BREAK to Make Long Island Premiere at LTV Studios

Playwrights' Theatre of East Hampton was founded on the premise that the dramatic arts deserve a place where they can be truly appreciated by audiences, and where the visions of writers, actors, and producers can be carried out fully and faithfully to the craft. Its next production, in partnership with New York Theatre Company and Most Much Productions, is a brand-new psychological thriller, BREAK, written by Lindsay Carpenter.

Directed by SB Tennent, BREAK's Long Island run includes four shows from Sept. 18-20. In this darkly funny story, two men are trapped in a room, forced to stack an ever-taller tower of dishes on one man's back. A voice threatens to kill them if a wall-mounted ticker hits 50. Above them, in a glass-walled booth, a by-the-book Deputy and her wildly under-qualified new assistant run the increasingly bizarre punishment. But as the dishes pile higher and the ticker climbs, the rules begin to unravel - and so does the question of what these men have done to deserve being there. Suspenseful, and unnervingly intimate, Break is a twist-filled psychological thriller about parenthood, punishment, forgiveness, and broken dishes.

"The gift of this play is that each audience member will have a unique experience as they watch it since it will likely remind them of specific moments and questions from their own life," Carpenter says. "It's a moving play that will hopefully provoke the audience to reconsider their own pasts."

The play stars John Kroft ("The Great Gatsby," Bay Street Theater, "Bram Stoker's Dracula," Williamstown Theater Festival, et al.); Paloma Garcia ("Twelfth Night," NYU Tisch, "Bitch Zoo," ALab Theater Festival, "Fefu and Her Friends," Broad Street Players); Josh Davis ("Paradise Square," OBC; "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical," OBC, "LES MISERABLES" as Javert, Broadway National Tour, et al.); and Grace Porter ("Lempicka," The Public Theater's Mobile Unit production of "Measure for Measure," The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park production of "Richard III," et al.).

"One of the most exciting things an actor can do is to originate a character. To walk completely in uncharted territory in a new story and to be a part/influence in discovering what makes it sing," Kroft says. " This story is truly universal. There is something in this play for everyone to connect with or reflect on, no matter which side of the play's 'discussion' you find yourself aligned with. It is a fascinating conversation about one of the most essential parts of the human experience."

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