Playwrights Horizons will open its 2006/2007 season with the New York premiere of
The Pain and the Itch,
the controversial comedy by
Bruce Norris that was a a hit in
Chicago
during its 2005 world premiere production at
Steppenwolf Theatre
Company.
The play, which was awarded the 2005
Jefferson Award for Best New Work, will be directed by
Anna D. Shapiro
(Associate Artist at
Steppenwolf Theatre Company, where she directed
the premieres of
Bruce Norris'
The Pain and the Itch and
The Unmentionables and
Richard Greenberg's
Three Days of Rain
).
Previews will begin Friday, September 1 with an official opening on
Tuesday, September 26. Performances for the limited
engagement will continue through Sunday, October 8 at Playwrights
Horizons' Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street).
"With a young daughter in serious need of attention and a ravenous
creature possibly prowling the upstairs bedrooms, what begins as an
average Thanksgiving for one privileged family unravels into an exposé
of disastrous choices and less-than-altruistic motives.
The Pain and the Itch
is a scathing satire of the politics of class and race, a
controversial, painfully human examination of denial and its
consequences," state press notes.
The cast will feature
Mia Barron (
She Stoops to Comedy, The World Over and
Lobby Hero at
Playwrights Horizons,
QED on Broadway),
Aya Cash (
Jasper Lake at the New York International Fringe Festival),
Peter Jay Fernandez (Broadway's
Henry IV, Julius Caesar and
Jelly's Last Jam), 2006 Tony Award nominee
Jayne Houdyshell (
Well, the world premiere of
The Pain and the Itch at
Steppenwolf Theatre Company, for which she won the Jefferson Award for
Best Supporting Actress), Tony Award nominee
Reg Rogers (Holiday, Proposals and
The Molière Comedies on Broadway,
Lobster Alice at
Playwrights Horizons) and Obie Award winner
Christopher Evan Welch (
A Streetcar Named Desire at NYTW, Broadway's
Festen
and
The Crucible,
Bruce Norris'
Purple Heart at Steppenwolf). Child actors
Ada-Marie L. Gutierrez and
Nora Markus will rotate in the role of Kayla.
The
production will feature scenic design by
Dan Ostling (who designed the
original production at Steppenwolf), costume design by Jennifer von
Mayrhauser, lighting design by Tony Award winner
Donald Holder and
sound design by
Rob Milburn and
Michael Bodeen (who also designed the
Steppenwolf production).
Norris has an ongoing collaboration with
Steppenwolf Theatre Company, where many of his works have been
commissioned and produced, including
The Infidel, Purple Heart, We All
Went Down to Amsterdam, The Unmentionables (currently running) and
The Pain and the Itch. He is also an actor. The production will mark his New York debut as a
playwright.
The performance schedule for
The Pain and the Itch
will be Tuesdays through Fridays at 8PM, Saturdays at 2:30 and 8PM
and Sundays at 2:30 & 7:30 PM. Tickets are
$65. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on
Wednesday, August 2. There will also be a Pay What You Can Night
as well as a student rush policy. Visit
www.playwrightshorizons.org for tickets, or call Ticket Central at
(212) 279-4200.
Photo by Michael Brosilow--Jayne Houdyshell in Steppenwolf's The Pain and the Itch
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