten bucks," said Public Theater Associate Artistic Director Mandy Hackett. "We're excited to welcome such a great range of exceptionally talented writers to Public LAB this year and to watch the program continue to grow."

"The great thing about co-presenting Public LAB is the company we get to keep. Your friends' high standards elevate your own," said LAByrinth Theater Company Co-Artistic & Executive Director John Gould Rubin. "This program has established a sputnik standard. We're better artists for being part of it."

2009 Public LAB Season at The Public Theater:
TALES OF AN URBAN INDIAN (U.S. Premiere)
A program of The Public Theater's Native Theater Initiative
February 20 - March 15
By Darrell Dennis (Shuswap)
Directed by Herbie Barnes (Ojibway)

Acclaimed Canadian writer and performer Darrell Dennis tells the semi-autobiographical tale of a young Indian man, Simon Douglas. From living life on the "Rez" to navigating the mean streets of Vancouver's east side, Dennis weaves a funny and stirring story of identity, discovery, choice and self-respect. A hit from The Public's inaugural Native Theater Festival, this one-man show returns to make its U.S. premiere following a Canadian tour and two nominations for the Dora Mavor Award, the highest theatrical honor in Canada.

KNIVES AND OTHER SHARP OBJECTS (World Premiere)
March 27 - April 19
By Raúl Castillo
Directed by Felix Solis
Co-produced with LAByrinth Theater Company

Cultures collide in Texas when two Latina sisters are shipped off to live with their more well-heeled family. A poignant story of family, coming of age, and the meaning of home. South Texan writer/actor Raúl Castillo is a member of The Public's inaugural Emerging Writers Group and LAByrinth Theater Company.

BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON: The Concert Version (NY Premiere)
May 5 - 24
Written by Alex Timbers
Music and Lyrics by Michael Friedman
A collaboration between Center Theater Group and The Public Theater
In association with Les Freres Corbusier

A fast-paced entertainment that takes a sharp, irreverent look at America's seventh president, Andrew Jackson. This satirical epic reveals questions about the country we live in and the leaders we choose. From Obie winners Alex Timbers (A Very Merry Unauthorized Scientology Pageant) and Michael Friedman (co-writer of Paris Commune in Public LAB 2007).

A New Play By Suzan-Lori Parks (World Premiere)
June 5 - 28

The Public LAB is thrilled to premiere a new play by Suzan-Lori Parks, whose longstanding history with The Public began in 1993 and has included the premieres of The America Play, Venus, In the Blood, Fucking A, 365 Days/ 365 Plays, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Topdog/Underdog. Currently, Ms. Parks is the Master Writer Chair at The Public Theater. Details to be announced at a later date.

LAByrinth Theater Company (Artistic Director John Ortiz; Co-Artistic Director Philip Seymour Hoffman; Co-Artistic & Executive Director John Gould Rubin) was founded in 1992 by a group of actors who wanted to push their artistic limits, hone their craft, and develop new plays that truly reflected their heritage and experience. Today, LAByrinth is comprised of 117 established and emerging theater artists from a wide array of cultural perspectives. The inclusive, multicultural ensemble encourages all members to write, act, direct, and design, and supports multidisciplinary growth and exploration in the creation of daring new work that celebrates the diversity of its New York City home. Now in its seventeenth season, LAByrinth has developed over 300 new plays and staged 51 world premiere productions.

THE PUBLIC THEATER (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) was founded by Joseph Papp in 1954 as the Shakespeare Workshop and is now one of the nation's preeminent cultural institutions, producing new plays, musicals, productions of Shakespeare, and other classics at its headquarters on Lafayette Street and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The Public's mandate to create a theater for all New Yorkers continues to this day on stage and through its extensive outreach and education programs. Each year, over 250,000 people attend Public Theater-related productions and events at six downtown stages, including Joe's Pub, and Shakespeare in the Park. The Public has won 41 Tony Awards, 145 Obies, 39 Drama Desk Awards, 24 Lucille Lortel Awards and 4 Pulitzer Prizes.