SCHOOLING GIACOMO Begins Previews 3/6

Robin Phillips presents the Off-Broadway premiere of the new play SCHOOLING GIACOMO - written & directed by award-winning playwright Richard Edwin Knipe, Jr. SCHOOLING GIACOMO will begin previews on March 6th prior to an official press opening of March 15th at The American Theatre of Actors (314 West 54th Street - btw. 8th & 9th Avenues).

SCHOOLING GIACOMO, a new play by Richard Edwin Knipe, Jr. is a bittersweet comedy that travels back and forth in time between the summer of 1970 and today: set in The Bronx, the play captures the rich and flavorful history of an ethnically mixed child who was raised by three know-it-all Italian uncles, a neighborhood wise guy and a drunken Irish/German mother. Now a single father and school teacher, he realizes the true value of his education in the school of hard knocks for both him and his daughter.

When the play debuted in 2008 at the Philipstown Depot Theatre in Garrison, NY, Robert Heisler of The Journal News wrote, "There is no reason to pass up SCHOOLING GIACOMO...an ambitious and wholly successful effort." James F. Cotter of the Times Herald Record wrote, "Humor and tragedy coexist with extraordinary simultaneity and spontaneity." And Jonathan Kruk of The Putnam County News and Recorder wrote, "Excellent...can you find a better evening out anywhere than SCHOOLING GIACOMO? Fugetaboutit! SCHOOLING GIACOMO, even with all it's humor, is like a Dickensian mystery."

The entire SCHOOLING GIACOMO cast from the acclaimed Philipstown Depot Theatre production will resume their roles for the Off-Broadway production. The cast includes Jordan Adelson, Dominique Alvarado, Rick Apicella, Alanna Heraghty, Andrew Lionetti, Kevin Nagle, Robin Peck, George Petkanas, Hugh Scully, and Kevin Trotta. Design team for SCHOOLING GIACOMO is Dana Kenn (set design), and Donald Kimmel (lighting design).

Playwright Richard Edwin Knipe Jr's other plays include FOURTH COMMANDMENT, which earned top prize at the Strawberry One-Act Festival and was subsequently performed at Dylan's (Studio 54) and in an Off-Broadway production at the Baruch College Performing Arts Center; POOLS, which earned him the 2000 Arts Council of Rockland Award, and was produced at the Elmwood Playhouse; SOONER OR LATER; PRISONERS; NOT FOR NOTHIN'; REMEMBERING DOROTHY; and THE SPIRIT OF ROBERTA (also a Strawberry One-Act Festival award winner). He is a founding member of the New York Dramadies Company, a fellow with the North American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Artistic Director of the Aery Theatre Company.

Robin Phillips (Producer) was a consultant on the Garrison NY production of SCHOOLING GIACOMO and is happy to be the producer of its Off-Broadway debut. Robin produces many regional productions, most recently A FEW GOOD MEN by Aaron Sorkin.

Scheduled March 6 through April 26, performances of SCHOOLING GIACOMO run Thursdays - Saturdays at 8:00pm, and Sundays at 2:00pm & 6:00pm (with the following exceptions: added performance on Saturday, March 7 at 2:00pm &no performance on Thursday, March 12) at The American Theatre of Actors (314 West 54th Street - btw. 8th & 9th Avenues). Tickets are $35 and can be reserved by calling 888-220-6284, or by visiting www.schoolinggiacomo.com.

NOTE: premium priced tickets are available for performances on March 6, 7 & 8 - for more information call 888-220-6284.