At Hand Theatre Company Premieres I WANNA DESTROY YOU, 5/17

By: Apr. 03, 2013
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At Hand Theatre Company (Letters to the End of The World, Broadway Recycled) presents the World Premiere of Joshua Conkel's I WANNA DESTROY YOU, a romantic comedy that tears the trope of the gay sidekick to shreds. Produced by Matthew Dicarlo and Justin Scribner and directed by Dan Horrigan (As Wide As I Can See), previews begin May 17 at the Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row. Opening is slated for May 22.

I WANNA DESTROY YOU is set in 2011 on the eve of Marriage Equality passing in New York. It centers on Beau, the gay personal assistant to Cecile Collins, a famously demanding romance novelist who is about to get married. When his longtime boyfriend dumps him on his 30th birthday and an old frenemy reappears, Beau is forced to reevaluate his so-called life.

The production stars Geneva Carr (Hand to God, Betty's Summer Vacation), Anthony Johnston (Art's Heart, Tenderpits), Preston Martin (Kaspar Hauser, P.S. Jones and the Frozen City), Kieran Mulcare, and Kathy Searle (Apple Cove, Carrie: A Period Piece) with set by David L. Arsenault, lighting by Josh Bradford and Daisy Long, costumes by Nicole Wee and sound by Anthony Mattana.

Joshua Conkel is the author of MilkMilkLemonade (New York Press' Best Off Off Broadway Show of 2009,), The Chalk Boy, Lonesome Winter, The Sluts of Sutton Drive, Sprawl and The House of Van Macrame (with Matt Marks), as well as countless short plays. Conkel's work has been seen in New York, Los Angeles, Berkeley, San Francisco, Chicago, Austin, San Diego, Seattle, Fort Lauderdale, Boston and Baton Rouge. He is the Co-Artistic Director of The Management, and a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre, TOSOS and The Dramatists Guild. He is currently finishing a graphic novel for First Second Books, an imprint of Macmillan.

At Hand Theatre Company (Dan Horrigan, Artistic Director; Justin Scribner, Executive Director) was founded in 2007 with a mission to produce new plays using environmentally conscious means. They explore creative, eco-friendly solutions that engage the imagination of the audience. Past productions include the premieres of Mark Snyder's As Wide As I Can See and Lila Cante, Anton Dudley's Letters to the End of the World, Dan Horrigan's My AiDS, Brian Dykstra's Silence!, Andrea Lepcio's One Nation Under, Jono Hustis' Cake and Plays... But Without the Cake, and Trickster at the Gate by John Patrick Bray. At Hand also produces POP!, a staged reading series of new plays, and Broadway Recycled, a benefit concert at Joe's Pub in honor of Earth Day. For more information visit www.athandtheatre.com

I WANNA DESTROY YOU runs May 17 - June 1 on the following schedule: Tues day & Sunday at 7pm and Wednesday thru Saturday at 8pm, with additional Saturday matinee performances May 25 and June 1 at 2pm. The Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row is located at 410 West 42nd Street at 9th Avenue. Tickets are $18 at 212-239-6200 or www.TeleCharge.com.



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