Austin Pendleton Directs WOMAN BEFORE A GLASS, Previews 5/13

Austin Pendleton will direct the first Off-Broadway revival of WOMAN BEFORE A GLASS by Lanie Robertson. The original production opened at the Promenade Theatre in 2005 and earned actress Mercedes Ruehl an Obie award for her performance. Stepping into the role of Peggy
Guggenheim for Pendleton's production is veteran stage actress Judy Rosenblatt. Previews begin May 13 at The Abington Theatre with opening night slated for Tuesday, May 17.

Rebelling against her wealthy New York upbringing, indulging her uncanny eye for great art and artists, and becoming the enfant terrible of the modern art scene, Peggy Guggenheim lived a life almost too amazing to be believed. With humor, heartbreak and grand hauteur, WOMAN BEFORE A GLASS offers the unforgettable story of a woman before her time.

Austin Pendleton has most recently been represented as a director in New York by Three Sisters at CSC. Other recent productions include Uncle Vanya (also at CSC), Vieux Carre and Toys in the Attic (Pearl Theatre), and Fifty Words (Manhattan Class Company). Mr. Pendleton is also an actor and a playwright, and teaches acting at HB Studio.

Judy Rosenblatt's New York credits include The American Clock and Summerfolk (both directed by Austin Pendleton); The Dancers, Perfect Analysis Given by a Parrot, and The Last Hippie with the HB Theatre Ensemble; Peggy Guggenheim Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors at Florence
Gould Hall; There or Here with Hypothetical Theatre; Chaos Theory with The Greenwich Theatre; and Black Sun at LaMaMa. On TV, she has appeared in several episodes of The Sopranos. Judy is a member of the HB Theatre Ensemble and The Players Club.

Lanie Robertson's plays include Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, Alfred Stieglitz Loves O'Keeffe, Cannibal's Waltz, Last Gas Till Turnpike, Nasty Little Secrets and The Insanity of Mary Girard. His
work has been produced in the US at venues including Abingdon Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, the Alley Theatre, Arena Stage, Baltimore Centre Stage, Coconut Grove, Crossroads Theatre, George Street Playhouse, PBS American Playhouse, Pittsburgh Public, Playwrights Horizons, Primary Stages, Trinity Rep. Co., the Vineyard Theatre, Walnut Street Theatre and the Wilma Theater, among others. Abroad, his works have been produced in Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the U. K. He has been the recipient of an Outer Critics Circle Award, a Kliban Award and a Berrilla Kerr Award. Mr. Robertson is a member of The Dramatists Guild and The Writers Guild of America, East.

WOMAN BEFORE A GLASS runs May 13 - 29, Tuesday - Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm. The Abingdon Theater is located at 312 West 36th Street between 8th & 9th Aves -- accessible from the A,C,E train at 34th Street. Tickets are $18, available at 212-352-3101 or www.SpinCycleNYC.com.