Crowded Outlet to Premiere LONE STAR SPIRITS at the 4th Street Theatre

Crowded Outlet, a not-for-profit development and producing organization in its inaugural year, is proud to announce the New York premiere of the new comedy LONE STAR SPIRITS. Written by Josh Tobiessen (the critically acclaimed Election Day) and directed by Wes Grantom (Eager to Lose and The Steadfast), LONE STAR SPIRITS will be performed Friday, June 3rd through Sunday, June 19th, 2016 at the 4th Street Theatre (83 East 4th Street). The Press Opening is set for Monday, June 6th at 7 PM. Tickets ($18.00) are now available online via Brown Paper Tickets -- http://lonestarspirits.bpt.me.

In LONE STAR SPIRITS, a trip home gets wildly out of hand when Marley returns to introduce her fiancé to her estranged father. Hoping for a quick visit, she finds herself stranded in a liquor store haunted by her football hero ex-boyfriend, a single mom insistent on a girls' night out, and the ghost of the bear-wrestling pioneer who founded their town. LONE STAR SPIRITS is a comedy about those who leave, those who stay, and raising a glass to the ghosts of your past.

The cast of LONE STAR SPIRITS includes Mikaela Feely-Lehmann (Perfect Arrangement, Cyrano de Bergerac), KeiLyn Durrel Jones (Love in the Wars, "Jessica Jones"), Martin LaPlatney (Pretty Hunger, "Elementary"), Amelia McClain (Noises Off, Inside Llewyn Davis), and Aaron Roman Weiner (Fool for Love, Agent Brooks on "The Americans").

LONE STAR SPIRITS has set design by D'Vaughn Agu, costume design by Amy Pedigo-Otto, lighting design by Driscoll Otto, sound design by Josh Millican and original music by Phil Pickens.

Josh Tobiessen (Playwright). Originally from Schenectady, NY, Josh used an undergraduate degree in philosophy and training from the Improv Olympic in Chicago to start writing plays in Ireland with a theatre company he co-founded called 'Catastrophe'. After having several plays-many of them site-specific productions-performed at such venues as the Galway Arts Festival and the Dublin Fringe Festival he returned to the States to get a playwriting MFA at the University of California, San Diego. His recent plays includeElection Day (New York Times Critic's Pick), Red State Blue Grass, Spoon Lake Blues, Crashing the Party, and Lone Star Spirits and have been produced or developed at such places as The Alliance Theatre, Atlanta; Mixed Blood Theatre, Minneapolis; The O'Neill New Play Conference, Connecticut; Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland; Second Stage Theatre, New York; Slant Theatre Project, New York; The Zach Scott Theatre, Austin; and AiShangChu Theatre, Hong Kong. Election Day is published by Samuel French and in the Smith and Kraus anthology, New Playwrights, Best Plays of 2008.

Wes Grantom (Director) is a director and producer who has been working in New York and around the country for over a decade. Recent directing highlights include: Eager to Lose by Matthew-Lee Erlbach (Ars Nova), The Cloud by Matt Moses, The Steadfast by Mat Smart, Mine by Bekah Brunstetter (Slant Theatre Project), not J.A.W.S. (Fight or Flight) and Clybourne Park (Premiere Stages). Wes has a number of Broadway credits as associate and resident director, working alongside James Lapine, John Rando and Emma Rice. Throughout his career, Wes has worked with Ars Nova, Waterwell, Williamstown, the Atlantic, Lincoln Center, the Alley, Roundabout, La Jolla Playhouse, the Alliance, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Asolo Rep, TheatreworksUSA, the Flea, Premiere Stages, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Stella Adler, TACT, the Strasberg Institute, Cherry Lane, Millbrook Playhouse, George Street Playhouse, and TheatreSquared. He is a recipient of the Drama League Fellowship, Member of Lincoln Center Directors Lab and graduate of the University of Evansville.

Crowded Outlet is a not-for-profit development and producing organization in its inaugural year, committed to harnessing the creative powers of a variety of artistic voices and theatrical visions. The organization is run and operated by Wes Grantom and Chad Goodridge (Passing Strange). Early in the year Crowded Outlet developed new work by Jeff Talbott, Zakiyyah Alexander and Matt Dellapina. Throughout the year Crowded Outlet will continue to develop work by the rest of the artists in their Surge Series, including new work by Cori Thomas, Alejandro Rodriguez, Emily Walton, Marisa Michelson, Lauren Whitehead, Polly Lee and Nikko Benson in collaboration with Chad Goodridge, as well as a collaboration between Matt Citron and Carlos Dengler.

LONE STAR SPIRITS will be performed at the 4th Street Theatre (83 East 4th Street) beginning Friday, June 3rd (through Sunday, June 19th).