Playwrights Horizons Presents Reading, Signing With Theresa Rebeck 4/20

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) will present a special reading and signing with Pulitzer Prize finalist and Playwrights Horizons alumna writer Theresa Rebeck in honor of the upcoming paperback release of her acclaimed novel Three Girls and Their Brother. The event will take place Monday evening, April 20 at 8:00PM at the theater company's Mainstage (416 West 42nd Street), in advance of the paperback's release by Three Rivers Press on Tuesday, April 21.

At the event, Ms. Rebeck will read excerpts from the novel, followed by a signing of the book and her other works, including the plays The Butterfly Collection and Bad Dates (both originally presented by Playwrights Horizons in their New York premieres), Broadway's Mauritius and the Pulitzer Prize finalist Omnium Gatherum. Copies of the new paperback edition of Three Girls and Their Brother, as well as select copies of her other works, will be available for purchase on site.

In Three Girls and Their Brother, life in the Heller household is changed forever after a photo of the three striking redheaded sisters graces the pages of The New Yorker. Narrated in four parts from the perspective of each sibling (the three sisters and their brother, Philip) the novel follows the girls' journey from The New Yorker feature to modeling for the industry's most exclusive fashion magazines, attending New York City's trendiest events, and, inevitably, making the front pages of the tabloids. But as the girls go from taking high school chemistry tests to navigating the celebrity talk show circuit, they quickly experience the drawbacks of living in the spotlight. As the struggle for fame threatens to tear the family apart, the siblings learn that, in the celebrity world of viciousness and betrayal, their most important allies are each other.

Three Girls and Their Brother was named one of the 10 Best First Novels of 2008 by Booklist and was awarded the American Library Association's prestigious Alex Award. People gave the novel 4 out of 4 stars and called it, "A deliciously wicked satire." Publisher's Weekly called it a "Hilarious first novel... Rebeck shines when Amelia gets cast in a ridiculous Off-Broadway play... her insider's look at the theater world is spot on and uproarious." In a starred review, Kirkus called it "A wickedly enjoyable exposé of modern celebrity." Entertainment Weekly praised, "Rebeck is known for black comedy and hyper-intelligent heroines, and both figure in her first novel, Three Girls and Their Brother - a fizzy

satire of celeb-obsessed NYC about flame-haired teenage sisters who get photographed for The New Yorker and soon become megastars. A-" Vogue wrote, "Drawing on her rich understanding of the Darwinist... Rebeck delivers a crackling exposé so dead-on it's arguably closer to social realism than satire"; The New York Observer proclaimed "I was charmed - and I won't be the last"; and The New York Times wrote, "An experienced playwright who has also toiled in the television industry, Ms. Rebeck has intimate knowledge of the pathologies bred in smart, seemingly well-adjusted men and women by the surreal polarities of success and failure."

The event is free and seating is limited. To make reservations, call Rob Ribar at Playwrights Horizons at (212) 564-1235 ext. 3152 or e-mail marketing@playwrightshorizons.org. Subject line "Rebeck reading." Be sure to include your full name, number of reservations, and a daytime phone number where you can be reached day-of in case of cancellation.
This spring, Playwrights Horizons will present the New York premiere of Rebeck's new play OUR HOUSE. Directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening, plus The Credeaux Canvas and Baby Anger at Playwrights Horizons), the production will begin previews on Friday, May 15 at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater. Opening night is set for Tuesday, June 9 for this limited engagement, which will play through Sunday, June 21.

For subscription and ticket information to all Playwrights Horizons productions, call TICKET CENTRAL at (212) 279-4200, 12 Noon to 8:00 PM daily, or purchase online at the Playwrights Horizons website at www.playwrightshorizons.org 

Theresa Rebeck's plays previously seen at Playwrights Horizons were The Butterfly Collection in 2000 and Bad Dates in 2003. Past New York productions of her work include Mauritius at the Biltmore Theatre in a Manhattan Theater Club Production (2007 IRNE Award for Best New Play and the Elliot Norton Award for the original run at The Huntington in Boston); The Scene, The Water's Edge, Loose Knit, The Family of Mann (National Theatre Conference Award) and Spike Heels at Second Stage; and View of the Dome at New York Theatre Workshop. Omnium Gatherum (co-written, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2003) was featured at the Humana Festival, and had a commercial run at the Variety Arts Theatre. In television, her many writing/producing credits include "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" and "NYPD Blue" (Mystery Writer's of America's Edgar Award, Writer's Guild of America Award, Hispanic Images Imagen Award, Peabody Award). Last year saw the release of her novel Three Girls and Their Brother which is now available in paperback. Her new play The Understudy had its world premiere last August at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Our House was originally produced at the Denver Center Theatre.
Playwrights Horizons, under the leadership of Artistic Director Tim Sanford and Managing Director Leslie Marcus, is a writer's theater dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American Playwrights, composers and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. In its 38 years, Playwrights Horizons has presented the work of more than 375 writers and has received numerous awards and honors, most recently being honored with a special 2008 Drama Desk Award for "ongoing support to generations of theater artists and undiminished commitment to producing new work." Notable productions include four Pulitzer Prize winners: Doug Wright's I Am My Own Wife (2004 Tony Award, Best Play), Wendy Wasserstein's The Heidi Chronicles (1989 Tony Award, Best Play), Alfred Uhry's Driving Miss Daisy and Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Sunday in the Park with George, as well as Craig Lucas' PRAYER FOR MY Enemy and Small Tragedy (2004 Obie Award, Best American Play), Adam Rapp's Kindness, Michael Friedman, John Dempsey and Rinne Groff's Saved, Sarah Ruhl's Dead Man's Cell Phone, Doug Wright, Scott Frankel and Michael Korie's Grey Gardens (3 2007 Tony Awards), Bruce Norris's The Pain and the Itch, Lynn Nottage's Fabulation (2005 Obie Award for

Playwriting), Kenneth Lonergan's Lobby Hero, Kirsten Childs's The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin, Richard Nelson and Shaun Davey's James Joyce's The Dead, William Finn's March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland, Christopher Durang's Betty's Summer Vacation and Sister Mary Ignatius

Explains It All For You, Richard Nelson's Goodnight Children Everywhere and Franny's Way, Jon Robin Baitz's The Substance of Fire, Scott McPherson's Marvin's Room, A.R. Gurney's Later Life, Adam Guettel and Tina Landau's Floyd Collins and Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley's Violet.