Theater For The New City Presents Ruffini's 'To Love And To Cherish' Sept 3-20

Marriage, thy name is compromise. But when a family's core values are hypocrisy, lies, denial and enabling, it's a fair bet that relationships will be strained to the breaking point, as aptly demonstrated in the world premiere of Gene Ruffini's bittersweet drama TO LOVE AND TO CHERISH. Directed by Jessica Zweiman and produced by Theater for the New City, the play will begin performances at the company's Cino Theater at the TNC complex, located at 155 First Avenue, beginning on September 3rd.

Paul, a successful author and screenwriter, and his wife Joan, an actress, are summering at their upstate home in Duchess County. Joan leans on Paul (and the bottle) because of a mystery ailment that has left her virtually bedridden; Paul cooks, cleans and keeps Joan happy. Their grown children gather for a weekend at the summer house to celebrate Joan's birthday: stockbroker son Don and daughter-in-law Elysse; favored son Michael and his wife, Susan; and Paul and Joan's midlife surprise daughter Carla, who's bringing home her business partner (and new fiancée) Mavis.

Sick of hypocrisy and denial, Don perversely delights in trading backhanded barbs and biting remarks with his soon-to-be-ex-wife and anyone else caught in the shotgun spray of his bitterness and self-loathing. Casualties caught in the crossfire of shouted truths, whispered lies, and desperate denials include the loss of innocence and the shattering of the status quo. In the end, can those left standing escape the tentacles of the family, and more importantly, will they even try to?

The cast of TO LOVE AND TO CHERISH features Bruce Colbert, Thesa Loving, Andrew Langton, Jessica Pohly, Jake Green, Kelly Campbell, Bethany Braun and Kimberlee Walker.

Gene Ruffini's plays have been produced in New York City and around the country. They include: The Choice, about the causes of the Holocaust and which was published by the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation League; Homeland, about the threat of censorship and totalitarianism in America which was acclaimed by the ACLU; Woden, about corporate corruption, and Prester John, about religious hypocrisy and media dishonesty. As an actor, Ruffini has appeared in television, film and theatre. He has had principal film roles in Analyze This, Ghost Dog, Find Me Guilty and Extreme Measures, among many others. He has appeared in episodes of Law and Order, The Sopranos, and on The Conan O'Brien Show. He is also a published novelist, biographer, magazine writer and former journalist having worked at the New York Post, New York Daily News, Mutual Broadcasting System, Channel 5 and Channel 11 in New York. He currently teaches writing and literature at Berkley College in New Jersey. Gene received a grant from The Puffin Foundation for To Love and To Cherish, with the Foundation noting that the work fulfilled their objective of funding thought-provoking theater.

Born in Brooklyn NY, Jessica Zweiman made her directorial debut on the Los Angeles stage with Donald Margulies' Collected Stories. (She previously assisted in several productions, including Dorothy Lyman's one-woman show My Kitchen Wars.) Among the plays Jessica has directed are the Neil Simon Trilogy of Brighton Beach Memoirs, Broadway Bound and Biloxi Blues; as well as Dog Opera by Constance Congdon (AIDS Awareness Award), and Paula Vogel's How I Learned to Drive. Recent directorial work includes Edward Allen Baker's Face Divided, Caryl Churchill's Abortive, and Tony Kushner's Angels in America for The Actors Studio, as well as The Mulatto's Dilemma (Ovation nominee) at the Gardner Stages in Los Angeles. Jessica also directed the award winning short film Propaganda: The Breakfast Club and is currently in development on the TV pilot Stuck in the Middle. Currently, Jessica is the Shakespeare Lab Associate at The Public Theater in New York City.

Theater for the New City (TNC) is a Pulitzer Prize winning community cultural center that is known for its high artistic standards and widespread community service. One of New York's most prolific theatrical organizations, TNC produces 30-40 premieres of new American plays per year, at least 10 of which are by emerging and young playwrights. TNC seeks to develop theater audiences and inspire future theater artists from the often-overlooked low-income minority communities of New York City by producing minority writers from around the world and by bringing the community into theater and theater into the community through its many free Festivals. TNC productions have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and over 40 OBIE Awards for excellence in every theatrical discipline. TNC is also the only Theatrical Organization to have won the Mayor's Stop The Violence award. Information: www.theaterforthenewcity.net.

Running through September 20, TO LOVE AND TO CHERISH will be performed at Theater for The New City, located at 155 First Avenue, (between 9th & 10th Streets). Show times are Thursday-Saturday at 8pm, Sundays at 3pm. Tickets are $20.00. Sunday performances are "pay what you can". Reservations: 212-352-3101 or toll free at 866-811-4111, or www.theaterforthenewcity.net.