The Acting Company to Present The Three Musketeers and Macbeth in May

The Acting Company, the renowned nationally touring, classic repertory theater, will offer New York theatergoers the choice between Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers or Shakespeare's Macbeth. Both plays will run at the Baruch Performing Arts Center's (BPAC) Nagelberg Theatre (55 Lexington Avenue, East 25th St., between Lexington and Third Avenues) this May.

"An entertaining new adaptation of Dumas' classic coming of age tale follows the brave young d'Artagnan as he changes from country boy to daring hero. The waning era of chivalry chock full of swordfights, romance and heartbreak," state press notes. The show will be directed by Casey Biggs, an award-winning director best known as "Damar" on "Deep Space Nine," and will feature members of The Acting Company.

"Through some of the most sublime soliloquies in the Shakespearean canon, Macbeth is thrillingly direct in its stark demonstration of the corrupting power of evil -- an escalating cascade of violence, guilt, paranoia and madness." The show will be directed by Juilliard's Eve Shapiro, who has been a faculty member of the esteemed performing arts school since 1976 and has directed extensively in London, America and her native South Africa.

The cast will include Spencer Aste, William Brock, Timothy Carter, Keith Eric Chappelle, David Foubert, Cedric Hayman, Deb Heinig, Chad Hoeppner, Megan McQuillan, Carine Montbertrand, Kaitlin O'Neal, Matthew Steiner, Matthew Bradford Sullivan, and Henry Vick. The cast will have just completed a repertory tour to some 50 cities in 30 states prior to the New York engagements.

The Acting Company, now celebrating its 34nd season, was founded in 1972 by current Producing Director Margot Harley and the late John Houseman out of the first graduating class of the Juilliard School. "The company has a dual mission: to support the work of the country's best young actors and to bring theater to under-served communities nationwide." The company has produced over 100 plays, including 25 by Shakespeare. Its 300 alumni members include Kevin Kline, Patti LuPone, Jeffrey Wright, Frances Conroy, Jesse L. Martin, Harriet Harris, Lisa Banes, Keith David, David Ogden Stiers, and Derek Smith. The Acting Company has received several Tony Award nominations, and has won Obie, Audelco, and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards. In 2003, The Acting Company was honored by the Tonys for excellence in theater. This year, they have been selected to participate in the Shakespeare in American Communities Initiative, a national theater touring initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Three Musketeers' performance schedule is as follows: Tuesday, May 9th at 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 10th at 8 p.m., Tuesday, May 16 at 7 p.m. and Wednesday, May 17th through Saturday, May 20th at 8 p.m. with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m.

Macbeth will perform Thursday, May 11th through Saturday, May 13th at 8 p.m. with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m.

Tickets for The Three Musketeers and Macbeth are $37.50 regular price and $15 for students. They can be ordered via Ticket Central by calling (212) 279-4200, or online at www.ticketcentral.com.

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