'Save the World' by Roundtable Ensemble Begins Jan.17

The Roundtable Ensemble will present the world premiere of Chris Kipiniak's Save the World, a superhero-adventure play, developed and directed by Michael Barakiva. Save the World will be presented at the American Theatre of Actors (Chernuchin Theatre, 2nd floor), 314 West 54th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues). Performances will begin on Thursday, January 17, and the official opening night will be Saturday, January 19 at 8PM. Performances will run for four weeks through February 9.

"Save the World is a globe-spanning adventure, exploring the moral limitations of incredible power. The superheroes of the Protectorate (Legend, Umbra, Stagger, Prodigy, Quake, Roach, and Future-Knight) fight bravely to protect the earth from a series of seemingly unrelated disasters. But when the unthinkable occurs the team begins to splinter. In their desperate search for the cause of the threat, compromises are made. So are mistakes. With their incredible powers and their human failings, the heroes risk becoming threats themselves to the good they've sworn to uphold. A story of sin, sacrifice, and salvation," explain press notes.

Chris Kipiniak is a New York-based actor/writer. Last season he appeared in Roundtable's revival of Moira Buffini's Silence, and was last seen on Broadway as an original cast member of Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses. His plays include Stalled, presented at The Kraine Theater and the Hangar Theater Lab; The Nature of the Beast; and the children's plays For the First Time, Together Again! and Pass the Buck. Chris has worked for Marvel Comics writing for such titles as "Marvel Adventures Spider-Man;" "X-Men: Nightcrawler;" and "Amazing Fantasy." His travel writing includes the story Magic Carpet Ride in the anthology book "Encounters with the Middle East."

Director Michael Barakiva returns to work with Roundtable Ensemble having adapted and directed their production of Anton Chekhov's classic The Seagull, and in an evening of Roundtable one-acts, he directed two Brooke Berman plays, A Free Man in Paris and Defusion. Other New York directorial work includes: Anuvab Pal's Fatwa (FringeNYC and Blue Heron Arts Center); 2B or Not 2B by Jacquelyn Reingold (HB Playwrights); Animal Shelter by Emily Jenkins (Soho Rep); Stephen Belber's SteakKnife and Through Fred (Studio Theater); Brooke Berman's Bloody Thanksgiving (Ohio Theatre); and Then, written and performed by the MCC Youth Company. Regionally he has directed at Williamstown Theatre Festival, Lake George Theater Lab, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, Barrington Stage Company (original workshop of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), and at Theatre J (the premiere productions of Wendy Wasserstein's Welcome to My Rash and Third). On television he was featured on an episode of MTV's Made, in which he coached two high school students through the process of writing, directing, and producing a play.

The seven-member cast will include: Craig Bridger (Roach), Charissa Chamorro (Umbra), Christine Corpuz (Quake), Noshir Dalal (Legend), Kelly Hutchinson (Prodigy/Reporter), Danielle Skraastad (Future-Knight), and Jonathan Woodward (Stagger). Mr. Bridger has performed his solo show Co-ops & Kryptonite! all over the city. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New York Observer, and his first book "Surviving Groomzilla" will be published in 2008. Ms Chamorro is best known for playing Tory Granger on "The Guiding Light" and Sophia Pellegrino on "One Life to Live." NY theater includes: Taming of the Shrew (Roundtable) and Escape from Groovytown (HERE). Ms. Corpuz was recently seen in I Am Nothing Like My Mother, a one-woman show she both wrote and performed, at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. Mr. Dalal comes directly to this production from Lincoln Center's Cymbelline. He has performed in Caligula, King Lear, and Macbeth with the Classical Theatre of Harlem; and last season he was seen in the Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company production of Qui Nguyen's Men of Steel. Ms. Hutchinson was last seen with Roundtable in Silence. Her Broadway credits include Major Barbara (directed by Dan Sullivan) and Macbeth (directed by Terry Hands). Her off Broadway credits include: Voyage of the Carcass (Soho Playhouse); Romola & Nijinsky (Primary Stages); Homebody/Kabul (NYTW); and Trainspotting (Players Theatre). Ms. Skraastad has been seen off Broadway in The Pain and the Itch (Playwrights Horizons); Anon (Atlantic Theater Company); Fugue and Lascivious Something (Cherry Lane); Carrie (Theater Couture); and Big Times (W.E.T.) Mr. Woodward was last seen in New York in Quincy Long's The Year of the Baby at Soho Rep. Regionally he has performed in Lisa D'Amour's The Cataract (Perishable Theatre); Melissa James Gibson's Suitcase (La Jolla Playhouse); and Jon Robin Baitz's The Ten Unknowns (Mark Taper Forum). On TV he had a featured role in HBO's adaptation of Margaret Edson's Wit and made guest appearances on all three of Joss Whedon's TV shows: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly.

The set design for Roundtable Ensemble's Save the World will be by Shoko Kambara, the costume design by Oana Botez-Ban, the lighting design by Nick Francone, and the music and sound design by Shane Rettig. The production stage manager is Danielle Teague-Daniels.

Save the World will be performed from January 17 through February 9 on a Thursday and Friday at 8PM, Saturday at 3PM & 8PM schedule. The official Opening Performance will be Saturday, January 19 at 8PM.

All tickets will be $18.00. The box office number to charge tickets is 800-838-3006 or http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/25586. Reservations may also be made at 212-696-6699.

Pictured (left to right); Danielle Skraastad, Noshir Dalal, and Charissa Chamorro in Save the World by Chris Kipiniak. Directed by Michael Barakiva. Photo by: Carol Rosegg

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