LIVEforFIVE Lottery Entries Accepted for THE SHAGGS

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) is now accepting entries today, Wednesday, May 4, for its popular LIVEforFIVE online lottery for $5 tickets to the New York premiere of THE SHAGGS: PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD. A co-production between Playwrights Horizons and New York Theatre Workshop (Artistic Director, James C. Nicola; Managing Director, William Russo), the new musical features a book by Joy Gregory; music by Gunnar Madsen; lyrics by Ms. Gregory and Mr. Madsen; and story by Ms. Gregory, Mr. Madsen and John Langs. The production is directed by Mr. Langs.

A ticketing initiative created in 2007 as part of Playwrights Horizons' Arts Access program, LIVEforFIVE makes a limited number of $5 tickets available for the first preview performance of each Playwrights Horizons production through a lottery via the company's website (www.playwrightshorizons.org). The LIVEforFIVE lottery for THE SHAGGS: PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD will be for tickets to the first preview on Thursday, May 12 at 8PM at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street).

Details for the LIVEforFIVE lottery are as follows: beginning today at 10AM, theatergoers can enter the lottery by filling out an entry form at www.playwrightshorizons.org. Entries will be accepted until Monday, May 9 at 12 Noon. Winners of the lottery will be notified via email no later than 3PM on Monday, May 9 with instructions on how to book their $5 tickets. Winners must claim their $5 tickets by 12 Noon on Tuesday, May 10 or they will be released to a limited standby list. One or two tickets may be purchased for $5 each. At least 50 tickets will be available for Mainstage shows via the lottery.

The production will have its official opening on Tuesday, June 7 at 7PM and continue through Sunday, July 3. The cast features Kevin Cahoon (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Lortel nomination for Roundabout's The Foreigner, front man for the band Kevin Cahoon and Ghetto Cowboy), Tony Award nominee and Obie Award winner Peter Friedman (Ragtime, PH's Circle Mirror Transformation, After the Revolution and The Heidi Chronicles), Annie Golden (Assassins and People Be Heard at PH, Broadway's Xanadu and The Full Monty, Jeannie in the film Hair), Steve Routman (on Broadway in La Bête and Broadway, Off-Broadway in The Fantasticks and Shmulnik's Waltz), Emily Walton (PH's Saved, on Broadway in August: Osage County) and, making their New York City stage debuts, Jamey Hood, Cory Michael Smith and Sarah Sokolovic.

Set in Fremont, New Hampshire in the early '70s, THE SHAGGS is based on the true story of a working class dad (Mr. Friedman) who has a vision of rock n' roll destiny for his three talentless daughters (Ms. Hood, Ms. Sokolovic and Ms. Walton), convinced they're his family's one-way ticket out of hardship and obscurity. But the girls have ideas of their own - and as their father's ambition turns to obsession, the price of familial obligation becomes all too clear.

The production features choreography by Ken Roht, scenic design by Mimi Lien, costume design by Emily Rebholz, lighting design by Geoff Korf and sound design by Darron L West. Orchestrations and vocal arrangements are by Gunnar Madsen and musical direction is by Aaron Gandy.

The Arts Access program at Playwrights Horizons allows the institution to reach out to those who may not be able to afford the cost of a full-price theater ticket. This program is supported, in part, by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The McGraw-Hill Companies and the Elroy and Terry Krumholz Foundation.

Other Arts Access initiatives, both of which reflect Playwrights Horizons' ongoing commitment to making its productions more affordable to younger audiences, include HOTtix, $25 rush tickets, subject to availability, day of performance only, starting one hour before showtime to patrons aged 30 and under. Proof of age required. One ticket per person, per purchase. STUDENT RUSH, $15 rush tickets, subject to availability, day of performance only, starting one hour before curtain to full-time graduate and undergraduate students. One ticket per person, per purchase. Valid full-time student ID required.

Arts Access memberships (where tickets can be purchased in advance, when single tickets go on sale) are: 30&UNDER MEMBERSHIP, $20 membership fee per season and one $20 ticket for each show, as desired (proof of age required for membership); and STUDENT MEMBERSHIP, $10 membership fee per season and one $10 ticket for each show, as desired (valid full-time student ID required for membership).

Playwrights Horizons' season productions are generously supported by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. The set and costume designs of THE SHAGGS are generously supported by the Tobin Theatre Arts Fund. Playwrights Horizons is supported in part by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate. In addition, Playwrights Horizons receives major support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Time Warner Inc., the Charina Endowment Fund and the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation.

New York Theatre Workshop receives public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Lead support for NYTW productions is provided by the Fund for the City of New York/Open Society Foundations, the Ford Foundation, the Tony Randall Theatrical Fund, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation and The Shubert Foundation.