Primary Stages Institutes 'Pay What You Can' Ticket Offer

Primary Stages (Casey Child, Executive Producer; Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director; Elliot Fox, Managing Director) has instituted a Pay What You Can special ticket offer available for the first two previews of all productions in their 24th season, beginning with the New York Premiere of Buffalo Gal by A.R. Gurney.  Pay What You Can tickets go on sale two hours before curtain on July 22nd  and July 23rd.   They are limited to two tickets per person, cash only, no change given, must provide mailing address and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, only at the 59E59 Theater Box Office. Performances begin Tuesday, July 22, 2008 for a limited run through Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues).

Under the direction of  Mark Lamos (Indian Blood), the  six-member cast of Buffalo Gal features Mark Blum (Twelve Angry Men) as Dan, Carmen M. Herlihy (The Piano Teacher) as Debbie, Jennifer Regan (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?)   as Jackie, Susan Sullivan (The Fourth Wall, "Dharma & Greg") as Amanda, James Waterston (As You Like It, Shakespeare in the Park) as Roy,  and Dathan B. Williams (Show Boat) as James.  Opening night is set for Tuesday, August 5, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.   

A.R. Gurney returns to Primary Stages with a comedy that centers around Amanda, a once successful television personality whose star is now fading.  Life imitates art as she returns to her hometown of Buffalo to star in Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard.  Just as she is connecting with her roots – both on stage and off – she is called back to Hollywood for a role that could recharge her career.  Will her love of theater be enough to keep her in Buffalo?   

A.R. Gurney, the author of Love Letters and The Dining Room, has given Primary Stages audiences the rare theatrical treasures The Fourth Wall, Strictly Academic, and the Outer Critics Circle Award-winning Indian Blood. 

The creative team includes Andrew Jackness (Set), Candice Donnelly (Costumes), Mary Louise Geiger (Lights), and John Gromada (Original music and Sound Design).  The Production Stage Manager is Matthew Melchiorre.

Buffalo Gal will play the following performance schedule: Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m., Wednesdays through Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 3:00 p.m. on July 27, August 3 & 10, and Wednesday matinees at 2:00 p.m. on August 13, 20 & 27.  Following the performances on August 7th, 14th  & 21st, there are special "Artist/Audience Talkbacks" for the attendees of those performances.

Single tickets for Buffalo Gal are priced at $60 each, and may be purchased by calling Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200, online at www.ticketcentral.com, or in person at the 59E59 THEATERS Box Office.  Group Tickets (10+) are $45.00 each, and are available by calling (212) 840-9705, ext. 204.  Please visit the website at www.primarystages.org, or call (212) 840-9705 for more information.

Primary Stages continues its 24th season with A Body of Water by Lee Blessing (September 30, 2008 - November 9, 2008) with direction by Maria Mileaf.  The second half of the 2008-2009 season kicks off with Shipwrecked! An Entertainment — The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told By Himself) by Donald Margulies (January 27, 2009 - March 7, 2009).  The season concludes with the world premiere of a new comedy Chasing Manet by Tina Howe (March 24, 2009 - May 2, 2009), featuring Tony Award-Winner Jane Alexander.

4-play subscription packages are available by calling Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or online at www.TicketCentral.com.   For additional information about Primary Stages, please visit the website at www.primarystages.org.