TRAVESTIES, Starring Richard Kind and More, Begins Tonight at Bay Street Theater

Bay Street Theater presents Tony award winning comedy TRAVESTIES (today, June 24 - July 20) by Tom Stoppard and directed by Gregory Boyd. Tickets can be purchased online now at www.baystreet.org or by calling the Box Office at 631-725-9500, 11 am to Showtime. For more information about Bay Street Theater log on to www.baystreet.org.

A "Pay What You Can" performance is offered for the local community tonight, June 24 at 7 pm. "PWYC" tickets are limited and will be available at the Box Office beginning at 2 pm today, June 24.

New this year, "STUDENT SUNDAY" MATINEES: Every Sunday through July 20, High School and College students can receive (1) FREE admission for the 2pm performance of TRAVESTIES. Also new this year is a $30 ticket for those under the age of 30. Photo ID must be shown for both ticket initiatives.

Returning this year is TALKBACK TUESDAY with Bay Street's new Artistic Director, Scott Schwartz, and members of the Travesties cast following the 7pm performance on Tuesday, July 1.

With TRAVESTIES, Stoppard creates a smashing theatrical extravaganza with the wit of Oscar Wilde crashing headlong into song-and-dance, strip-tease, pie-fights, and brilliant wordplay. Set in 1917 and 1974 in Zurich, Switzerland, the play fantasizes how a British consul named Henry Carr (Richard Kind) encounters some of the most famous figures of the 20th century, including James Joyce, Tristan Tzara and Lenin, through an amateur production of The Importance of Being Earnest. Stoppard takes on the role of the artist in society in this exuberant and freewheeling comedy about art and revolution that is as fresh and thought-provoking as it is uproarious.

The cast includes Michael Benz (Downton Abbey, The Tempest) as Tristan Tzara, Carson Elrod (Person of Interest, Wedding Crashers) as James Joyce, Aloysius Gigl (Les Miserables, Sweeney Todd) as Bennett, Isabel Keating (The Boy from Oz, Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark) as Nadya, Richard Kind (Spin City, Curb Your Enthusiasm) as Henry Carr, Julia Motyka (Richard III, We Got Issues) as Gwendolen, Emily Trask (Twelfth Night, The Gaming Table) as Cecily, and Andrew Weems (Born Yesterday, Inherit the Wind) as Lenin.

The production team includes Wendy Seyb (Movement Consultant), Neil Patel (Co-Scenic Designer), Caleb Levengood (Co-Scenic Designer), Judith Dolan (Costume Designer), Rui Rita (Lighting Designer), John Gromada (Sound Designer), Kathy Fabian (Props Master), Pamela Prather (Dialect Coach), Rick Sordelet (Fight Director), Vincent Rodriguez (Magician Consultant), and Rob Chikar (Production Stage Manager).

The 2014 Mainstage Season is sponsored in part by New York State through the generosity of Assemblyman Fred Thiele and State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle; the New York State Council on The Arts, a State Agency; Town of Southampton; The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust; The Shubert Foundation; and the Suffolk County Executive's Office. Previews are sponsored by Peconic Landing.

Tickets on sale now at the Box Office at 631-725-9500 or online at www.baystreet.org.

Photo by Barry Gordin