Playwrights Horizons to Premiere 'Doris to Darlene'

Playwrights Horizons has announced additional casting and details for the third production of its 2007/2008 Season, the World Premiere of Doris To Darlene, A Cautionary Valentine, a new play by Jordan Harrison.

A young, promising playwright who is already a critical darling of Regional theaters, Harrison will be making his Off-Broadway debut with Doris To Darlene, A Cautionary Valentine.  His plays have been presented at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Portland Center Stage, Berkeley Rep and American Theater Company and he's received commissions from such theaters as South Coast Repertory and The Guthrie.  He's the recipient of the Heideman Award, two Jerome Fellowships and a McKnight Grant.  This season, his Off-Broadway premiere will be followed by his second play in New York City: the Clubbed Thumb production of Amazons and Their Men at Walkerspace this coming January.

Directed by Obie Award winner Les Waters (the recent hit Eurydice at Second Stage, Big Love at BAM) in his Playwrights Horizons debut, Doris To Darlene, A Cautionary Valentine will begin previews on Friday, November 16 with an official opening on Tuesday, December 11 at 7PM.  Performances will continue through Sunday, December 23 at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street). 

The cast will feature award-winning jazz vocalist de'Adre Aziza (Passing Strange at The Public, "Sex and the City"), David Chandler (Black Sea Follies at Playwrights Horizons, on Broadway in Lost in Yonkers, Death of a Salesman and The American Clock), Michael Crane (2007 New York Innovative Theater Award nominee for West Moon Street at Prospect Theater Company), Laura Heisler (People Be Heard at Playwrights Horizons, Coram Boy on Broadway), Tom Nelis (the current Iphigenia 2.0 at Signature, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial and Aida on Broadway) and Tobias Segal (Austin Pendleton's production of My Name Is Richard at 78th Street Theater Lab, Barrymore Award for Equus).

"Doris To Darlene, A Cautionary Valentine begins in the candy-colored 1960s, when a biracial schoolgirl named Doris (Aziza) is molded into pop star Darlene by a whiz-kid record producer (Crane) who culls a top-ten hit out of Richard Wagner's Liebestod.  Rewind to the candy-colored 1860s, where Wagner (Chandler) is writing the melody that will become Darlene's hit song.  Fast-forward to the not-so-candy-colored present, where a teenager (Segal) obsesses over Darlene's music – and his music teacher (Nelis). Three dissonant decades merge into an unlikely harmony in this time-jumping pop fairy tale about the dreams and disasters behind one transcendent song," explain press notes.

A play that deals with the nature of music and how it influences our lives, Doris To Darlene, A Cautionary Valentine will feature two songs with music by Obie Award winner Kirsten Childs (The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin, which premiered at Playwrights Horizons), set to Harrison's lyrics.

The production features scenic design by Takeshi Kata, costume design by Christal Weatherly, lighting design by Jane Cox and soundscape by Darron L West.  Production Stage Manager will be Elizabeth Moreau.

The performance schedule for Doris To Darlene, A Cautionary Valentine will be Tuesdays through Fridays at 8PM, Saturdays at 2:30 & 8PM and Sundays at 2:30 & 7:30 PM.  Tickets are $65 and will go on sale to the general public starting Wednesday, October 17.  Tickets may be purchased online via TicketCentral.com,  by phone at (212) 279-4200 (Noon-8pm daily), or in person at the Ticket Central Box Office, 416 West 42nd Street (between 9th & 10th Ave).

The LIVEforFIVE lottery for Doris To Darlene, A Cautionary Valentine will be the first preview on Friday, November 16 at 8 PM.  A new initiative created this season as part of the theater company's Arts Access program, LIVEforFIVE makes available $5 tickets for the first preview performance of each Playwrights Horizons production through a lottery via the company's website.  

Entries for the lottery will be accepted approximately a week before the first preview, with theatergoers filling out an entry form at www.playwrightshorizons.org.  Complete dates and details will be announced shortly.  At least 50 tickets will be available for Mainstage shows via the lottery.

Reflecting Playwrights Horizons' ongoing commitment to making its productions more affordable to younger audiences, the theater company will offer HOTtix, $20 rush tickets, subject to availability, day of performance only, starting one hour before showtime to patrons aged 30 and under. Proof of age required. One ticket per person, per purchase. Student Rush, $15 rush tickets, subject to availability, day of performance only, starting one hour before curtain to full-time graduate and undergraduate students. One ticket per person, per purchase. Valid student ID required. 

LIVEforFIVE, HOTtix, and Student Rush are just a few of Playwrights Horizons' popular Arts Access initiatives, which allow the theater company to reach out to those who may not be able to afford the cost of a full-price theater ticket. Playwrights Horizons is grateful to Goldman, Sachs & Co., lead sponsor of Arts Access at Playwrights Horizons.  This program is also supported, in part, by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

A special open captioned performance of Doris To Darlene, A Cautionary Valentine for theatergoers who are deaf and hard of hearing will be held on Sunday, December 2 at 2:30 PM. Funding for this program is provided, in part, by the Theodore H. Barth Foundation and the Theatre Development Fund's TAP Plus program in cooperation with the New York State Council on the Arts.

How to order tickets for the open captioned performance log on to www.playwrightshorizons.org, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 (Noon-8pm daily) via Relay Service (800) 421-1220, TTY call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 (noon-8pm daily) via Relay Service (800) 662-1220, by fax a printable order form may be found online at www.playwrightshorizons.org/tickets.html  

For subscription and ticket information to all Playwrights Horizons productions, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200, Noon to 8 pm daily, or purchase online at the Playwrights Horizons website at www.playwrightshorizons.org

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