ART/WNY Presents Staged Reading Of FRED'S REQUIEM

American Repertory Theater of WNY is presenting a special two-night staged reading of Buffalo-based playwright Matthew LaChiusa's dark comedy, FRED's REQUIEM. This vignette based work featuring grapes, a wake, and dirty family secrets will be presented at the company's 330 Amherst Street performance space on January 26th & 27th, 8 pm.

"The production is modest and unpretentious...(Matthew) LaChiusa cultivates a company to perform his work. Moreover, it is thrilling to hear such a strong script with its roots so firmly embedded in our own region... insights exceed the typical litany of familiar place names, to pierce the heart of what gives Western New York the sense of being a distinct and unique place." Anthony Chase on original work FRED's REQUIEM.

First produced in 2012 through ART/WNY, Matthew LaChiusa's FRED REQUIEM met with critical acclaim at the time of its production and now folks will get another opportunity to catch a two-night staged reading of this comedy at ART/WNY.
FRED'S REQUIEM is a woven plot of sub-stories centering around the death of a grocery-store operator. First presented in the 2006 Buffalo Infringement Festival, the work takes the audience through stories of deceit, grape-farming and 'Basement Mary' otherwise known as the "Queen of the Desert". These stories intertwine in a series of several vignettes culminating in a bizarre mother and son conversation revealing one helluva dirty secret. "The play is a delightful series of exquisitely crafted conversations between carefully wrought characters. (Matthew) LaChiusa guides us into a world where David Mamet meets Tracy Letts in a veritable "La Ronde" of family dysfunction". Anthony Chase on the 2011 production.

Directed by ART/WNY's newly appointed Artistic Director, Candice Kogut, FRED'S REQUEIM features the talents of Thomas Bailer, Jeffrey Coyle, Diane DiBernardo, Cassie Gorniewicz, Robert Ernie Insana, Rich Kraemer, John Kreuzer, Nick Lama, Rick Lattimer, Matthew LaChiusa, Jacquie Maass and Clarissa Maloy.

For more information on the production please visit https://www.facebook.com/ARTOFWNY or call 716-697-0837 for ticket reservations.