The Pied Pipers Of The Lower East Side Returns To P.S.122, Opens 6/5

P.S. 122 and The Amoralists present a return engagement of The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side, written and directed by Derek Ahonen. The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side runs from June 5th to 28th, 2009 at Performance Space 122 (downstairs), located at 150 1st Avenue (at East 9th Street) in NYC. Official opening is June 5th.

Performances are Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays at 7:30pm, and Sundays at 5:00pm with an added show on Wed 6/24 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $25, $15 for students/seniors and $10 for P.S. 122 members, and can be purchased online at http://www.ps122.org or by calling 212-352-3101. Warning: Explicit sexual content and utopian ideals - no one under 17 will be admitted. Running time is 2 hours and 45 minutes including two intermissions. For more information visit http://www.TheAmoralists.com.

An extraordinary gathering of young idealists live as a modern day urban tribe above a vegan restaurant in NYC. Billy, Dawn, Dear and Wyatt are an extended sexual family battling their fears and addictions in order to live their utopian dream. The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side is a celebration of love and the search for human grandness.

The Amoralists is a theatre company that produces work with no moral judgment by new and emerging playwrights. Dedicated to an honest expression of the American condition, their actor-driven ensemble explores complex characters of moral ambiguity. They seek to initiate a dialogue between artists and audience, and put theatre at the heart of our community. Rollicking, rebellious and raw, their work will go home with you...Boom!

Derek Ahonen is the resident playwright of The Amoralists Theatre Company. His plays with The Amoralists include Amerissiah, The Hey You Monster Part One: Pokin The Bears In A Zoo and Part Two: Bring Us The Head Of Your Daughter (both published by United Stages) and While Chasing The Fantastic. Martin Denton of NYTheatre.com says "His talent as a playwright is very impressive... in the manner of Sam Shepard or Tracy Letts (though laced throughout with Ahonen's trademark social consciousness, which distinguishes this young playwright from his antecedents)" and Leonard Jacobs of Back Stage goes on to say "Ahonen doesn't disappoint." Ahonen's directing credits include Amerissiah and The Hey You Monster Part One: Pokin The Bears In A Zoo.

The cast includes James Kautz as Billy ("Kautz is sexy and brooding" ~ Back Stage), Nick Lawson as Evan, Sarah Lemp as Dear (The Cave Dwellers/Pearl Theatre Co., Tragedy in Nine Lives/P.S. 122), Malcolm Madera as Donovan, Mandy Moore as Dawn (2008 Helen Hayes Award Nominee) and Matthew Pilieci as Wyatt ("Pilieci is an incredible jumble of manic energy, frightening and fascinating to watch." ~ Back Stage).

The design/production team consists of Meghan Ritchie (Executive Producer), Al Schatz (Set Design), Jeremy Pape (Lighting Design), Ricky Lang (Costume Design), Bart Lucas (Sound Design), Han Mautz (Fight Choreography) and Judy Merrick (Stage Manager).

The Amoralists were formed in November 2006 by actors James Kautz, Matthew Pilieci and playwright Derek Ahonen, on a car ride to Las Vegas. With a goal of winning $50,000 to start their company they lost $5,000 and founded it regardless. Through its first two seasons The Amoralists produced five original full-length plays. The Amoralists' plays have been published by United Stages and read at Barnes and Noble.

"The thing that I love about the Amoralists is that they are unafraid to tackle big issues in their work - in fact, they thrive on tackling issues. Their fearlessness is impressive, as is their range." ~ NYTheatre.com, Martin Denton

"It's the same rabble-rousing theatricality that fueled the Living Theatre, that made Sam Shepard plays, especially the early ones, a theatre of brutality that electrified audiences." ~ Back Stage, Leonard Jacobs

Trains: L to 1st Ave, F/V to 2nd Ave, N/R/W to 8th St or 6 to Astor Place.