The Civilians Presents LET ME ASCERTAIN YOU: DEATH As Final Joe's Pub of the Season Tonight, 5/18

The Civilians, the award-winning New York-based theater company known for projects investigating real life topics, presents Let Me Ascertain You: Death tonight, May 18, 2012 at 9:30 PM at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater at 425 Lafayette St.

The Civilians' artists have entered some surprising and dark territory and have come back to share their enlightening tales of death, near-death experiences, corpses, and insights into forensic anthropology. Hear performances of interviews from hospitals, prisons, spiritual communities, and funeral homes along with material from Associate Artist Alix Lambert's investigation into the Body Farm: a facility for study of the decomposition of human bodies and research site for criminal investigations.

The evening will showcase the thought-provoking, unexpected, and at times humorous personal stories of encounters with death, perspectives on death, and the industry that surrounds it. Don't miss this one-night-only cabaret performance of monologues, songs by Shaina Taub, and a murder ballad by Michael Friedman in The Civilians' unique style created from this unusual interview material.

Each live performance of the Let Me Ascertain You series is recorded and released online as a podcast series available for free on iTunes.

Directed by Mia Rovegno (Burnt Umber at LaMama, Good Goods at The O'Neill), the show will present songs by Michael Friedman (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, This Beautiful City) and Shaina Taub (Political Subversities).

The performers are Emily Ackerman (ReEntry, This Beautiful City), Matt Dellapina (Outside People at the Vineyard Theatre, The Dream of the Burning Boy at Roundabout), Dan Domingues (The Great Immensity at Kansas City Repertory Theatre, It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play at Long Wharf), Nina Hellman (Little Black Dress, Paris Commune at The Public Theater LAB), Daniel Jenkins (Billy Elliot on Broadway, Big River Original Broadway Cast – Tony Nomination), Meghan McGeary (The Great Immensity at KCRep, A Christmas Carol at the Lucille Lortel), Greg McFadden (The Caine Mutiny Court-Marshall on Broadway, Timon of Athens at The Public Theater), Emily Rossell (Let Me Ascertain You: Pretty Filthy and Occupy Wall Street), and Jeanine Serralles (Maple and Vine at Playwrights Horizons, Redbulll Theater's The Maids)

Founded in 2001 by Steven Cosson, The Civilians has created twelve original works that have been produced Off Broadway and in over 40 cities nationally and internationally, at theaters such as The Public Theater, Center Theatre Group, La Jolla Playhouse, A.R.T., HBO's US Comedy Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville's Humana Festival, London's Soho Theatre, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Fringe First Award, 2006). The company's recent work, In the Footprint, was included in year-end "Best of 2010" lists in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Time Out New York. This Beautiful City enjoyed a critically-acclaimed Off-Broadway run at the Vineyard Theater in 2009 receiving Lucille Lortel, Drama League and Drama Desk nominations. Gone Missing ran for seven months at Off-Broadway's Barrow Street Theater and was cited by The New York Times as one of the "10 Best Plays of 2007." The Civilians received an Obie in 2004 in recognition of its accomplishments in its first two seasons of work.

In addition to Let Me Ascertain You, The Civilians is deeply involved in its new works: The Great Immensity, a play with music using a fictional narrative to talk about the environment and the future of our planet, which recently had its world premiere at Kansas City Repertory Theatre in the 2011-12 season, and Pretty Filthy a new musical examination of the adult entertainment industry. The Civilians is also recently completed the New York premiere of You Better Sit Down: Tales from My Parents' Divorce.

For more information, visit www.thecivilians.org.

Tickets are online at joespub.com, phone 212-967-7555, or in person at The Public Theater Box Office (1 PM to 6 PM), or at the Joe's Pub Box Office from (6 PM to 10 PM) both located at 425 Lafayette Street, NYC.