IT'S TRUE, IT'S TRUE, IT'S TRUE Makes US Premiere At Brits Off Broadway At 59E59 Theaters

59E59 Theaters will present the US premiere of IT'S TRUE, IT'S TRUE, IT'S TRUE, written by Billy Barrett and Ellice Stevens, directed by Billy Barrett. Created using a devising process with the cast and verbatim material and produced by Breach and New Diorama Theatre for Brits Off Broadway, IT'S TRUE, IT'S TRUE, IT'S TRUE begins performances on Wednesday, May 6 for a limited engagement through Sunday, May 31. Press Opening is Tuesday, May 12 at 7:15 pm. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Friday at 7:15 pm; Saturday at 2:15 pm & 7:15 pm; Sunday at 2:15 pm. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison). Single tickets are $25 - $35 ($26 for 59E59 Members). Tickets are available by calling the 59E59 Box Office at 646-892-7999 or by visiting www.59e59.org. The running time is 65 minutes with no intermission.

IT'S TRUE, IT'S TRUE, IT'S TRUE, winner of both a Fringe First and Total Theatre Award, restages the 1612 trial of Agostino Tassi for the rape of Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi. Crafted from surviving court transcripts, this play dramatizes the seven-month trial that gripped Renaissance Rome and asks how much has changed in the last four centuries.

Blending myth, history, and contemporary commentary, this is the story of how a woman took revenge through her art to become one of the most successful painters of her generation. The Times said IT'S TRUE, IT'S TRUE, IT'S TRUE is "staged with imaginative flair and unabashed theatricality."

In what was a high profile court case at the time, Gentileschi accused fellow artist Tassi (and her one-time mentor) of rape. Tassi was convicted of the crime. His sentence? Exile from Rome for five months; it was a sentence he never served. Gentileschi, meanwhile, was subjected to torture during the trial as a way to ascertain if her claims were true.

Gentileschi, her reputation ruined, channeled her rage into art. Strong, courageous women depicted in powerful, often violent, positions became subjects for her canvas.

The all-female cast features Kathryn Bond, Sophie Steer, and Ellice Stevens.

The design team includes Luke W. Robson (set design); Kitty Hawkins (costume design); and Lucy Adams (lighting design). Dorothy Allen-Pickard is the dramaturg. The Production Stage Manager is Jenna Lazar.

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