Casting, Dates Set for Primary Stages' 2017-18 Season

Primary Stages has announced that tickets are on sale today for the final two productions of their 2017/18 season: the World Premiere of A WALK WITH MR. HEIFETZ, written by James Inverne and directed by Andrew Leynse; and FEEDING THE DRAGON, written and performed by Sharon Washington and directed by Maria Mileaf, and presented in a co-production with Hartford Stage.

The cast of A WALK WITH MR. HEIFETZ, which begins performances at the Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce St, New York, NY, 10014) on January 31, 2018, will feature Yuval Boim (Two Thousand Years), Adam Green (Venus), Erik Lochtefeld (Small Mouth Sounds), and live music performed by acclaimed violinist Mariella Haubs. Opening night is set for Tuesday, February 20, for a limited run through March 4, 2018. Benjamin Kamine, who was previously announced to direct A Walk with Mr. Heifetz, has withdrawn from the production, citing a family illness. Andrew Leynse will assume directing duties.

In this inspiring new play, discover how music helped Israel find its cultural identity during its formative years. In 1925, an unforgettable event occurred when Jascha Heifetz, the most celebrated violinist in the world, played a concert in pre-Israel Palestine. People flocked from all over the globe to see this performance, including Yehuda Sharett, composer and brother of future Israeli Prime Minister Moshe Sharett. Legend has it that after the performance, Heifetz and Yehuda walked together and shared a remarkable conversation that resonated twenty years later when, in 1945, Moshe echoed Heifetz's experience with his brother in a similar exchange that changed the world as we know it. Written by award-winning Gramophone and Time Magazine journalist James Inverne (Wrestling with Elephants), A WALK WITH MR. HEIFETZ features direction by Primary Stages Artistic Director Andrew Leynse.

A WALK WITH MR. HEIFETZ will feature scenic design by Anshuman Bhatia, costume design by Andrea Lauer, sound design by M.L. Dogg, and casting by Stephanie Klapper Casting.

The final show of the 2017/18 season, FEEDING THE DRAGON, begins performance on March 21, 2018 at the Cherry Lane Theatre, with opening night set for Tuesday, April 3, and runs through April 27, 2018. FEEDING THE DRAGON is written and performed by Sharon Washington (While I Yet Live) and directed by Maria Mileaf (A Body of Water), and presented in a co-production with Hartford Stage.

Award-winning actress Sharon Washington, beloved by audiences for her performances in Primary Stages' productions of While I Yet Live and String of Pearls, as well as The Scottsboro Boys on Broadway, returns to Primary Stages to share a uniquely personal story with the New York premiere of Feeding the Dragon. As both playwright and star of this autobiographical solo piece, Sharon revisits her time growing up in an apartment on the top floor inside the St. Agnes Branch of the New York Public Library, where her father served as the building's custodian. Shrouded in family mystery, Sharon's story boldly examines how both the power of forgiveness and her lifelong love for the written word have helped her battle dragons of all forms.

FEEDING THE DRAGON will feature scenic design by Tony Ferrieri, costume design by Toni-Leslie James, lighting design by Ann Wrightson, and sound design by Lindsay Jones.

The performance schedule for A WALK WITH MR. HEIFETZ from is as follows: Tuesday-Thursday at 8pm; Saturday at 8pm; Sunday at 3pm. Exceptions: There will be additional performances on Saturday, February 3 at 2pm; Wednesday, February 21 at 2pm; & Saturday, March 3 at 2pm.

The performance schedule for FEEDING THE DRAGON is as follows: Tuesday-Saturday at 8pm; Sunday at 3pm. Exceptions: there will be no performances on Sunday, April 1; Wednesday, April 4; Tuesday, April 10; or Tuesday, April 17. There will be additional performances on Saturday, March 31 at 2pm; Monday, April 2 at 8pm; and Wednesday, April 25 at 2pm.

Single tickets for A WALK WITH MR. HEIFETZ and FEEDING THE DRAGON are priced starting at $70. All tickets are available at PrimaryStages.org or by calling OvationTix at 212-352-3101. Group tickets are available for $45 per ticket ($35 for student groups) by contacting 212-840-9705. Subscriptions for the Primary Stages 2017/18 Season are on sale now starting at $90 and include tickets to either the final two or all three remaining mainstage productions for the 2017/18 season. All subscription packages can also be purchased by visiting PrimaryStages.org or by calling OvationTix at 212-352-3101.

