8 STOPS & MAJOR TOM to Run in Rep at Cherry Lane Theatre

The acclaimed ALL FOR ONE THEATER will present the New York premieres of 8 STOPS and MAJOR TOM, two extraordinary solo shows in rep this spring at The Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street in Manhattan) from April 16 to May 2. 8 STOPS, the latest show from Obie Award winner Deb Margolin, is a comedy concerning the grief of endless compassion. MAJOR TOM by Victoria Melody - also featuring her Basset Hound of the show's title - is a true story which garnered rave reviews throughout the UK and Toronto exploring our culture's fascination with celebrity, beauty and winning.

Says Artistic Director Michael Wolk, "throughout her legendary lifetime, Deb Margolin has focused her fierce talent on mining sage truths from her experiences. 8 STOPS is comic and dramatic magic - Deb pulling out all the stops in her fight for life and sanity. Judge for yourself, but Victoria Melody and MAJOR TOM completely won my heart and they are AFO's first-ever overseas import. Victoria's story is wonderfully funny, her social insights are wickedly wise, and Major Tom deserves a trophy as her unassuming comedic match."

8 STOPS is Obie Award winner Deb Margolin's thought-provoking and comedic new solo work which recently made its world premiere at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. It's about death, the private lives of animals, the suburbs, the spiritual exurbs, illness, desire, and a subway ride with a motherless child who Deb realizes she has only 8 stops to raise! Isn't that all the time we ever really have...8 Stops? Developed as part of writing residency with celebrated poet and performance artist Dael Orlandersmith at the Kimmel Center, this rousing world-premiere work will leave you with classical questions about the nature of compassion and the limits, and the limitlessness, of human endurance. 8 STOPS is directed by Jay Wahl, Artistic Director of the Kimmel Center.

MAJOR TOM is the story of how an average 34 year-old became a beauty queen and how her unruly pet basset hound, Major Tom, became a championship show dog. Major Tom and Victoria increasingly immerse themselves in the obsessive and confusing realm of personal scrutiny as they participate as genuine contestants, determined to win. Victoria is accompanied on stage by documentary film footage and her dog. The show was hailed as "an incredibly funny production" by the Edinburgh Evening News and "deceptively thoughtful fun" by the London Guardian.

The world premiere of 8 STOPS was produced by The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This work was developed in part during the Dael Orlandersmith Writing Residency in the SEI Innovation Studio. The Kimmel Center's Theater Residency program is made possible by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. We would also like to thank the Hearst Foundations and Linda & David Glickstein for their generous contributions. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

ALL FOR ONE THEATER will present 8 STOPS and MAJOR TOM at The Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street, New York City 10014) from April 19 to May 2. 8 STOPS will be performed Thursday, April 16 - Saturday, April 18 at 8:00 PM; Sunday, April 19 at 3:00 PM; Tuesday, April 21 at 8:00 PM; Friday, April 24 at 8:00 PM; Saturday, April 25 at 2:00 PM and Sunday, April 26 at 8:00 PM. MAJOR TOM will be performed Thursday, April 23 at 8:00 PM; Saturday, April 25 at 8:00 PM; Sunday, April 26 at 3:00 PM; Wednesday, April 29 - Friday, May 1 at 8:00 PM and Saturday, May 2 at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM. Tickets start at $59 and may be purchased at www.allforonetheater.org/tickets or by phoning OvationTix at (866)811-4111.

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