Richard Nelson's SORRY to Begin Previews at The Public Theater, Oct 30

The Public Theater will begin previews for the world premiere production of Richard Nelson's new play SORRY on Tuesday, October 30. SORRY, play three of The Apple Family Plays, takes place over a meal during the day the country will choose the next president – Election Day. The cast features Jon Devries, Maryann Plunkett, Laila Robins, Jay O. Sanders, and J. Smith-Cameron.

SORRY will run through Sunday, November 18 with an official press opening on Tuesday, November 6. Tickets are $15 and on sale now at (212) 967-7555, www.publictheater.org, or in person at The Public Theater box office.

The Public Theater will also present post-show discussions following select performances of SORRY. The Public Lab Thursday Night Speaker Series for SORRY will be held following the Thursday, November 8 and Thursday, November 15 performances and consist of engaging conversations with notable panelists. Tickets are $15 for all performances of SORRY and include free admission to the post-show discussions.

On Thursday, November 8, immediately following the 7:30p.m. performance, a panel moderated by Jesse Alick (Public Theater Artistic Associate) and featuring Richard Nelson (Playwright/Director of SORRY), Nick Pinto (writer for the Village Voice), and Jen Waller (lawyer for the Occupy movement), will focus on "Talking About Our Children: The Next Generations View on Politics."

On Thursday, November 15, immediately following the 7:30p.m. performance, a panel moderated by Susan Lerner (Executive Director of Common Cause New York) and featuring Richard Nelson (Playwright/Director of SORRY), Michael Cohen (journalist and author of Live from the Campaign Trail: The Greatest Presidential Campaign Speeches of the 20th Century and How They Shaped Modern America) will discuss "After the Sacrifice: What Has Been Given Up and What Has Been Gained in the Last Four Years?"

A year after Sweet and Sad, the Apple family again share a meal in Rhinebeck, as they sort through personal and political feelings of loss and confusion on the morning of the day the country will choose the next president. Like the first two plays in this trilogy, Sweet and Sad and That Hopey Changey Thing, SORRY will open on the day that it is set, November 6, 2012 - Election Day.

SORRY features scenic and costume design by Susan Hilferty, lighting design by Jennifer Tipton, and sound design by Scott Lehrer and Will Pickens.

Speaker Series Bios

JESSE CAMERON ALICK is an Artistic Associate at The Public Theater and is also a poet, playwright and producer. Jesse also works closely with the playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, is the east coast editor of High Contrast Review, freelance journalist and essayist. He studied writing with playwright Adrienne Kennedy and has taught a theater course at Lewis and Clark College.

Michael Cohen is regular writer and commentator on American politics and U.S. foreign policy. He is the author of Live from the Campaign Trail: The Greatest Presidential Campaign Speeches of the 20th Century and How They Shaped Modern America (Walker Books, 2008), as well as a columnist for Foreign Policy, where he writes a regular feature on politics and national security. He has previously been a senior fellow at the New America Foundation and the American Security Project. He served in the U.S. Department of State as chief speechwriter for U.S. Representative to the United Nations Bill Richardson and Undersecretary of State Stuart Eizenstat. He has worked at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, was chief speechwriter for Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), and was a senior vice president at the strategic communications firm of Robinson, Lerer and Montgomery. He has also worked on political campaigns, both in the United States and overseas. He has been a frequent commentator on politics and international affairs, and his work has been featured in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and the Washington Post. His research has focused on the growing role and influence of non-state actors, reforming the foreign assistance bureaucracy (with a particular focus on democracy promotion), and improving aid coordination between private and public actors. Prior to that, he was a senior fellow at the American Security Project.

Richard Nelson's work for The Public includes Sweet and Sad, That Hopey Changey Thing, and Conversations in Tusculum. His other plays include Nikolai and the Others, Goodnight Children Everywhere (Olivier Award, Best Play), Two Shakespearean Actors (Tony Nomination, Best Play), Some Americans Abroad (Olivier Nomination, Best Comedy), Madame Melville, New England, Frank's Home, Rodney's Wife, Franny's Way, The General from America, The Vienna Notes (Obie Award) and others. His musicals include James Joyce's The Dead with Shaun Davey (Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical), My Life with Albertine with Ricky Ian Gordon, and unfinished Piece for a Player Piano with Peter Golub. His films include Hyde Park-on-Hudson (Roger Michell, director), Ethan Frome (John Madden, director), Sensibility and Sense (David Jones, director). He is a recipient of the PEN/Laura Pels Master Playwright Award and an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is an Honorary Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company, which has produced ten of his plays. He lives in upstate New York.