Primary Stages 2017/18 season began with THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens AND COUNT Leo Tolstoy: DISCORD, written by Scott Carter ("Real Time With Bill Maher") and directed by Kimberly Senior (Disgraced). Currently in performances at the Cherry Lane Theatre is Primary Stages' PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, written by Kate Hamill, adapted from the novel by Jane Austen, directed by Amanda Dehnert. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, presented in a co-production with Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, opened on Sunday, November 19, and runs through January 6, 2018.

Primary Stages is an Off-Broadway not-for-profit theater company dedicated to inspiring, supporting, and sharing the art of playwriting. We operate on the strongly held belief that the future of American theater relies on nurturing playwrights and giving them the artistic support needed to create new work. Since our founding in 1984, we have produced more than 130 new plays, including In Transit by James-Allen-Ford, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Russ Kaplan, and Sara Wordsworth (on Broadway last season); Horton Foote's The Roads to Home, The Day Emily Married, Harrison, TX, and Dividing the Estate (two Tony nominations); Donald Margulies' The Model Apartment (1995 premiere and 2013 revival); David Ives' Lives of the Saints and All in the Timing (original 1993 production and 2013 revival); Billy Porter's While I Yet Live; Deborah Zoe Laufer's Informed Consent; Charles Busch's The Tribute Artist and Olive and the Bitter Herbs; Ike Holter's Exit Strategy; Tanya Saracho's Fade; Michael McKeever's Daniel's Husband, A.R. Gurney's Black Tie; Theresa Rebeck's Poor Behavior; Tanya Barfield's The Call, Terrence McNally's Dedication or the Stuff of Dreams and The Stendhal Syndrome; Dan O'Brien's The Body of an American; Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter's In the Continuum (which went on to tour the U.S., Africa, and Scotland); and Conor McPherson's St. Nicholas (which marked the playwright's U.S. debut). Our productions and artists have received critical acclaim, including Tony, Obie, Lortel, AUDELCO, Outer Critics' Circle, Drama League, and Drama Desk awards and nominations. Primary Stages supports playwrights and develops new works through commissions, workshops, readings, and our education and training programs: The Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, the Marvin and Anne Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA), the Fordham/Primary Stages MFA in Playwriting, and the newly launched Primary Stages Off-Broadway Oral History Project. Through these programs, Primary Stages advocates for our artists, helping them make important-and often transformative- connections within the theater community.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Adam Green (Jascha Heifetz). New York: Signature, Red Bull, Pearl, Second Stage Uptown, Playwrights Realm, 59E59, many others. Regional: Affiliated Artist with Shakespeare Theatre of DC (two Helen Hayes nominations), McCarter Theatre, Hartford Stage (CT Critics Circle nomination), Barrington Stage, Alley Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, many others. TV: "The Good Wife," "Madame Secretary," "Billions." Training: NYU, MFA; Harvard, BA in English.

Yuval Boim (Yehuda Sharett). Theatre: The New Group, NYTW, The Public, HERE, Playwrights Realm, Culture Project, Shakespeare Theatre (Helen Hayes Award), George Street Playhouse, Huntington, Premier Stages. Film/TV: That Awkward Moment, Norman,"Bull", "Blue Bloods," "Red Oaks," "Believe," "Law and Order: SVU." Writing: D.I.Y. (Duplass Brothers grant), Sexcurity (Cleveland Public Theatre, IRT, Dixon Place). Training: London International School of Performing Arts (MFA), Boston University (BFA). Actors Center company member.

Erik Lochtefeld (Moshe Sharett). Broadway: Misery, Metamorphoses. Off-Broadway: Napoli, Brooklyn (Roundabout), The Light Years (Playwrights Horizons), A Funny Thing... of NYC (MCC), Stupid F***ing Bird (The Pearl), Small Mouth Sounds (Ars Nova), Powerhouse (New Ohio), Row After Row (Women's Project), Tamar of the River (Prospect Theatre),Melancholy Play (13P), February House (Public Theater). TV/Film: "Madame Secretary," "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," "Law & Order." eriklochtefeld.com

MARIELLA HAUBS (Violinist) has performed all over Europe, Asia, North America, and the Middle East in venues ranging from Carnegie Hall to refugee camps in Europe. Glamour Magazine named her a Top 10 College Woman of 2014. Mariella holds a BM and MM from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Itzhak Perlman and Catherine Cho.

Andrew Leynse (Director and Artistic Director, Primary Stages) is currently in his 15th season as Artistic Director of Primary Stages. Andrew is a director and a founding member of the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, now in its 23rd year. He teaches for Primary Stages ESPA and The Tepper Semester for Syracuse University, and he is the Artistic Director of the Colorado New Play Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Andrew is a proud Board Member of A.R.T/New York and is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon's Directing Program.

 

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