Ionesco's THE BALD SOPRANO Plays 4th Street Theatre in French, Now thru 11/17

Parisian director Roxane Revon will direct Eugene Ionesco's classic play Le Cantatrice Chauve / "The Bald Soprano" for a limited run at the 4th Street Theatre from tonight, November 5-17, 2013 in the East Village, NYC. Why re-produce this classic? The play will be presented in the original French text with supertitles in English providing a unique cultural experience for New Yorkers and visitors around the globe.

Lauren Rayner Productions is set to produce the play in her fourth collaboration with director Revon. LRP produced Revon's revival of Sartre's Huis Clos / "No Exit" in WiredArts Fest 2013, also performed in the original French, which was streamed live to over 50,000 online viewers worldwide. This production will feature actors Patrick Croze, Fedly Daniel, MorgOn Delamarre, Samantha Grassian, Laura Lassy, and Justine Thurman and lighting by Lauren Bremen.

Why "The Bald Soprano" in New York? Why not Ionesco's other seminal works, such as "Rhinoceros" or "Le Roi se meurt"?

"When I arrived in New York City a few years ago," says Revon, "it became clear to me that the way I was practicing my English in France was useless and often rather absurd, as you can see judging by the state of my English now! But something else was taught in those lessons... Something about the difficulty to present yourself with a few words, something about the absurdity of the social situations we encounter, something about the difficulty to truly express yourself."

"Ionesco met his iconic characters," continues Revon, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith in an English language method book." In fact, the first title of the play was 'L'Anglais sans peine' (English without toil). "Performing The Bald Soprano in French," says producer Lauren Rayner, "in a predominantly English speaking country and city allows us to be closer to the genesis of Ionesco's work."

The play is an absurd conversation between six characters: two couples, a maid and a fireman, all appearing to be "English" while speaking French. Nothing logical here, but in Ionesco's masterpiece we always find the situations wittier than they seem to be.

Le Cantatrice Chauve / "The Bald Soprano" will run at the 4th Street Theatre (83 East 4th Street, New York, NY 10003) onNovember 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15 at 8pm, November 9 & 16 at 3pm & 8pm, and November 10 & 17 at 3pm. For tickets, visit www.laurenrayner.com/tickets.

For more information, visit www.laurenrayner.com/thebaldsoprano.

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