American Express to Sponsor Anna Deavere Smith's LET ME DOWN EASY, Opens 10/7

American Express will sponsor the upcoming Second Stage Theatre production of Let Me Down Easy, conceived, written and performed by Anna Deavere Smith. As part of the sponsorship, American Express Cardmembers have access to exclusive ticket prices, including $49 tickets for preview performances and $63 tickets for post-opening performances (regular ticket price is $70).

Tickets can be purchased by calling the Second Stage Box Office at 212-246-4422 or online at www.2ST.com. Directed by Leonard Foglia, Let Me Down Easy began previews on Tuesday, September 15 and will officially open on Wednesday, October 7 at 6:45pm.

"American Express has supported Second Stage Theatre for almost two decades and we are pleased to work with them to bring Let Me Down Easy to the stage," said Timothy J. McClimon, President of the American Express Foundation. "Through this partnership we not only continue our efforts to preserve and enrich theatrical and cultural productions in New York City, we also can provide rich benefits to our Cardmembers by providing exclusive ticket prices for this production."

Channeling a dramatic range of interview subjects, from artists and athletes to doctors and those they treat, Let Me Down Easy is a virtuosic and moving exploration of the power of the body, the price of health, and the resilience of the spirit. With Ms. Smith's trademark journalistic precision, Let Me Down Easy features first person accounts from a wide variety of sources, including Lance Armstrong and former Texas Governor Ann Richards.

Let Me Down Easy has scenic design by Riccardo Hernandez, costume design by Ann Hould-Ward, and lighting design by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer.

During the eight-year development of this project, Ms. Smith interviewed hundreds of subjects, including doctors and patients at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Yale University School of Medicine and Stanford School of Medicine and Hospital, as well as healthcare practitioners in Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa and in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

Working closely with director Leonard Foglia, Ms. Smith has re-conceived LET ME DOWN EASY from the earlier developmental versions presented at New Haven's Long Wharf Theatre (winter 2008) and Boston's American Repertory Theatre (summer 2008).

ABOUT Second Stage Theatre

Founded in 1979 under the leadership of Artistic Director Carole Rothman, Second Stage Theatre produces a diverse range of premieres and new interpretations of America's best contemporary theatre, including Tiny Alice and Peter and Jerry by Edward Albee; The Good Times Are Killing Me by Lynda Barry; The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane; Little Murders by Jules Feiffer; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin; A Soldier's Play by Charles Fuller; Afterbirth: Kathy & Mo's Greatest Hits by Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy; Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo; Painting Churches and Coastal Disturbances by Tina Howe; Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants and On the Stem by Ricky Jay; Next to Normal by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey; Living Out by Lisa Loomer; This Is Our Youth and The Waverly Gallery by Kenneth Lonergan; Some Men by Terrence McNally; eurydice by Sarah Ruhl; Everyday Rapture by Dick Scanlan and Sherie Rene Scott; Saturday Night by Stephen Sondheim; Crowns by ReGina Taylor; Uncommon Women and Others by Wendy Wasserstein; Spoils of War by Michael Weller; Before It Hits Home, Jar the Floor and Birdie Blue by Cheryl L. West; Jitney by August Wilson; Lemon Sky, Serenading Louie and Sympathetic Magic by Lanford Wilson; and Metamorphoses and The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci by Mary Zimmerman. The company's more than 125 citations include the 2009 Tony Awards for Best Score, Best Orchestrations, and Best Actress in a Musical (Alice Ripley) for Next to Normal, the 2007 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Julie White, The Little Dog Laughed), 2005 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical (Rachel Sheinkin, ...Spelling Bee) and Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Dan Fogler, ...Spelling Bee), 2002 Tony Award for Best Director of a Play (Mary Zimmerman for Metamorphoses), the 2002 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work, 23 Obie Awards, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Clarence Derwent Awards, nine Drama Desk Awards, five Theatre World Awards, 11 Lucille Lortel Awards, the Drama Critics Circle Award and 15 AUDELCO Awards.

In 1999, Second Stage Theatre opened its state-of-the-art, 296-seat theatre, designed by renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. In 2002, Second Stage launched "Second Stage Theatre Uptown" series to showcase the work of up and coming artists at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre. The Theatre supports artists through several programs that include residencies, fellowships and commissions, and engages students and community members through education and outreach programs.

Second Stage Theatre AT THE Helen Hayes

Second Stage Theatre recently announced that it has acquired the right to purchase the historic Helen Hayes Theatre, located at 240 W. 44th Street. With this new home, Second Stage will be the only theatre company on Broadway dedicated exclusively to the development and presentation of contemporary American theatrical productions. Second Stage will also become one of only four non-profit theatre companies that own and operate theatres on Broadway. The company will continue to lease and operate their original theatres on the city's Upper West Side and in Midtown Manhattan.

LET ME DOWN EASY will be performed through Sunday, November 8, 2009 at Second Stage Theatre (307 West 43rd Street, just west of 8th Avenue) on the following schedule: Tuesday at 7:00pm, Wednesday - Saturday at 8:00pm, Wednesday and Saturday at 2:00pm, and Sunday at 3:00pm.

NOTE: All weekday evening performances the week of October 20 will begin at 7:00pm. Weekend curtain times remain the same.

NOTE: There will be no 2:00pm performance on October 7. There will be an added 7:00pm performance on Sunday, October 11.

Tickets for American Express Cardmembers are $49 and $63 and may be purchased by phoning 212-246-4422 or 800-766-6048 or online at www.2ST.com. To purchase performances now through October 6, please use code AXP49. To purchase performances after October 7, please use code AXP63. Note: October 7 performance is not available. All performances subject to availability.

For more information, please visit www.2ST.com

Photo credit Walter McBride