The Forever Waltz Opens March 10th at the Workshop Theatre Company

The WORKSHOP THEATER COMPANY, Elysa Marden and Timothy Scott Harris Co-Artistic Directors and Riley Jones-Cohen, Executive Director, and VERSE THEATER MANHATTAN, RICHARD RYAN, Executive Director and JAMES MILTON, Artistic Director are please to announce the world premiere of THE FOREVER WALTZ, by GLYN MAXWELL, directed by Elysa Marden. Performances begin Thursday, March 10th at 8:00 pm with an opening scheduled for Saturday, March 12th at 8:00 pm. Performances continue Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 3:00 pm through April 2nd. There is a TalkBack following the performance on Thursday March 17th with playwright GLYN MAXWELL. All tickets are $15.00, $10.00 with current student ID. TDF accepted. For reservations please call 212-695-4173 or visit TheaterMania.com to purchase tickets online. The WorkShop Theater is located at 312 West 36th Street, on the 4th floor, between 8th and 9th Avenues. www.workshoptheater.org.

Iin "THE FOREVER WALTZ," a man arrives in the underworld in search of his love, only to find a mysterious guitar-wielding guide who may or may not be able to help him. He begins to mistake the underworld for the real world, and is caught there until he can break a cycle of violence. Passion, retribution, fate and forgiveness collide in this contemporary take on Orpheus.

PlaywrightGlyn Maxwell is a poet and playwright from Hertfordshire, England. He graduated from Oxford and studied poetry under Derek Walcott at Boston University. He has published several books of verse, including The Breakage (1998) Time's Fool (2000), and The Nerve (2002), all of which were New York Times Notable Books of the Year. In 1997 he was awarded the E.M.Forster Prize by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and in 2004 the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, for The Nerve. Several of his plays have been performed in Britain, including Broken Journey (a Time Out Critics' Choice in 1999), Anyroad and Wolfpit, which was also performed as a reading at the 92nd Street Y in 2002. The Lifeblood was the British Theatre Guide's 'Best Play on the Fringe' in 2004. His libretto for Elena Langer's The Girl of Sand premiered at the Almeida in London in 2003, and his libretto for Edward Dudley Hughes's version of Aristophanes' Birds will premiere in June 2005. He has taught at Princeton, Columbia, Amherst and the New School, and is currently the Poetry Editor of The New Republic.

Elysa Marden has directed in New York City, regionally, and internationally. Off-Broadway, she directed the world premiere of "I Hear (Oigo)." Other NYC credits include "Rattlesnake," with Jason Robards, "Iphigenia," "No Exit," Christopher Logue's "The Husbands," Goethe's "Persephone with A Phoenix Too Frequent" and "The Cocktail Party." Regional credits include "Fuddy Meers" (Capital Rep), "The Last Night of Ballyhoo" and "I'll Be Back Before Midnight" (Brown Summer Theatre, RI); "Blood Wedding" and "The Persians" (Ancient Mask Rep, DC). Her work has been seen internationally in Italy and at Canadian Fringe Festivals.

Featured in the cast of "THE FOREVER WALTZ" are BARRY JAY ABRAMOWITZ, JENNIFER KATHRYN MARSHALL and JOSHUA SPAFFORD. The design team includes sets by ANDREW C. BOYCE, costumes by ISABEL RUBIO, lighting by DEBORAH CONSTANTINE, projections by MICHAEL CLARK and original music and sound design by CHRISTOPHER RENQUIST. LILLIAN K. MINNICH is the stage manager.

Now in its 11th year, the WORKSHOP THEATER COMPANY specializes in the development of new plays. The company also nurtures the talents of actors, playwrights and directors with the presentation of readings and workshops as well as fully staged plays, musicals and multi-media productions. The company's two-theater complex on 36th Street includes the 65-seat Main Stage Theater and the 35-seat Jewel Box Theater. This year's award-winning film, FINDING NEVERLAND, began as the stage play "THE MAN WHO WAS PETER PAN" by ALLEN KNEE presented by the WORKSHOP THEATER COMPANY in 1998. The WorkShop has also presented premiere productions of the plays "Angel Wings" by Murray Schisgal (who is best known for "Luv" and the screenplay of Tootsie) and "1348" by Tom Dulack (author of the Off-Broadway hit "Breaking Legs").

Verse Theater Manhattan is the leading theater company in the English-speaking world devoted exclusively to verse drama. VTM's productions have been critically acclaimed by The New York Times and The New York Post, and have delighted audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. The company's work has been seen at the Harold Clurman, HERE Performance Space, and the 92nd St Y, among other distinguished venues. The many celebrated verse dramatists VTM has collaborated with include theater legend Christopher Fry, NEA Chairman Dana Gioia, and New Republic Poetry Editor Glyn Maxwell.