Krysta Rodriguez, Kristine Neilson, and More Lead Reading of THE TRIAL

Casting has been announced for The Trial, the next play in the Politics of the Absurd reading series presented by Christopher Maring/ CM Stage Productions. Joining the reading will be Krysta Rodriguez (What We're Up Against, "Trial & Error", Spring Awakening), Mamoudou Athie ("The Get Down", Patti Cake$,), Brian Wiles ("Public Morals", "Turn"), Brian D. Coats (Jitney, "Boardwalk Empire"), John Rothman (Ghostbusters, "One Mississippi") Sam Breslin Wright ("Madame Secretary", The Beaver), and Tony nominee Kristine Neilson (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, You Can't Take it With You). The Trial, adapted by Steven Berkoff from the novel by Franz Kafka, and directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt (What We're Up Against, Dry Land), will take place at the Baruch Performing Arts Center on March 5, 6, and 7.

On the morning of his 30th birthday, Josef K. is unexpectedly arrested by two unidentified strangers from an unidentified agency for an unspecified crime. Confident of his innocence, despite not knowing the charges, K. sets out to face the justice system with the help of an increasingly bizarre cast of characters. With the web tightening around him, K. struggles to make sense of what is happening as he stumbles towards his inevitable fate.

Widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-Century literature, Franz Kafka began writing The Trial in 1914 but never finished. The novel was published posthumously in 1925. Award winning actor/director Steven Berkoff's stage adaptation premiered in London in 1970.

Hilarious, provocative, and timely, Politics of the Absurd reexamines rarely produced classics for a contemporary audience. The first reading in the series was Rhinoceros by Eugène Ionesco. Directed by Srda Vesiljevic (Dust Can't Kill Me, When I Started Dating Men), Rhinocerosconsiders the plight of the individual in the face of a brutal popular movement (February 5- 7). The final play will be The Hothouse by Harold Pinter, an exploration of what happens when the inmates run the asylum, which will run from April 5-7. Each reading will take place at Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Avenue. Additional casting will be announced shortly.

Politics of the Absurd is general managed by KGM Theatrical. Tickets start at $25 and are on sale now at www.BlueCaterpillarProds.com or the BPAC box office Tues-Sat from noon-6PM or by calling (212) 345-3101

Baruch Performing Arts Center

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(enter on 25th Street between 3rd & Lexington Aves, south side of street)

www.baruch.cuny.edu/BPAC

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POLITICS OF THE ABSURD ARTIST BIOS:

Adrienne Campbell-Holt is the Founding Artistic Director of Colt Coeur, a Brooklyn-based theatre company. Most recent: What We're Up Against by Theresa Rebeck (WP Theater). Upcoming: The Big and the Small by Amelia Roper (Colt Coeur/NTYW Next Door) and Afterwords, a new musical by Zoe Sarnak and Emily Kaczmarek (Seattle). Recent world premieres: Downstairs by Theresa Rebeck starring Tyne Daly and Tim Daly (Dorset Theater Festival), Empathitrax by Ana Nogueira (Colt Coeur), Cal in Camo by William Francis Hoffman (co-pro Rattlestick & Colt Coeur), a workshop production of Kings by Sarah Burgess starring Larry Pine and Quincy Tyler Bernstine (WP Theater, NYC), One Child Born (Oberon at American Repertory Theater), How to Live on Earth by MJ Kaufman (Colt Coeur), Chiara Atik's 52nd to Bowery (EST), Dry Land by Ruby Rae Spiegel (Colt Coeur), Greg Moss' REUNION (South Coast Rep), Everything is Ours by Nikole Beckwith (Colt Coeur), Recall by Eliza Clark (Colt Coeur), Fish Eye (Colt Coeur), Seven Minutes in Heaven by Steven Levenson (Colt Coeur).

Adrienne is a New Georges Affiliated Artist and an alum of the Time Warner/Women's Project Lab, Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and a Foeller Fellow (Williamstown). She has developed work with New York Theatre Workshop, La Jolla Playhouse, Roundabout Theater Company, Playwrights Horizons, Clubbed Thumb, Playwrights' Center and EST. She is the Associate Director on the Broadway production of Dear Evan Hansen and also the director of #makeitfair. BA Barnard College, Columbia University.

Christopher Maring founded CM STAGE PRODUCTIONS in 2016 with a focus on developing and producing new work. Prior to this, Christopher worked for award-winning producers Tom Hulce and Ira Pittleman where his credits include developing, producing, and managing Broadway productions and tours, including the original Tony Award-winning production of Spring Awakening, the critically acclaimed Green Day's American Idiot, and the re-imagined On A Clear Day You Can See Forever staring Harry Connick Jr., as well as several Off-Broadway productions and numerous readings and workshops. Independently, Christopher helped develop and produce Futurity, a new musical by César Alvarez (ART, Cambridge, MA and Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN) and was part of the early development of Hadestown, based on the album by singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell. Christopher was the recipient of the 2016 T. Fellowship for creative producers, co-founded by Hal Prince.

A division of CM Stage Productions, BLUE CATERPILLAR PRODUCTIONS reexamines classic plays and musicals to bring them to fresh life for a modern audience. Under the leadership of producer Christopher Maring, the company strives to present works that feel as vital, insightful, and engaging as when they were first created.

Daniel Kuney/ KGM THEATRICAL (General Manager) Credits include: Puffs (Off-Broadway), Rock of Ages (Broadway), Fela! (Broadway, Tours), Reasons to Be Pretty (Broadway), The 39 Steps (Broadway), The Homecoming (Broadway), Talk Radio (Broadway), Heathers (Off-Broadway), Altar Boyz (Off-Broadway), Dog Sees God (Off-Broadway), My Name is Rachel Corrie (Off-Broadway), In Masks Outrageous and Austere (Off-Broadway).