Platform Theatre Group (Greg Tully, Producer) will present the New York revival of Lee Blessing’s Two Rooms, directed by Peter Flynn, for a limited Off-Broadway engagement at the Lion Theatre at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street), beginning October 2nd. Opening Night is set for Tuesday, October 7th (7 PM).
Two Rooms will star
Adinah Alexander (Adding Machine, Parade),
Patrick Boll (Coen Brothers’ Burn After Reading with
George Clooney and
Brad Pitt),
Angela Christian (Woman in White, Thoroughly Modern Millie), and
Michael Laurence (Talk Radio). Mr. Laurence replaces the previously announced Michael Milligan.
Two Rooms tells the tale of one man's captivity by kidnappers and the roller-coaster ride of hope and frustration his wife endures half a world away. Two Rooms will have scenic design by
Kevin Judge, lighting design by
Thom Weaver, costume design by
Jennifer Caprio, and sound design by
Scott Stauffer.
Lee Blessing’s play A Walk In The Woods was produced on Broadway and London's West End. His Off-Broadway productions include A Body Of Water,
Primary Stages;
Going to St. Ives,
Primary Stages (Outer Critic’s Circle Award, Best Play, Obie for ensemble performance); Thief River, Signature Theatre (Drama Desk nomination, Best Play); Cobb,
Lucille Lortel Theatre (Drama Desk award, best ensemble); Chesapeake, New York Stage and Film at Second Stage; Eleemosynary, Manhattan Theatre Company and Down The Road, the Weissberger Group at the Atlantic Theatre. The Signature Theatre dedicated its 1992-93 season to his work, consisting of Fortinbras, Lake Street Extension, Two Rooms and the world premiere of Patient A. Recent world and regional premieres of his work include an adaptation of
Thornton Wilder’s Heaven’s My Destination scheduled for world premiere by the
Cleveland Play House in Spring 2009, Great Falls in the 2008 Humana New Play Festival of the Actors Theatre of Louisville, A Body Of Water at the Guthrie Theater and the Old Globe Theatre, Lonesome Hollow, Flag Day and Whores at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival, The Scottish Play at
La Jolla Playhouse, Black Sheep at
Florida Stage and The Winning Streak at
George Street Playhouse. Other plays include Independence, Riches, Oldtimers Game, Nice People Dancing To Good Country Music and Perilous Night. Productions of Blessing’s plays have earned awards such as The American Theater Critics Circle Award, the L.A. Drama Critics Award, The Great American Play Award, The Humanitas Award and the George and Elisabeth Marton Award, among others. He has received nominations for Tony and Olivier awards, as well as the Pulitzer Prize.
Peter Flynn was recently named the new Artistic Director of the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, New York. Broadway: Actors’ Fund concerts of On the 20th Century, Chess, and Funny Girl. Off-Broadway: Henry & Mudge, & Junie B. Jones (nominated for two
Lucille Lortel Awards including Best Musical), and Rhapsody in Seth starring
Seth Rudetsky. Other New York credits: Romulus, a new opera -
Guggenheim Museum, The Broadway Musicals of 1953 - Town Hall, and Babes in Toyland - Avery Fisher Hall. Regional credits:
Gypsy - St. Louis MUNY, Man of La Mancha - Maltz Jupiter Theater (Carbonell Awards for Best Director and Best Musical), How Can You Run with a Shell on Your Back? - Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Children of Eden - Arvada Center in Denver, The Piano Lesson and The Crucible - Tampa Performing Arts Center, The Santaland Diaries - Pittsburgh City Theatre, A Child’s Christmas in Wales - National Theatre of the Deaf. His own musical, Lily, based on
Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth, written with composer/lyricist
Brooks Ashmanskas, received a workshop production at the Huntington Theater,
Adinah Alexandar’s recent credits include Adding Machine at The Minetta Lane; on Broadway: original casts of The Wedding Singer,
Wicked, Urban Cowboy and Parade. National Tours: Parade and the World Premiere of Whistle Down the Wind both directed by
Harold Prince. Off-Broadway:
Janis Joplin in Love Janis, The No-Frills Revue by Martin Charmin and Ruthless. Regional: Golde in Fiddler at the Fulton Opera House. Madame Thenardier in Les Miserables at the Pioneer Theatre, Emma Goldman in Ragtime directed by
Stafford Arima, Mama Rose/Mazeppa in
Gypsy at Sundance, Rosalie in Carnival, Hannigan in Annie. Plays include Dirty Blonde directed by Loretta Greco, The Search for Sings of Intelligent Life in the Universe by
Lily Tomlin, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, All in the Timing and Eleemosynary.
