Cast Announced for The Pain and the Itch; Houdyshell Stars
By: BWW News Desk Jul. 10, 2006
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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