YOUTH + BLOOD + ROSES Set for Venus/Adonis Festival

On January 15th, 17th, and 18th, 2015, Youth + Blood + Roses, a new play by Michael Joel, will make its New York debut as part of the Venus/Adonis Theater Festival. The play features Aryana Sedarati, Jeremy Landes, Kaitlin Overton, David Acosta, Katie Frazer, and is assisted directed by Mike McQuade.

Youth + Blood + Roses is a modern adaptation of Anton Chekhov's renowned Uncle Vanya and is Michael Joel's first play. All of the actors are former theatre students at Montclair State University. "It's exciting that we all get to be together again making new theatre in New York." says actor Kaitlin Overton, who plays Sophie. "My best friend wrote a play and I get to be in it. That's pretty much the dream! I'm so proud to be a part of this piece and this process. Michael's play really tells our own stories, too, as well as those of the characters he's created. They all translate really well from Chekhov."

The play chronicles a week after Nick, played by David Acosta, and Sophie's dad comes to town with his younger wife, Yelena, played by Aryana Sedarati. A party is thrown and with the flowing of wine, souls are bared, romances are discovered, and lives are altered forever. Youth + Blood + Roses explores the modern twenty-something's desperate need for relevance as an artist.

Michael Joel has been involved with the Venus/Adonis Theater Festival since June 2014, when he directed a play written by another Montclair theatre alum. "While writing and directing a play can be intimidating," Joel says, "I am truly excited to be given the opportunity to see one of my own works from its conception to the final product. Not to mention I get to work with some of my closest friends from my time at Montclair. Our dreams of creating theatre together after college are finally coming to fruition and I couldn't be more excited."

Says Joel of his play: "The play for me is an exploration into our tumultuous minds at this stage of our lives. They [Chekhov's characters] have that same desperate need for relevance and the same feeling that time is slipping away. I played around with the characters and time period and created a new piece that honors both Chekhov's story and our current state as budding artists."

Assistant director Mike McQuade calls Youth + Blood + Roses "the millennial's Uncle Vanya."

Joel adds: "After reading [Chekhov's] Uncle Vanya again I thought, 'oh god, they are us.'"

Youth + Blood + Roses runs January 15th at 9:00PM, January 17th at 2:00PM, and January 18th at 7:00PM at the Robert Moss Theatre at 440 Studios on 440 Lafayette Street in New York between Astor Place and E. 4th Street. Subway: 6 to Astor Place; N or R to NYU - 8 Street

To reserve tickets, please send an email to venustheaterfestival@gmail.com, listing

Youth + Blood + Roses, the date of the performance you wish to see, and how many tickets.

Tickets are $20.00 cash only at the door.