Photo Flash: Inside Opening Night of DEATH OF A SHOE SALESMAN at The New York Theatre Festival

Stephen Spurling's wacky comedy about a group therapy session set inside the apartment of one of the patients opened last night at The Hudson Guild Theatre, home of The New York Theatre Festival. Directed and Produced by Christopher Noffke, this fast paced 1980's sitcom-style farce stars Hannah Howzdy (Wanda), Alex Stone (Roger), Jack Flatley (Charles), Mel Gonzales (The Salesman), Benjamin Cardona (Dr. Blake), and Dean Scotti and Mitchell Torres as two clowning Cops (The Brains and The Dumb One respectfully).

Written for Warren Central High School's Night Of One Acts in 1988 (located in Indianapolis, IN) Death Of A Shoe Salesman is a mash up of The Carol Burnett Show, SNL, and Weekend At Bernie's! A group therapy session at the home of a vacuous neurotic, with a childlike nerd and an angry cynic as her guests, turns deadly when a duplicitous Salesman arrives to hawk shoes!

"It's a silly little script written by a high schooler in 1988, and I wanted to make it visually appealing and active to help make it a better fit for an adult audience. These are stock comedic characters, and bringing in a Clown expert seemed the way to go. We did a lot in a small amount of time, and I hope that the cast and the audience have a lot of fun for its short run!" says Director Christopher Noffke. Rounding out the creative team are Lauren Shields (Assistant Director), Peggy Lewis (Clown Consultant), Zev Burrows (Original Music), and Melissa Barry (Stage Manager). Jesse Markowitz did the casting!

Stephen Spurling is a graduate of the Second City Training Center and has performed in several theaters in Chicago. Currently, he works behind the scenes in various Indianapolis theaters. He is the author and producer of "The Rich and the Filthy", a serial radio comedy that spoofs TV soap operas, primarily "The Bold and the Beautiful". He is not allowed to have silica gel. "In 1988, my high school friends and I decided to perform a piece for our school's one-act play festival. Our attempts to improvise a show around the themes of group therapy and murder went disastrously, and so one night I went home and wrote the first ten minutes myself. The cast was delighted with the result and encouraged me to complete the play myself. I did, and 31 years later, the damn thing won't die. Drama teachers have shown videotapes of the original production to their classes. The play has turned up in high schools and colleges in Indiana, its birthplace. And somehow the silly thing made its way to New York. Get into a time machine and tell this to the teenager who wrote it if you want, but he won't believe you."

Tickets are on sale now at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4235491. Two Performances left. August 2nd at 6:15pm and August 4th at 9pm at the Hudson Guild Theatre, 441 W 26th St. New York, NY 10001

Photo Credit: Dan Lan Williams