Patrick Boll can currently be seen stealing (or scene stealing?!)
George Clooney’s wife in the Coen Brothers’ Burn After Reading. Broadway: Faith Healer, Twentieth Century,
Hedda Gabler, Death of a Salesman and
Tom Sawyer. Off-Broadway: Henry & Mudge (dir.
Peter Flynn), Drama Desk and Obie winners Dark At The Top Of The Stairs and All The Way Home (
Transport Group), The Underpants (CSC) and Snakebit. Regional:
Pittsburgh CLO, Goodspeed, Shakespeare Theater Of NJ, Yale, McCarter & Williamstown. TV /Film: “Law and Order,” “Spin City,” Love Walks In. Upcoming: Disney’s Tarzan.
Angela Christian was most recently seen as Cherie in Bus Stop at the Rubicon Theatre in Ventura, CA. Prior to that she played the title role in the Off-Broadway premiere of Anais Nin: One of Her Lives. She made her West End debut creating the title role in The Woman In White, directed by
Trevor Nunn, which she then reprised on Broadway. Also on Broadway she created the role of Miss
Dorothy Brown in Thoroughly Modern Millie (Outer Critics Circle Nomination). Other Broadway: Lily in
Richard Nelson's
James Joyce's The Dead. Regional:
James Joyce's The Dead (Kennedy Center, Ahmanson Theatre); Oleanna (
Cleveland Play House); Twelfth Night, Our Town, Pack of Lies (Merrimack Rep.); A Christmas Carol (Syracuse Stage). TV: "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."
Michael Laurence’s theater credits include Talk Radio (Broadway), Opus (
Primary Stages), Starbuck in The Rainmaker (Arena), Three Days of Rain (Studio Arena),
Eric Bogosian’s Humpty Dumpty (McCarter), The Pavilion (Westport Playhouse), The Faculty Room (Humana), Tooth of Crime and Book of Days (Signature Theater, NYC), Things of Dry Hours (Portland
Center Stage), Wintertime (Wilma), Tape (Stamford), Inventing Van Gogh (Seattle Rep), Troilus and Cressida (The Shakespeare Theater),
Edgar Oliver’s Hands In Wartime (LaMama), and Marc Palmieri’s Levittown (Axis). This summer, Krapp,39, a solo show which he wrote and performed, won “Outstanding Solo Show” at the 2008 NY International Fringe Festival, and had a critically acclaimed run at The Barrow Street Theatre. TV: “Third Watch,” “JonnyZero,” FX, “GhostStories,” “As the World Turns,” and “What’s Not To Love?” for SHOWTIME. Film: The Operator, Follow Me Outside, Room314, Claire Dolan, Torte Blume, Standing In the Current, bLove God, The Minister’s Black Veil, Particles of Truth, and Escape Artists, which he also wrote and directed.
Platform Theatre Group was formed in 2008 by Greg Tully to create theatrical events to employ artists and engage audiences. Platform Theatre Group envisions the stage as a platform for connection that enlivens the senses, ignites the spirit, instigates discussion, celebrates diversity, and touches the heart. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, Greg Tully began producing both independently and with a producing team (TRAN Theatreworks) in a variety of venues: the Emelin Theater, national touring sites, summer theater companies, and NYC metropolitan area universities. A social work practitioner, administrator, and academic for the past twenty years, he now returns to producing theater with the vision of creating memorable productions that both entertain and encourage thought-provoking insight while also providing quality, paid opportunities for gifted theater performers, directors, writers, designers, and administrators. Visit www.platformtheatregroup.com for more information.
Performances, which begin Thursday, October 2nd, will be Monday and Tuesday evenings at 7 PM, Thursday and Friday at 8 PM, Saturday at 2 PM and 8 PM, and Sunday at 3 PM and 7 PM.
Lion Theatre at Theatre Row is located at 410 West 42nd Street, between Ninth and Tenth Avenues. For tickets, call Ticket Central at 212/279-4200 or visit
ticketcentral.com.
Photo Credit Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.
