Stamford Theatre Works To Present La Bute's 'Mercy Seat' Starting 9/17

Stamford Theatre Works will open its 21st season in September at its barn theatre, 200 Strawberry Hill Avenue in Stamford, with "The Mercy Seat" by Neil LaBute, September 17 - October 5.  Steve Karp, STW's founder and producing director, will direct.

On September 12, 2001, Ben Harcourt finds himself in the downtown apartment of his lover, Abby Prescott---who also happens to be his boss. His endlessly ringing cell phone haunts their conversation as Ben and Abby explore the choices now available to them in an existence different from the one they knew just The Day Before.  Will Ben let his wife and family know he's alive, or will he and Abby take this chance to create a new life for themselves? Matthew Fraley plays Ben; Eliza Foss plays Abby.

The play contains mature language and themes.

STW's 2008-09 season will continue with more issue-oriented and thought-provoking works, including a love story, drama, comedy and musical.

"Almost, Maine," written by John Cariani and directed by Douglas Moser, will play November 5 - 23. In a wonderfully wrought fictional town in Maine, the aurora borealis creates an atmosphere of star-struck love affecting the lives of nine couples.

"Defiance," written by John Patrick Shanley and directed by Patricia R. Floyd, will run January 28 - February 15. Set in 1971 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, two U.S. Marine officers, one black and one white, are on a collision course over power, responsibility and an affair with an enlisted man's wife.

"Greetings," a comedy written by Tom Dudzick and directed by Steve Karp, will play April 22 - May 10. A young man brings home his Jewish atheist fiancé to meet his very Catholic parents on Christmas Eve. With the inevitable family explosion comes an out-of-left-field miracle that propels the family into a wild exploration of love, religion and truth.

"First Lady Suite," a musical written by Tony Award nominee Michael John LaChiusa and directed by Shawn Churchman, will be staged June 10 - 28. First Ladies Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Kennedy and Mamie Eisenhower, and the people closest to them, reveal their true selves in song.

Stamford Theatre Works has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and numerous awards from the Connecticut Critics Circle for outstanding work. STW annually stages five original productions of contemporary works chosen with sensitivity to issues of social relevance. In addition, STW conducts a School for the Performing Arts and Summer Theatre Camp for Kids.

Performances are Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m.; matinees Saturdays at 4 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.; first Sunday and first Tuesday at 7 p.m. A "Conversation Club" follows the first Sunday matinee when the directors and actors participate in a Q&A with the audience. "Art vs. Life," following the first Tuesday, 7 p.m. show, offers a post-performance panel discussion.  Tickets $22 to $38. Subscriptions available. Free parking. Stamford Theatre Works, 200 Strawberry Hill Avenue, Stamford.  www.stamfordtheatreworks.org   Box Office: (203) 359-4414.

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