Brooks Ashmanskas and More Star in ABSURD PERSON SINGULAR, Opening Tonight at Two River Theater

Two River Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst, continues its 2014/15 Season with Alan Ayckbourn's Absurd Person Singular, directed by Jessica Stone. The production will run through February 1, 2015, with the opening night set for tonight, January 16 at 8pm.

Tickets starting at $20 and ticket packages for Two River's season are available from 732.345.1400 or www.tworivertheater.org. Absurd Person Singular is supported by co-sponsor The Unterberg Children's Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center.

Absurd Person Singular-a laugh-out-loud look at how three English couples deal with their relationships, social standings, and pressures of three successive Christmas gatherings-will be performed by a cast of gifted comic actors including Brooks Ashmanskas (Bullets Over Broadway, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me), Mary Birdsong (The Knick, The Descendants), Michael Cumpsty (Present Laughter, End of the Rainbow), Scott Drummond (Machinal, Boardwalk Empire), Melissa van der Schyff (Bonnie & Clyde, Big River), and Liz Wisan (The Servant of Two Masters, Uprights Citizens Brigade).

Alan Ayckbourn is an Olivier, Tony, and Molière Award-winning playwright who has written 78 full-length plays including Relatively Speaking, How the Other Half Loves, Bedroom Farce, A Chorus of Disapproval, and The Norman Conquests. Absurd Person Singular had its world premiere in 1972 and holds the record for the single longest run of an Alan Ayckbourn play in both the West End and on Broadway. His play My Wonderful Day was produced at Two River Theater in the 2011/12 Season.

Director Jessica Stone has worked as an actor on and Off-Broadway, in television and film, for the last 20 years. Her Broadway credits include Anything Goes with Sutton Foster, Butley with Nathan Lane, and The Odd Couple with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. Her recent directing credits include Christopher Durang's Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike for The Old Globe and June Moon for Williamstown Theatre Festival.

The creative team for Absurd Person Singular includes scenic designer Charlie Corcoran, costume designer Gabriel Berry, lighting designer Rui Rita, and sound designer Drew Levy. The dialect coach is Ben Furey, the casting is by Adam Caldwell, and the production stage manager is Libby Unsworth.

Ticket prices range from $37 to $65, with discounts available for groups, seniors, and U.S. military personnel, their families, and veterans. A limited number of $20 tickets are available for every performance; $20 tickets may be partial view. Tickets for patrons under 30 are $20 and include the best available seats at every performance. Tickets are available from tworivertheater.org or 732.345.1400.

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