Playwrights Horizons Opens LIVEforFIVE Lottery Entries for 1st DETROIT Preview; Deadline 8/20

Playwrights Horizons begins accepting entries today, Wednesday, August 15, for its popular LIVEforFIVE online lottery for $5 tickets to DETROIT, the New York premiere of the much-heralded new play by Obie Award winner Lisa D'Amour. Ms. D'Amour is both a 2011 Pulitzer Prize finalist for this play and a 2011 Steinberg Playwright Award winner for her body of work. Directed by Obie Award winner Anne Kauffman (Maple and Vine at Playwrights Horizons, Slowgirl, Stunning, Naked Angels' This Wide Night) in a completely new production, DETROITis being presented as the first production of the theater company's 2012/2013 Season.

A ticketing initiative created in 2007 as part of Playwrights Horizons' Arts Access program, LIVEforFIVE makes a limited number of $5 tickets available for the first preview performance of each Playwrights Horizons production through a lottery via the company's website (www.PlaywrightsHorizons.org). The LIVEforFIVE lottery for DETROIT will be for tickets to the first preview on Friday evening, August 24 at 8PM at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street).

Details for the LIVEforFIVE lottery are as follows: beginning today at 10AM, theatergoers can enter the lottery by filling out an entry form at www.PlaywrightsHorizons.org. Entries will be accepted until Monday, August 20 at 12 Noon. Winners of the lottery will be notified via email no later than 3PM on Monday, August 20 with instructions on how to book their $5 tickets. Unclaimed tickets will be offered via email to a limited standby list starting at 12 Noon on Tuesday, August 21 on a first-come, first-served basis. One or two tickets may be purchased for $5 each. At least 50 tickets will be available for Mainstage shows via the lottery.

The cast of DETROIT features two-time Tony Award winner John Cullum (for Shenandoah and On the Twentieth Century; nominations for Urinetown, 110 in the Shade and On a Clear Day…; Wilder at PH), Darren Pettie (This and Spatter Pattern at PH, Butley on Broadway, "Mad Men"), Oscar and two-time Tony Award nominee Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone, "The Office," On the Mountain at PH), Emmy Award nominee David Schwimmer ("Friends," "Band of Brothers") and Sarah Sokolovic (Drama Desk Award nominee for The Shaggs at PH). The production will have its official opening on Tuesday, September 18 at 7PM and continue through Sunday, October 7.

Somewhere in the suburbs of a mid-sized city, Ben (Mr. Schwimmer) and Mary (Ms. Ryan) welcome into their lives the rootless couple (Mr. Pettie and Ms. Sokolovic) who move in next door. But as this foursome bonds over backyard barbecues, the neighborly connection they find threatens to unravel the lives they've built and change them forever. An ecstatic, dangerous new comedy, DETROIT exposes the nerves that live just under the surface of American life today.

The production will feature scenic design by Louisa Thompson, costume design by Kaye Voyce, lighting design by Mark Barton and sound design by Matt Tierney. Production Stage Manager is Lisa Ann Chernoff.

The Arts Access program at Playwrights Horizons allows the institution to reach out to those who may not be able to afford the cost of a full-price theater ticket. This program is supported, in part, by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and The McGraw-Hill Companies.

Other Arts Access initiatives, both of which reflect Playwrights Horizons' ongoing commitment to making its productions more affordable to younger audiences, include HOTtix, $25 rush tickets, subject to availability, day of performance only, starting one hour before showtime to patrons aged 30 and under. Proof of age required. One ticket per person, per purchase.

Arts Access memberships (where tickets can be purchased in advance, when single tickets go on sale) are: 30&UNDER MEMBERSHIP, $20 membership fee per season and one $20 ticket for each show, as desired (proof of age required for membership); and STUDENT MEMBERSHIP, $10 membership fee per season and one $10 ticket for each show, as desired (valid full-time student ID required for membership).

Three subscription packages to Playwrights Horizons' 2012/2013 season are now available: a 6-show Subscription package ($230, four Mainstage and two Peter Jay Sharp Theater Productions); FlexPass (4+ tickets, $45-50 per ticket); and Membership ($55 membership fee + one ticket at $40 or less for each show, as desired). In addition, the company will continue to offer 30&Under Membership ($20 membership fee + one $20 ticket for each show, as desired); and Student Membership ($10 membership fee + one $10 ticket for each show, as desired). In addition to discounts on all Mainstage season attractions, subscribers receive priority booking and seating, ticket exchange privileges, parking and dining discounts, and exclusive mailings of Playwrights Horizons Bulletins. Packages are available at www.TicketCentral.com.