IRT and Ricochet Collective's GORDY CRASHES Begins Tonight Off-Broadway

IRT and Ricochet Collective recently announced the addition of Jody Flader (The Slug Bearers... at The Vineyard), to the cast of the World Premiere of GORDY CRASHES, by Sam Byron. Directed by Sherri Eden Barber, previews begin tonight, June 5 at IRT Theater with opening night slated for Friday, June 12. Flader replaces Clea Alsip, who leaves to join the cast of Neil Labute's The Way We Get By with Amanda Seyfried and Thomas Sadoski.

"I love and strongly believe in this play and all the people working on it," notes Alsip. "Sam and Sherri are two incredible artists. And my fellow actors are simply stellar. I know it's going to be the 'it' thing to see this summer and I'm so sad that jobs always come one on top of the other. I will miss the people and the play very much."

In GORDY CRASHES, Gordy is having a bad week. Superstorm Sandy has driven him out of his apartment and into a dizzying blur of couch surfing, bad takeout, alcohol binges, stories about the horrible destruction in the Rockaways, and aimless wandering between Manhattan and Brooklyn. This eventually lands him, delirious and sleep-deprived, on the doorstep of his estranged ex-girlfriend, Mere. Over the next three days, Gordy will see the true extent of the storm's devastation as his declining mental state steers him into a head-on collision with his own fear and anxiety.

GORDY CRASHES is the inaugural production of Ricochet Collective (Sherri Eden Barber, Artistic Director; Brandon Pape, Executive Director). In addition to Jody Flader, the production also stars Dave Klasko (King Lear at The Public/Shakespeare in the Park) and Ruffin Prentiss (Fati's Last Dance at Billie Holiday Theatre), with a production team that includes Kate Noll (sets), Stephanie Levin (costumes), Serena Wong (lighting), Mark Van Hare (composer & sound designer), Paul Piekarz (projection design), Jacob Grigolia-Rosenbaum (fight director), Joseph Pindelski (dramaturg), Julian Leon (graphics & website design), Christine McKenna (casting), P. Tyler Britt (stage manager), Brandon Pape (production manager), and Sari Caine and David Rigo (associate producers).

SAM BYRON's plays include Standard Aptitude (Semifinalist, Eugene O'Neill New Play Conference 2015), Gordy Crashes (finalist, 2014 Stanley Drama Award), Animals (Wide Eyed Productions, winner of the Fringe NYC award for Overall Excellence in Directing, Kristin Skye Hoffmann), Brooklyn Vacancies (finalist, New Works Program at T. Schreiber Studio, New York City), Static (finalist, HotCity Theater's Greenhouse Festival, St. Louis), and Debt (Horse Trade Theater, New York City, and Dillingham Center for Performing Arts, Ithaca, NY). He was the Resident Playwright for Wide Eyed Productions' 2013-2014 season and a recipient of the 2012 Steinberg New Playwrights Fellowship. He is currently the 2015 Harold Clurman Playwright-in-Residence at the Stella Adler Studio in New York. Member, Dramatists Guild of America. MFA, The New School for Drama. www.sambyron.com

SHERRI EDEN BARBER's recent directing credits include Mr. Landing Takes A Fall (The Flea), Herman Kline's Midlife Crisis (Beckett-Theatre Row), 24 Hour Plays (American Airlines Theatre), Latrell Live Tonight! (Joe's Pub), Love, Yourself (New York Theatre Workshop/IHI Gala), How To Quit Smoking, Baptism (Atlantic). Sherri is a Drama League Directing Fellow and recipient of the US/UK Exchange Award. MFA, New School for Drama. www.SherriEdenBarber.com

RICOCHET COLLECTIVE is a newly formed collection of producers, directors, and designers whose goal is to explore and expand the potential of live art by producing visceral, arresting theater experiences that fully immerse the audience in each storytelling event. To learn more, visit www.RicochetCollective.com.

IRT Theater is a grassroots laboratory for independent theater and performance in New York City, providing space and support to a new generation of artists. Tucked away in the old Archive Building in Greenwich Village, IRT's mission is to build a community of emerging and established artists by creating a home for the development and presentation of new work. Some of the artists we have supported include Young Jean Lee, Reggie Watts, Mike Daisey, New York Live Arts, terraNOVA Collective, Immediate Medium, The Nonsense Company/Rick Burkhardt, CollaborationTown, Rady&Bloom,Thomas Bradshaw, Crystal Skillman,Tommy Smith, May Adrales, Katt Lissard, Erica Fay and many others. For info visit www.irttheater.org.

GORDY CRASHES runs June 5-27, Monday & Thursday - Saturday with additional performances June 9 & 10. All performances are at 7pm. IRT Theater is located at 154 Christopher Street in Greenwich Village -- accessible from the PATH or 1 train to Christopher St, or the ABCDEFM trains to West 4th. Tickets are $18, available by calling 212-352-3101 or online at www.ricochetcollective.com.

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