JULIUS BY DESIGN Set For Off-B'way Premiere, Opens 7/10

JULIUS BY DESIGN -- a new play by Kara Lee Corthron, winner of the Paula Vogel Playwriting Award -- will be given its world-premiere production Off-Broadway this summer, presented by Fulcrum Theater with preview performances starting Tuesday, July 5 prior to an official opening night on Sunday, July 10 at the Access Theatre (380 Broadway) in Manhattan. JULIUS BY DESIGN is directed by Debbie Saivetz.

JULIUS BY DESIGN is the first production of Fulcrum Theater, which supports New York-based playwrights-of-color and strives for a theater that values new writers and matches the demographic reality of New York City. In addition to Ms. Corthron, Fulcrum's initial class of resident playwrights includes Raul Castillo, Jorge Ignacio Cortinas and Cusi Cram.

In JULIUS BY DESIGN, Josephine and Laurel's dreams of their golden years together have been shattered by the untimely and violent death of their teenage son seven years earlier. Having attempted to mask the loss with a routine comprised largely of crossword puzzles and squabbling, the arrival of a letter on the anniversary of their son's death catches them off-guard, prompting Jo to finally fill the enormous void in her life in any way she can.

The cast of JULIUS BY DESIGN is comprised of Suzanne Douglas (Broadway: INTO THE WOODS, THE TAP DANCE KID, THE THREEPENNY OPERA), Mike Hodge (Broadway: KING HEADLEY, FENCES, A FEW GOOD MEN), Johnny Ramey (Helen Hayes Award Winner, Lead Actor, SUPERIOR DONUTS), Crystal Finn (FIVE GENOCIDES), Christianna Nelson (BLOODY MARY) and Curran Connor (PIDGEON).

Winner of the Vineyard Theatre's Paula Vogel Award for Playwriting, Kara Lee Cothron is the author of the plays ETCHED IN SKIN ON A SUNLIT NIGHT, and HOLLY DOWN IN HEAVEN, winner of the Princess Grace Award. She is the recipient of the Helen Merrill Award, Lincoln Center's Lecomte du Prize, and residencies at MacDowell. She is currently commissioned by South Coast Rep, New Georges and Naked Angels. A Juilliard alumna, she is a resident playwright with Fulcrum Theater.

Debbie Saivetz directed Sarah Ruhl's LATE: A COWBOY SONG for Clubbed Thumb, OUR DAD IS IN ATLANTIS for Working Theater, Catherine Filloux's PASSION.COM, THE NEXT CYCLE for Women's Project and Productions, and TORCH for New Georges. Regional credits include a staged reading of Jorge Ignacio Cortinas' BIRD IN HAND for Hartford Stage and Wallace Shawn's MARIE AND BRUCE for Parallax Theatre in Chicago.

JULIUS BY DESIGN has scenic design by Mikiko Suzuki, costume design by Jessica Gaffney and lighting design by Scott Bolman.

Fulcrum Theater's support of playwrights includes awarding them five-year residencies during which they are given two full productions of their plays. The company's mission statement notes, "We create a space for playwrights to develop new work on their own terms, we foster solidarity and community between playwrights by turning them into collaborators, we place the playwright at the center of the company's decision-making process and we produce new plays in top-notch productions." www.fulcrumtheater.org.

Scheduled through July 24, JULIUS BY DESIGN will perform Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. with an added performance on Tuesday, July 5 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $18 and can be reserved by calling Smarttix at 212 868 4444 or online at www.smarttix.com