EXIT/ENTRANCE Receives US Premiere At 1st Irish at 59E59 Theaters

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) is proud to announce the US premiere of EXIT/ENTRANCE, written by Aidan Mathews and directed by M. Burke Walker. Produced by Origin Theatre Company (New York) and part of 1st Irish at 59E59 Theaters, EXIT/ENTRANCE begins performances on Friday, September 10 and runs through Sunday, October 3. Press Opening is Wednesday, September 15 at 7:15 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Wednesday at 7:15 PM; Thursday - Friday at 8:15 PM; Saturday at 2:15 PM and 8:15 PM; Sunday at 3:15 PM. Please note there is no matinee performance on Saturday, September 11. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison). Tickets are $25 ($17.50 for 59E59 Members) and are available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or online at www.59E59.org.

Charles, a retired classics professor, and his wife, Helen, are back in the apartment they shared for their entire married lives. They quietly reaffirm their deep affection for each other, the life they've shared, its delights and disappointments, as they toast their commitment.

In a similar apartment, a much younger couple unpacks from an exhilarating trip to Greece. They settle into an empty apartment, eager to begin their new life together. Over the course of the play, two quiet, intimate evenings unfold, where the lives of two couples are irrevocably changed.

Playwright Aidan Mathews examines the power of love, commitment and memory is this intelligent and compassionate play, which premiered in the Peacock at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. The Irish Times called the play, "one of the most challenging and satisfying evenings of pure theatre seen in years."

The cast for EXIT/ENTRANCE includes Lara Hillier (Pittsburgh Public Theater's production The Tempest with Brian Murray), Greg Mullavey (Broadway: Romantic Comedy with Mia Farrow, TV's "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman"), David L. Townsend (Twelfth Night, Hamlet and The Constant Couple at The Pearl Theatre) and Linda Thorson (Broadway's Noises Off and City of Angels).

Aidan Mathews (playwright) was born in 1956 and educated at UCD, TCD, and Stanford University. He has published three collections of poetry, Windfalls, Minding Ruth and According to the Small Hours; a book of stories, Adventures in a Bathyscope (which was shortlisted for the GPA Award); and a novel, Muesli at Midnight. In addition to EXIT/ENTRANCE, his plays include The Diamond Body, The Antigone and a new version of The House of Bernarda Alba. He edited Immediate Man: Cuimhní ar Chearbhall Ó Dálaigh. He works as a Radio Drama producer in RTE.

M. Burke Walker (director) was the founder of Seattle's renowned Empty Space Theatre, which he ran as Artistic Director from 1970 - 1990. In addition to his work at the Empty Space, he has directed at top regional theaters across the country including Seattle Rep, ACT in San Francisco, Berkeley Rep and Syracuse Stage, among many others. Last year, he directed Origin Theatre Company's production of Spinning the Times, which was part of 1st Irish at 59E59 Theaters. He is currently working on editing an anthology of American pulp melodramas from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

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