LAByrinth Theater Company (John Ortiz, Artistic Director; Philip Seymour Hoffman, Co-Artistic Director; John Gould Rubin, Co-Artistic Director & Executive Director) will reunite the original cast of the groundbreaking international hit, "Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train" by Stephen Adly Guirgis for a one-night only benefit reading at Town Hall (123 West 43rd Street) on Sunday, June 22, 2008 at 7 p.m.
Philip Seymour Hoffman will direct the reading with LAByrinth's extraordinary original cast that features
Elizabeth Canavan (LAB's The Little Flower of East Orange, "Sex and the City"),
Salvatore Inzerillo (LAB's Dutch Heart of Man, "The Black Donnelly's"),
Ron Cephas Jones (The Last Days of Judas Iscariot in London, A Raisin in the Sun, 2007 Obie Award),
John Ortiz (American Gangster, El Cantante, Miami Vice), and
David Zayas (LAB's The Little Flower of East Orange, Michael Clayton, "Dexter").
Angel Cruz, is a young bike messenger who lost his best friend to a religious cult, and awaits trial for shooting the cult leader in the buttocks. On his knees, alone and terrified on Riker's Island, he says a prayer he no longer remembers to a God he's all but forgotten. Angel's disillusioned young lawyer, Mary Jane Hanrahan, mistakes his case for another, and walks out on their first interview – but a crisis of conscience brings her back to champion his cause. No grey areas are permitted in the black and white world of his prison guards, the brutal Valdez, and D'Amico. Angel's only human contact is Lucius Jenkins, a serial killer who works out furiously in the next cage, pausing only to chain smoke and "save" Angel. Lucius Jenkins has found God, and Angel's life and the course of his trial will be changed forever.
The New York Times declared that the play was "Written in flame," when Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train premiered in 2000, adding that there was a "Fire-breathing, visceral energy," heralding the arrival of "The most exciting troupe in the city."
The original extended run at East 13th Street Theater received Drama Desk Award nominations for
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Best Director), and
John Ortiz (Best Actor). Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train received its international debut in 2001 at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, winning a prestigious Fringe First Award. The production then moved to London's
Donmar Warehouse in 2002, before transferring to The Arts Theatre in the West End, where it was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best New Play. Again the critics raved, "Stunningly well-written … It is impossible to praise the electrifying performances in
Philip Seymour Hoffman's remorselessly intense production too highly," said The Daily Telegraph, London, calling it "The theatrical event of the year."
General Admission Tickets for the reading are $25 and may be purchased online through Ticket Master at www.ticketmaster.com, or by phone at (212) 307-4100.
Additional information is available online at www.LABtheater.org. All proceeds benefit LAByrinth's 16th Season, hosted by
The Public Theater.
The Event Chairs for this special benefit reading include Ruth &
Stephen Hendel and Chip Seelig & Kimberly Braswell, with Co-Chairs Michael & Marlene Fine/Fine Creative Media, Inc.,
Jeffrey A. Horwitz, Schreck Rose Dapello Adams & Hurwitz LLP, and
Michael Filerman.
For VIP Ticket holders, a Champagne Toast and Reception hosted by Tony-Award winning playwright
John Patrick Shanley begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by the staged reading at 7:00 p.m. at Town Hall (123 West 43rd Street). The evening concludes with a special VIP Party beginning at 9:00 p.m.
VIP Tickets are available beginning at $100 - $5,000. For more information or to purchase VIP Tickets, please visit www.LABtheater.org, call (212) 513-1014 or e-mail veronica@LABtheater.org.
Photo Credit Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.
