Cast of 'The Castle' Gives Three Special October Performances; Receives Open Ended Run

The cast of the Off-Broadway hit play, The Castle, have been invited to give three special performances during the month of October.

The first is scheduled for Friday, October 3rd at the Queensboro Correctional Facility (47-04 Van Dam Street) located in Long Island City.  The Queensboro facility is part of the New York State Prison system and is an institution for soon-to-be released prisoners.

On Wednesday evening, October 15th the cast will travel to John Jay College for Criminal Justice (899 Tenth Avenue) where they will perform before students, faculty and correctional officers.

The final special performance will take place on Tuesday, October 28th at Baruch College (17 Lexington Avenue).

The cast recently gave a special performance before the NY State Legislature at the invitation of NY State Senator Thomas Duane, appeared at Riker’s Island before 1,000 inmates and correctional officers, and have been very inspirational to over 600 youths who have attended various performances through the “Youth At Risk” sponsorship program.

The Castle is a unique theatrical event that presents a searing, first-hand look at the lives of four formerly incarcerated New Yorkers and their re-entry into society.  The Castle is conceived and directed by David Rothenberg and written in collaboration with – and performed by – Vilma Ortiz Donovan, Kenneth Harrigan, Angel Ramos and Casimiro Torres, all of whom tell their own real-life stories.

Following a successful world premiere at its namesake venue earlier this year, The Castle transferred to New World Stages (340 West 50th Street) where it began performances on March 30th.  Due to popular demand, producers Eric Krebs and Chase Mishkin have recently announced The Castle will now play and an open-end run.

The Castle, an imposing upper west side residential facility for the formerly incarcerated, was opened (and is maintained) by  The Fortune Society, a non-profit organization that helps put men and women, recently emerged from prison, on their re-entry into society.  The organization was established by Mr. Rothenberg following the success of the 1967 Off-Broadway production of the play, Fortune and Men’s Eyes (itself, a play about a young man’s experience in a youth detention center).

“Fortune Society, The Castle and now this play, The Castle, came into being because of another play from years ago,” said Rothenberg.  “This piece of theater has a natural power all its own, because the stories being told belong to the people telling them.”

The Castle plays the Saturdays at 5:00 p.m. at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street).  Tickets are $30 & $45 and are available at the New World Stages box office or via Telecharge (212-239-6200) / Telecharge.com.  Group Sales are available by calling 212-967-7079.                        

The Fortune Society is a not-for-profit, community-based organization dedicated to educating the public about prisons, criminal justice issues, and the root causes of crime. Staffed primarily by ex-prisoners, the organization helps former inmates and at-risk youth break the cycle of crime and incarceration through a broad range of services.  The Fortune Society works to improve prison conditions and protect the rights of prisoners by providing the foundation from which new lives can be launched.