Jean Cocteau Repertory to present new Off Off Bowery Festival in July

Jean Cocteau Repertory (Ernest Johns, Artistic Director) announces the creation of the Off Off Bowery Festival, a new festival designed to offer support for emerging Off Off Broadway theatre companies by offering selected organizations free space at the Bouwerie Lane Theatre during its summer hiatus.  Over the course of three weeks in July, the Cocteau will host workshop productions from five different theatre companies on the mainstage.  Also scheduled to appear are late night bands, comedians and more.  
In addition, the Cocteau will be extending its production of THE MAIDS, which was very well received in its initial run earlier this year (“Ominous…subtly eerie.  An eye-opening turn by Ms. Jones.” –The New York Times).  THE MAIDS will feature Ramona Floyd, Kate Holland and Amanda Jones and run Fridays July 15, 22 & 29 at 8pm, Saturdays July 16, 23 & 30 at 3pm & 8pm, and Sunday July 17 at 3pm.
The festival will officially kick off July 12 and run through July 31.  Tickets can be purchased through the box office starting July 6 by calling (212) 677-0060 x16 or online at www.TheaterMania.com.  All events will take place at the Cocteau’s home, the Bouwerie Lane Theatre (330 Bowery at Bond Street).  For further information or festival performance schedule, visit www.TheaterMania.com or www.JeanCocteauRep.org.
FEATURED PRODUCTIONS:  
Barefoot Theatre Company presents
KINGDOM COME, a new work written and directed by Francisco Solorzano 
As disappearances begin to sweep the nation, several lives collide in search of hope, forgiveness, and a future that will most likely escape them. 
 
      Kingdom Come features Gabriel Buentello, Gabe Fazio, Nancy Harkins, Kendra Leigh Landon, Victoria Malvagno, Chiara Montalto, Luca Pierucci, Gil Ron, Francisco Solorzano and Christopher Whalen.  Production Staff includes Jeremy Brena, Ruben Luque, Victoria Malvagno, Chiara Montalto and John Beverly.
www.barefoottheatrecompany.org
July 12-13 at 8pm.  Tickets: $15
KEF Productions presents
CORPUS CHRISTI by Terrence McNally, directed by Adam Fitzgerald.
Corpus Christi, originally produced by The Manhattan Theatre Club in 1998, is a retelling of the New Testament set partially in modern day Corpus Christi, Texas.  Joshua, the Jesus figure, returns to the world as the Son of God, but must face all the trials and tribulations of a gay man in small city Texas.  
Corpus Christi will feature (from the Los Angeles Premier) Aaron Lohr as Judas and Agustine Welles as Peter. 
www.kefproductions.com
July 18-20 at 8pm.  Tickets: $15
The Lady Cavalier Theatre Company presents
FIGHTING THE CLOCK—35 people: 48 Hours: 5 Fight Shows
In a 48 hour time period, 5 teams of playwrights, directors, fight choreographers and actors will put together 5 action-packed short plays with sword fights, fist-fights and more! 

      
 
      Participating playwrights include Peter Hilton, James Armstrong, Mariana Elder, Kelly DePuis and Qui Nguyen.  Directors include Nandita Shenoy, Gita Reddy, Nathan Lemoine and Dawn Elane.  Fight Choreographers include Marius Hanford, Laurie Miller, Rod Kinter, Denise Alessandria Hurd and Ricki G. Ravitts.
www.ladycavaliers.com
July 24th at 7pm.  Tickets: $15
Quest Theatre Ensemble presents
TWELFTH NIGHT or WHAT YOU WILL by William Shakespeare, directed by Tim Browning
With original music by Tim Browning
Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s classic comedy about mistaken identity, is given an Old Western twist by Quest Theatre Ensemble, who relocates the fabled Ilyria to 19th century Wyoming in a world of cowboys and tumbleweeds.
Twelfth Night will feature Lauren Jill Ahrold, Paul James Bowen, Tim Browning, Garry Carbone, Christopher Catalano, Danaher Dempsey, Rich Fromm, Ashley Henderson, Denice Kondik, Colleen Piquette, Joe Serpa, Jason Vail and Paul Vasquez.
July 25 & 27 at 8pm, July 31 at 7:30pm (in rotating rep with Othello).  Tickets: $15.

      

      Odyssey Theatre Ensemble presents
OTHELLO by William Shakespeare, directed by Rachel Macklin
Odyssey Theatre Ensemble sets Shakespeare’s haunting story of deception and loss amidst the innovation and turmoil of the Baroque era, where the Venetian state is dangerously close to losing the island of Cyprus to the Ottoman Empire. 
Othello will feature Federica Baldan, Garry Carbone, Christopher Catalano, Danaher Dempsey, Seth Duerr, Rich Fromm, Abe Goldfarb, Kevin Kaine, Eric Michael Kochmer, Sara Mayer, Michael Schneider, Joe Serpa and Kelly Strandemo.
www.odysseyensemble.com
July 26 & 28 at 8pm, July 31 at 3pm (in rotating rep with Twelfth Night).  Tickets:  $15.
SPECIAL ENGAGEMENTS:
Geek Ink presents a reading of
DESIRE CAUGHT BY THE TAIL by Pablo Picasso, directed by Meredith Zolty
Picasso's rarely seen absurdist fantasy, written during the Nazi occupation of France.
July 17 at 7pm.  Tickets: $5 (suggested donation).
Mark Singer presents
HEADLINERS AND ONE-LINERS: Songs and Stories of the Catskill Hotels
Headliners and One-Liners is an evening of songs and stories of the Catskill Hotels.  Performers Mark Singer, Darcy Dunn and Julia Mendelsohn of The Funny Valentines will turn back the clock and bring to life the excitement and elegance of the old Catskills resorts which, in their heyday, were among the most famous vacation spots in the nation, competing with each other to build the most extravagant facilities and present the world’s premier entertainers.

      

      In addition to songs by such well-known composers as Cole Porter, Ira Gershwin, Frederick Loewe and Alan J. Lerner, Les Brown, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, The Funny Valentines will perform some unique numbers produced exclusively for this show.  
July 21 at 8pm.  Tickets:  $30.
COMPANY INFO: 
Jean Cocteau Repertory (an Actors’ Equity Off-Broadway company, at the Bouwerie Lane Theatre—330 Bowery at Bond Street) remains one of the nation’s only resident ensembles and serves over 25,000 new and diverse theatergoers each season. Representing both the timeless and the modern voices of the playwright, the Cocteau has done over 300 productions. It continues to take a leading role in bringing masterworks and neglected plays back to life with new and often exclusively commissioned translations, new adaptations, innovative interpretations, and notable new works development programs.  Landmark productions include the Brecht/Weill/Blitzstein masterpiece The Threepenny Opera, Lorca's Doña Rosita the Spinster, Blitzstein’s The Cradle Will Rock, three major Tom Stoppard revivals, George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man, Tennessee Williams’s Small Craft Warnings and Something Cloudy, Something Clear (world premiere), and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, among many others.

      

      www.jeancocteaurep.org