SUSAN LERNER is the Executive Director of Common Cause New York, and has been an activist for over 30 years. She speaks and writes extensively on redistricting, ethics, and campaign finance reform. Currently, she is a founding member of a new Coalition, NY Women Vote, to educate and mobilize women to participate in the democratic process. She is a member of the board of the Center for Traditional Music and Dance and is on the Advisory Board for Whosontheballot.org. Prior to joining Common Cause/NY, Susan was the executive director of the California Clean Money Campaign. She served as a member of the Steering Committee of The Commonwealth Club's Voices of Reform Project and on the Board of Trustees of the California State Summer School for the Arts. She founded and chaired the Committee for Judicial Independence, a grassroots organization dedicated to educating and activating Americans to the importance of an independent federal judiciary, and led a statewide coalition of groups active on federal judicial nominations. For almost 20 years, Susan was a trial lawyer in Los Angeles specializing in complex commercial litigation and intellectual property.

NICK PINTO is a staff writer at the Village Voice, where he has written extensively about Occupy Wall Street since its beginning. He also writes about criminal justice, labor, civil liberties, surveillance, and politics.

JEN WALLER is an activist and radical legal worker from Oakland, CA who moved to New York in 2005. She has been organizing with Occupy Wall Street and helping with legal support since last October. In the Spring of 2012, she helped found the Mutant Legal Collective, which does legal support work in solidarity with OWS. Jen does trainings for activists and helps to educate about histories of activism and political repression in the United States. She has also been involved with local organizing in NYC against racist policing and struggles against government repression, entrapment, and preemptive prosecution.

Complete in October 2012, the revitalization of The Public Theater's downtown home at Astor Place physically manifests the Company's core mission of sparking new dialogues and increasing accessibility for artists and audiences by dramatically opening up its landmark building to the street and community, and transforming the lobby into a public piazza for artists, students, and audiences. Designed by Ennead Architects and constructed by Westerman Construction, the project encompasses enhancements to the building's interior and exterior while preserving the historic structure. Key elements of the design include infrastructure updates to the 158-year old building, as well as construction of new exterior entry stair and glass canopy; installation of ramps for improved accessibility; an expanded and refurbished lobby; the addition of a mezzanine level with a new lounge, The Library at The Public, designed by the Rockwell Group; expansion and remodeling of restroom facilities; and comprehensive exterior restoration, ensuring stability of the landmark façade.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, The Public Theater is the only theater in New York that produces Shakespeare and the classics, musicals, contemporary and experimental pieces in equal measure. The Public continues the work of its visionary founder, Joe Papp, by acting as an advocate for the theater as an essential cultural force, and leading and framing dialogue on some of the most important issues of our day. Creating theater for one of the largest and most diverse audience bases in New York City for nearly 60 years, today the Company engages audiences in a variety of venues-including its landmark downtown home at Astor Place, which houses five theaters and Joe's Pub; the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, home to its beloved, free Shakespeare in the Park; and the Mobile Unit, which tours Shakespearean productions for underserved audiences throughout New York City's five boroughs. The Public's wide range of programming includes free Shakespeare in the Park, the bedrock of the Company's dedication to making theater accessible to all, new and experimental stagings at The Public at Astor Place, and a range of artist and audience development initiatives including its Public Forum series, which brings together theater artists and professionals from a variety of disciplines for discussions that shed light on social issues explored in Public productions. The Public Theater is located on property owned by the City of New York and receives annual support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

SORRY begins performances on Tuesday, October 30 and runs through Sunday, November 18 in The Public's Anspacher Theater, with an official press opening on Tuesday, November 6.

Member tickets, priced at $12 are on sale now. Single tickets, priced at $15, are on sale now and can be purchased at (212) 967-7555, www.publictheater.org, or in person at The Public Theater box office.

The performance schedule is Tuesdays through Sundays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. There is an added performance on Monday, November 5 at 7:30 p.m. (There is no 1:30 p.m. performance on Saturday, November 3 and Sunday, November 4; there is no 7:30 p.m. performance on Wednesday, November 7 and Tuesday November 13).

The Public Theater is located at 425 Lafayette Street.

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