Apple Core Theatre Company Presents AS IS, 10/14-31

Apple Core Theater Company is proud to announce their fall production, William M. Hoffman's As Is. One of the first plays to tackle the AIDS crisis in America, As Is returns to midtown for a limited, 16 performance engagement. Walter J. Hoffman (Associate Artistic Director, Apple Core) directs As Is at The Studio Theatre at Theatre Row, opening Thursday, October 14th.

One of the first plays of its kind, As Is was written at the height of the AIDS crisis in 1985. Centering on the relationship between an HIV-positive man and his ex-lover who returns to his side in his time of need, As Is portrays the confusion and fear that gripped the nation as the disease first spread. As Is is a bold, touching play that pays reverence to the resilience of those it affected with humor and compassion. As Is won the 1986 OBIE Award for Distinguished Playwriting, The Drama Desk Award for Best Production of a Play and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize. John Simon, writing for New York Magazine exclaimed, "What makes [As Is] particularly persuasive is that the feelings are not merely juxtaposed or superimposed, but actually blended in a complete musical harmony." Apple Core Theater Company is proud to present this distinguished play on its 25th Anniversary.

The Cast of As Is features Jeff Auer (Is That A Gun In Your Pocket?; Emerging Artists), Emily King Brown*(The Good Woman of Setzuan; Adaptive Arts), Jason Griffith*(Won and Lost, Apple Core) , Brian Hopson (Right Cross Rhapsody, Grayce Productions), Jessica Luck (Right Cross Rhapsody, Grayce Productions) Todd Michael (Writer/Performer, Grayce Productions), Ryan Stadler*(Ten Reasons I Won't Go Home With You, 2010 Midtown Fest, MITF Award nom, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical) and David Zwiers (Right Cross Rhapsody, Grayce Productions). *Performing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.

As Is opens Thursday, October 14th and runs Thursdays and Fridays at 8 pm, Saturdays at 2 pm and 8 pm, and Sundays at 3 pm through Sunday, October 31st. There will be a special Wednesday performance October 27th at 8 pm.  As Is will take part in Theatre Communication Group's Free Night of Theatre and will donate funds to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

As Is runs at The Studio Theatre at Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues. Take the A/C/E to Times Square, 42nd Street. Exit the subway at 42nd Street and 8th Avenue and walk 1 1/2 blocks west to Theatre Row.

Tickets to As Is are $15, and are available by calling Telecharge, (212) 239-6200, online at www.applecoretheatercompany.org, or at the theatre box office. Tickets to As Is go on sale Friday, September 10, 2010.

William M. Hoffman began his playwriting career at the legendary Caffe Cino. In 1986, he earned a Drama Desk Award an Obie, as well as Tony and Pulitzer nominations for As Is. He wrote the libretto to The Ghosts of Versailles (music by John Corigliano), which premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 1991 and played again in 1995. Hoffman is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, three National Endowment Awards, ASCAP and Fund for New American Plays awards, two grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Erwin Piscator Award. In 1992 his television work brought him an Emmy nomination and he received a Writers Guild award. He is co-founder and co-chair of Prima le Parole, the international librettists organizatioN. Hoffman has written critically for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Village Voice, and Vogue. He is currently Professor of Theatre at Lehman College (CUNY) and hosts Conversations With William M. Hoffman, CUNY TV 's television series of discussions with major theatre and musical figures of our times.

Walter J. Hoffman (Director, no relation to the playwright) directed Won and Lost with Apple Core Theater Company, for which he is the Associate Artistic Director. Also a frequent collaborator of Grayce Productions, he directed Right Cross Rhapsody at Horse Trade's Red Room, Buddy Becker's Big Uncut Flick at the 2009 FringeNYC, and the critically acclaimed revival of Vice Girl Confidential at Horse Trade's Under St. Marks.

Founded in 2009 by Allison Taylor and Walter J. Hoffman, Apple Core Theater Company produces emotional, entertaining plays by American writers. Valuing the immediacy and intimacy of theater, they strive to present plays that cut down to the core and go straight to the heart. Believing that theater should be accessible to all people, they are committed to providing affordable theater to New York City. Of their debut production, Won and Lost, Martin Denton of nytheatre.com exclaimed, "The high level of work on display here portends great things for Apple Core Theater Company". For more information, please visit www.applecoretheatercompany.org. Apple Core Theater Company is a fiscally sponsored project by Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts organization. For more information, please visit www.fracturedatlas.org.