La MaMa Announces Free Weekend of Play Readings Featuring Matthew Broderick, John Slattery, and More

La MaMa continues its season-long celebration of the life and work of Sam Shepard with WEEKEND WITH SAM, two days of readings and excerpts from Sam Shepard's plays, prose and poetry, directed by Neil La Bute, Lois Weaver, Scott Wittman and Joel Zwick. WEEKEND WITH SAM will be held in The Ellen Stewart Theatre (66 E. 4 St.) February 3 - 4, 2018. All readings are free and open to the public, but not open for review by critics.

American playwright, actor, author, and director, Sam Shepard, who died on July 27, 2017, was a prominent playwright whose work spanned decades. Sam did much of his early work at La MaMa and was one of the playwrights championed by La MaMa founder, the late Ellen Stewart. His original scripts, playbills, production photos and posters are part of the La MaMa Archives.

WEEKEND WITH SAM kicks off on Saturday, February 3 at 7:30PM, with Scott Wittman directing Hawk Moon featuring excerpts and monologues from Hawk Moon, Motel Chronicles, Tongues, Cowboy Mouth and other works read by Matthew Broderick, John Slattery, J. Smith-Cameron, Phil Burke, Erin Markey, Monk Hopper and Larry Saltzman (on guitar).

WEEKEND WITH SAM continues on Sunday, February 3 at 4PM with a triple bill of works by Sam Shepard. The program begins with Killer's Head, directed by Lois Weaver and featuring Peggy Shaw reading the role originated by Richard Gere, followed by two unpublished, early plays originally produced at La MaMa: Dog, directed by Joel Zwick, featuring Harry Mann and Zack Segel and Rocking Chair directed by Neil LaBute, featuring Fred Weller and Gia Crovatin.

Free reservations for WEEKEND WITH SAM are now open to La MaMa Members and will be open to the public online at www.lamama.org beginning Monday, January 22, 2018.

About La MaMa

La MaMa is dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre. The organization has a worldwide reputation for producing daring performance works that defy form and transcend barriers of ethnic and cultural identity. Founded in 1961 by award-winning theatre pioneer Ellen Stewart, La MaMa has presented more than 5,000 productions by 150,000 artists from more than 70 nations. A recipient of more than 30 Obie Awards and dozens of Drama Desk, Bessie, and Villager Awards, La MaMa has helped launch the careers of countless artists, many of whom have made important contributions to American and international arts milieus.

La MaMa's 56th season highlights artists of different generations, gender identities, and cultural backgrounds, who question social mores and confront stereotypes, corruption, bigotry, racism, and xenophobia in their work. Our stages embrace diversity in every form and present artists that persevere with bold self-expression despite social, economic, and political struggle and the 56th season reflects the urgency of reaffirming human interconnectedness.

To post a comment, you must register and login.