Marisa Tomei Stars in Off-Bway 'Oh The Humanity' at The Flea

The Flea Theater is pleased to present Will Eno's Oh The Humanity and Other Good Intentions, a World Premiere by the Pulitzer Prize finalist. It will be directed by Jim Simpson starring Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei.  Oh The Humanity and Other Good Intentions begins performances November 3 for a limited engagement.  Opening night is set for November 29. It is produced on an Off-Broadway contract.

Oh The Humanity and Other Good Intentions is five short plays about people like you, facing lives like yours. About life, in a word. Not suitable for children. The five pieces include: Behold The Coach, In Sorrow, Uninsured; Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rain; Enter the Spokeswoman, Sideways; The Bully Composition and Oh, the Humanity.

Will Eno garnered international attention with Thom Pain (based on nothing), which played to acclaim in London, Edinburgh and New York and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Eno's other plays include Tragedy: a tragedy, The Flu Season, Kid Blanco, King: a problem play, and an adaptation of Ibsen's Peer Gynt.

Marisa Tomei received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in My Cousin Vinny. Tomei took a dramatic turn with In the Bedroom, earning her second Academy Award Nomination. Marisa will be seen this fall in Sidney Lumet's drama, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, alongside Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman.  On stage, Tomei was seen last year on Broadway opposite Al Pacino and Dianne Wiest in Oscar Wilde's Salome in the title role. Previous theater credits include Dario Fo's We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay!, Clifford Odet's Waiting for Lefty and Rocket to the Moon, both directed by Joanne Woodward, among others. Tomei also starred in Noel Coward's Design for Living at the Williamstown Theater Festival.  Tomei is a member of the Naked Angels Theater Company.

The cast of Oh The Humanity and Other Good Intentions co-stars Brian Hutchison, who recently appeared in The Front Page at the Williamstown Theater Festival.  Major stage credits include The Invention of Love and Proof on Broadway, plus Mr. Marmalade (Roundabout Theatre Company), People Be Heard (Playwrights Horizons), The Hiding Place (Atlantic Theater), Theophilus North and Can't Let Go (Keen Company), She Stoops to Conquer (Irish Rep), and Seven Rabbits on a Pole (Urban Stages). The cast also includes Drew Hildebrand.

The production features set design by Kyle Chepulis, lighting design by Brian Aldous, costume design by Claudia Brown, sound design by Jill BC DuBoff, and video/projection design by Dustin O'Neill.

Oh The Humanity and Other Good Intentions  runs November 3 - December 22, Tuesday - Sunday at 7PM, Saturday matinees at 3PM, with two Monday evening performances at 7:PM on November 19 and 26. 

The Flea Theater, is located at 41 White Street (between Broadway & Church Street). Tickets will be $18 for performances through November 21, available in advance only to Flea members, and on a first-come, first-served basis to the public at The Flea Theater Box Office one hour prior to curtain. For performances beginning November 26, tickets will be $50 (Tuesdays through Thursdays and Saturday matinees) and $60 (Friday and Saturday evenings.) For tickets, visit www.theflea.org or call 212-352-3101.

Photo of Marisa Tomei (2007) by Sara DeBoer / Retna Ltd