Sowers, Jones, Vergel Star In THE ROSES ON THE ROCKS At MTS 6/4-6/27

Manhattan Theatre Source presents the world premiere of The RoseS ON THE ROCKS by Ellen Boscov, directed by Richard Caliban, starring Scott Sowers, Rachel Jones, Fulvia Vergel and Elia Monte-Brown June 4 - 27, 2009

Manhattan Theatre Source presents the world premiere of Ellen Boscov's evocative play The Roses on the Rocks June 4 through 27, 2009 at its Washington Square Park home (177 MacDougal Street).

In a time and place hovering between dreams and reality, a prostituted, orphaned Latina teenager, and her pimp's widow attempt to form a loving family in a house haunted by evil. After her pimp Bill's death, Blossom, nearly 15-years-old and HIV-positive, has no where to turn. Guided by his wicked ghost, she visits his grieving widow, Peggy, and the two women slowly form a bond. As Blossom's Quinceañera nears, she and Peggy confront their past and improbable future.

Directed by Richard Caliban (Homo Sapien Shuffle), The Roses on the Rocks features a cast including Scott Sowers (Broadway revival, A Streetcar Named Desire), Rachel Jones (Meet Me in St. Louis), Fulvia Vergel and Elia Monte-Brown and musicians Helena Espvall and Alberto Villa-Lobos. The creative team includes Edward T. Morris (set design), Kia Rogers (lighting) and Rana Santacruz (original music). Dana Rossi serves as the stage manager.

Ellen Boscov's play Nobody's Mama, the first draft of The Roses on the Rocks, was a semi-finalist in the 2008 Cherry Lane Mentor Project in New York City. Her full-length play, Dillsberry U.S.A., was produced by the Marsh in San Francisco, CA. It received a Zellerbach Family Fund grant to support this production. It also received a showcase at the Cable Car Theatre's Off the Track Series in San Francisco and a staged reading at the Castillo Theatre in New York City. Ellen's full-length play, We're Just One Hawaiian Dancer, was produced at the Theatre Shoppe in Chicago, IL.

Richard Caliban has worked as a director and playwright across the country and internationally. He was Artistic Director of critically acclaimed, Obie Award-winning Cucaracha Theatre where he wrote and directed many of his plays over fourteen seasons, including Homo Sapien Shuffle at the Public Theater, Performance Piece #27 (also at the Vineyard Theatre and the Ilkhom Theatre in Tashkent, Uzbekistan), Budd, A Vast Wreck, Famine Plays (also at the Yale Cabaret), Rodents & Radios (Best Play List 1990 --, New York Times). Caliban has also worked with Jules Feiffer on a revival of his Tony-nominated play Knock Knock at the Vineyard Playhouse and with Michael Weller on iHelp! at School House Theatre. Other recent work includes his own Teatro Slovak; Les Funky Bitches Fantastique at Galapagos, HERE Art Center and other musical venues; Jenny Lyn Bader's Manhattan Casanova at Hudson Stage; and Suzan Lori Parks' House of Jones - 365 Plays/Days - at Galapagos and The Public Theater.

Manhattan Theatre Source is an arts service and producing organization located in the heart of Greenwich Village. Named "one of the top five Off-Off Broadway theaters" by New York Magazine, the Source launched Tony-nominated, Obie Award-winning musical [title of show], and was home to the world premieres of Coronado by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River), Cathedral by Joe Pintauro, Retrospective by Joan Tewkesbury, Universal Robots by Mac Rogers, and Richard Vetere's Machiavelli. For more information, visit www.theatresource.org.

Scheduled June 4 through 27, The Roses on the Rocks performs Wednesday through Saturday at 8:00 pm with an additional performance Saturday, June 27 at 2:00 pm at Manhattan Theatre Source (177 MacDougal Street, between Waverly Place and West 8th Street; Subway: A/C/E or B/D/F/V to West 4th). Tickets are $18 at www.theatermania.com or (212) 352-3101.