Photo Coverage: Inside Opening Night of TCHAIKOVSKY: NONE BUT THE LONELY HEART Off-Broadway

Tchaikovsky: None But the Lonely Heart is the final production of the 2017-'18 season at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between Dyer and 10th Avenues) The show opened last night, May 31st, to kick off its limited Off-Broadway engagement which runs through June 17th only. Check out photos from the evening below!

Donald T. Sanders directs a cast that features Joey Slotnick in the title role (Broadway: Junk directed by Doug Hughes - LCT; The Front Page, directed by Jack O'Brien; The Big Knife with Bobby Cannavale; Off-Broadway: Dying for It, Ethan Coen's Offices, Almost An Evening, Happy Hour; TV: "Boston Public," "The Good Wife," "Nip/Tuck"); Shorey Walker(Seussical, Caligula Off-Broadway); tenor Adrian Kramer (Edmonton Opera - HMS Pinafore; Opera Philadelphia - Lucia di Lammermoor; San Diego Opera - La tragédie de Carmen; with musicians Ji (declared "the real star of the 2016 Grammy Awards" by People Magazine); cellist Ari Evan (Bordone Quartet); violinist Stephanie Zyzak (the youngest recipient ever to be awarded the Aspen Music School New Horizon Fellowship); and Daniel Mantei, ballet dancer/choreographer for American Ballet Theatre for 15 years.

Written by ERC Executive Artistic Director Eve Wolf, Tchaikovsky: None but the Lonely Heart will have scenic and costume design by Vanessa James, and lighting design by Beverly Emmons.

In a strange relationship that lasted fourteen years and that was conducted exclusively through letters, Tchaikovsky and his patroness Nadezhda von Meck were united through the invincible power of a disembodied love in which they both found refuge. Plagued with doubts about the greatness of his music, tormented by the fear of discovery of his homosexuality, and trapped in a marriage to a woman who was eventually committed to an insane asylum, Tchaikovsky found in von Meck an "invisible angel." ERC honors their unique relationship in a theatrical production featuring Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio in A Minor and some of his most moving songs.

Performances for Tchaikovsky: None but the Lonely Heart are at the Ford Foundation Studio Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Streetbetween Dyer and 10th Avenues). Tickets from $40 can be purchased through Ticket Central via www.ticketcentral.com by calling 212/279-4200, or in person at Ticket Central, 416 West 42nd Street (12-8pm daily).

For more information, visit romanticcentury.org.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride

Eve Wolf

Donald T. Sanders

Joey Slotnick

Shorey Walker

Daniel Mantei

Adrian Kramer

Stephanie Zyzak

Ari Evan

Ji

Eve Wolf

Donald T. Sanders

Donald T. Sanders

Joey Slotnick

Joey Slotnick

Shorey Walker

Shorey Walker

Daniel Mantei

Daniel Mantei

Adrian Kramer

Adrian Kramer

Stephanie Zyzak

Stephanie Zyzak

Ari Evan

Ari Evan

Ji

Ji

Shorey Walker and Joey Slotnick

Shorey Walker and Joey Slotnick

Shorey Walker and Joey Slotnick

Donald T. Sanders and Eve Wolf

Donald T. Sanders and Eve Wolf

Shorey Walker and husband Thomas MacMillan

Shorey Walker with her sister Sarah and husband Thomas MacMillan

Adrian Kramer, Stephanie Zyzak, Ji, Ari Evans

Adrian Kramer, Stephanie Zyzak, Ji, Ari Evans

Susan Winokur Leach and Paul J. Leach

Susan Winokur Leach and Paul J. Leach

Ji, Stephanie Zyzak and Ari Evan

Ji, Stephanie Zyzak and Ari Evan

Ji, Stephanie Zyzak, Ari Evan, Susan Winokur Leach and Paul J. Leach

Bailey Cunningham, Daniel Mantei, Eve Wolf, Adrian Kramer, Stephanie Zyzak, Ji, Shorey Walker,Ari Evans, Donald T. Sanders and Joey Slotnick