The Pain and the Itch Extends at Playwrights through 10/15

Playwrights Horizons has extended its current production--the New York premiere of Bruce Norris' The Pain and the Itch.

The show, which began previews on September 1st and opened on September 26th, will now play through October 15th.  It was originally scheduled through October 8th.

The play, which was awarded the 2005 Jefferson Award for Best New Work when it had its world premiere at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, is directed by Anna D. Shapiro. The show plays the Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street).

"With a young daughter in serious need of attention and a ravenous creature possibly prowling the upstairs bedrooms, what begins as an average Thanksgiving for one privileged family unravels into an exposé of disastrous choices and less-than-altruistic motives. The Pain and the Itch is a scathing satire of the politics of class and race, a controversial, painfully human examination of denial and its consequences," state press notes.

The cast features Mia Barron (She Stoops to Comedy, The World Over and Lobby Hero at Playwrights Horizons, QED on Broadway), Aya Cash (Jasper Lake at the New York International Fringe Festival), Peter Jay Fernandez (Broadway's Henry IV, Julius Caesar and Jelly's Last Jam), 2006 Tony Award nominee Jayne Houdyshell (Well, the world premiere of The Pain and the Itch at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, for which she won the Jefferson Award for Best Supporting Actress), Tony Award nominee Reg Rogers (Holiday, Proposals and The Molière Comedies on Broadway, Lobster Alice at Playwrights Horizons) and Obie Award winner Christopher Evan Welch (A Streetcar Named Desire at NYTW, Broadway's Festen and The Crucible, Bruce Norris' Purple Heart at Steppenwolf). Child actors Ada-Marie L. Gutierrez and Vivien Kells rotate in the role of Kayla.

The production features scenic design by Dan Ostling (who designed the original production at Steppenwolf), costume design by Jennifer Von Mayrhauser, lighting design by Tony Award winner Donald Holder and sound design by Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen (who also designed the Steppenwolf production).

The performance schedule for The Pain and the Itch will be Tuesdays through Fridays at 8PM, Saturdays at 2:30 and 8PM and Sundays at 2:30 & 7:30 PM. Tickets are $65. Visit www.playwrightshorizons.org for tickets, or call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200.