First Three Plays of Sam Shepard Festival Run Through April 10

The Michael Chekhov Theatre Company has announced the opening of their new space, The Big, Little Theatre. Their first project in the space will be The Sam Shepard Festival. From now until December 2007, The Chekhov Theatre Company will present all of Sam Shepard's plays.

The project will begin with three of Shepard's plays: Simpatico, directed by Ann Bowen, Buried Child, directed by Tom Herman and A Lie of the Mind, directed by Dr. Kathy Curtiss. The shows will run in rep from March 15th through April 10th at The Big, Little Theatre (141 Ridge Street, one block south of Houston).

"Simpatico is about the tough world of the racing fraternity, where Shepard examines guilt and restitution and the real hold of the past," state press notes. Simpatico will be directed by Ann Bowen, who was a director for the original Second City in Chicago and later formed the Pitschel Players, a group of political and social satirists. The cast will include Peter Picard, Tom Pavey, Ali Costine, Gary Lamadore, Heather Anthony, Jennifer Lee and Talia Thelen.

Winner of the 1979 Pulitzer Prize, Buried Child is set in a squalid farm home occupied by a family filled with suppressed violence and an unease born of deep-seated unhappiness. The family harbors a dark secret. Years earlier, the grandfather had buried an unwanted newborn baby in an undisclosed spot, creating a cloud of guilt. Buried Child will be directed by Tom Herman who recently directed Worm Day at the DR2, Lobby Hero and Cloud Nine. The cast of Buried Child will include Thomas Francis Murphy, Patricia Elisar, Tom Pavey, Brian Lee Elder, Jason Griffith, Kristin Carter and James Glenn.

Winner of the New York Drama Critics Award as the best play, A Lie of the Mind tells the story of two families torn apart by a severe incident of spousal abuse. Exploring family dysfunction and the nature of love, the play follows Jake as he searches for meaning after his wife, Beth, struggles with brain damage. A Lie of the Mind will be directed by Dr. Kathy Curtiss who is a founding member of the Santa Barbara Shakespeare Festival and the artistic director of the Actor's Repertory Theatre. The cast of A Lie of the Mind will include Susan Capra, Ali Costine, Freida Lipp, Thomas Francis Murphy, Curtis Nielsen, Adrian O'Donnell, Anna
Podolak and Will Schneider.

Performances will be Sundays and Mondays and Wednesdays through Saturdays. Tickets will be $18 and can be purchased by calling SmartTix at (212) 868-4444 or by visiting www.smarttix.com.  A complete performance schedule follows:

Buried Child:
Wednesday, March 15 at 8PM
Thursday, March 16 at 8PM
Wednesday, March 22 at 8PM
Thursday, March 23 at 8PM
Wednesday, March 29 at 8PM
Thursday, March 30 at 8PM
Wednesday, April 5 at 8PM
Thursday, April 6 at 8PM

Simpatico:
Friday, March 17 at 8PM
Saturday, March 18 at 2PM and 8PM
Friday, March 24 at 8PM
Saturday, March 25 at 2PM and 8PM
Friday, March 31 at 8PM
Saturday, April 1 at 2PM and 8PM
Friday, April 7 at 8PM
Saturday, April 8 at 2PM and 8PM

A Lie of the Mind:
Sunday, March 19 at 2PM and 7PM
Monday, March 20 at 8PM
Sunday, March 26 at 2PM and 7PM
Monday, March 27 at 8PM
Sunday, April 2 at 2PM and 7PM
Monday, April 3 at 8PM
Sunday, April 9 at 2PM and 7PM
Monday, April 10 at 8PM