Kathleen Chalfant and André De Shields to Headline Cast of PROPHECY

Kathleen Chalfant, André De Shields, and George Bartenieff have been confirmed for the cast of the American premiere of Karen Malpede's "fierce and funny" new drama, Prophecy, praised in London last season, that will begin previews at Manhattan's East Fourth Street Theater, 83 East Fourth Street, on May 27 2010. Opening night is set for June 4th and the show will continue through June 20th. Performances are Tuesday through Sunday at 7:30 pm with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 pm.

This will be a unique opportunity for New York theater-goers to see acclaimed actors
up close as the small theater seats only 60 people. Advance tickets are now exclusively on sale at theaterthreecollaborative.org.

Prophecy won four stars in Time Out London, and two critics' choices in 2008. It is both the story of a marriage and the personal legacy of the wars in Iraq and Vietnam. Jewish Alan Golden's past includes an affair with an Arab co-worker, Hala Jaber, that results in the birth of a child, Mariam. His wife Sarah, an actress and acting teacher, forms an intense bond with one of her students, Jeremy Thrasher. He is a talented recently returned Iraq War veteran who triggers visceral memories of a young man from Sarah's own past.

Kathleen Chalfant created roles in Angels in America, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award, and Wit. She won numerous awards for Wit, including the first of her two Obie Awards, as well as the Drama Desk Award.

André De Shields is an Emmy Award and Obie Award-winning actor. He has been twice nominated for the Tony Award and has appeared in the original Broadway productions of
The Wiz, A'int Misbehavin', The Full Monty, and Impressionism.

George Bartenieff is a four time Obie Award-winning actor and one of the
founders of Theater for the New City. He was featured this past summer in The New York Shakespeare Festival's production of The Bacchae in Central Park.

The cast also features Najla Said, who will repeat the three roles she played in the London production, and Brendan Donaldson (The Amityville Horror). The playwright Karen Malpede will direct.

Prophecy previously had electric readings in New York, including at the Public and Cherry Lane Theaters, and at New York Theater Workshop; and at The Kennedy
Center, and in Berlin. It will be published by Northwestern University Press in 2010 as part of the collection Plays of War and Witness: Iraq and Afghanistan.

Karen Malpede is a playwright in the theater of witness
tradition. Her recent plays include I Will Bear Witness, a stage
adaptation of the Victor Klemperer diaries, which she also directed. The play won two Obie Awards and toured internationally. The Beekeeper's Daughter, which she directed in Italy, also had productions in Australia and Off Broadway, and is currently
under development in Europe as a motion picture, End of the Century.
She has written essays published in anthologies and journals in the US
and UK about the theater of witness. Her earlier contributions to
theater history include one of the first books on women in theater,
Women in Theatre: Compassion & Hope. She is co-founder with George Bartenieff
of TheaterThree Collaborative, Inc.
Kathleen Chalfant photo by Richard Blinkoff
André De Shields photo by Lia Chang
George Bartenieff photo by John Quilty

 

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