The Workshops At Bay Street Theater Present RAINDOGS 10/16

The Workshops at Bay Street Theatre present RAINDOGS, directed by Andrew MacBean, a new rock musical, based on BALM IN GILEAD by Lanford Wilson, on Saturday, October 16 at 8 pm. The book is by Lanford Wilson, Rose Martula, and Andrew MacBean. Music by Andrew MacBean, Paul Chant, and Boko Suzuki, who also serves as Music Director. Lyrics by Andrew MacBean.

BALM IN GILEAD was Wilson's first full length play. As a new arrival to the early '60s counter-culture scene in downtown Manhattan, Wilson decided to write what he saw. Living above (and spending many nights in) an all-night coffee shop under his hotel, at 76th and Broadway, he wrote down the actual words, lives and conversations of the drug addicts, hookers, pimps, and hustlers who inhabited the cafe nightly. This became the basis of an astonishing ground-breaking piece of theatre.

The hard-hitting and overwhelming Balm in Gilead premiered in 1965 to rave reviews at NYC's famed La Mama and eventually transferred to the stage of the Circle in the Square Company that Mr. Wilson and his cohort, director Marshall Mason had founded.

Gradually centering around a young prostitute who meets a somewhat inept drug-pusher, BALM IN GILEAD is a graphic and gritty look at the junkies, pushers, prostitutes and others that inhabit an upper West Side greasy spoon.

The play was revived in 1984 by Steppenwolf (Director John Malkovich) in a hugely successful production with Gary Sinise, John Mahoney, Laurie Metcalf, and interestingly enough, Michael Moore (of 9/11 fame). It transferred to the new Minetta Lane theatre, with new raves and awards.

The cast of RAINDOGS: Alyssa Fox*, Martina R. Sykes, Jo Lampert, Kelly Felthous*, Anthony Lee Medina*, John Jeffords*, Gabreille Garza*, Jimmy Kilduff*, Mike Wartella*, Patrick Oliver Jones*, Nick Blaemire*, Lucas A. Wells. *Members of AEA.

THE WORKSHOPS at Bay Street Theatre, sponsored in part by the Lucille Lortel Foundation, allow writers, producers and actors to come together for a short period of time to develop theatrical pieces that may one day appear on the Broadway stage. Tickets are $15. A Q & A with the creators will follow. Tickets available by calling the box office at 631-725-9500 or online at www.baystreet.org.

Bay Street Theatre is a not-for-profit institution, dedicated to presenting new, classic and contemporary works of the highest quality, which challenge as well as entertain, speak to the diversity of the community and champion the human spirit. Bay Street's commitment extends to educational programs for all ages to foster the continued value of theatre as a vital art form for future generations.