Public Lab Shakespeare's TIMON OF ATHENS Begins Previews 2/15

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Interim Executive Director Joey Parnes) will begin previews on Tuesday, February 15 for TIMON OF ATHENS, the inaugural production of Public LAB SHAKESPEARE featuring Richard Thomas in the title role. Directed by Shakespeare Initiative Director Barry Edelstein, TIMON OF ATHENS runs February 15 through March 6 at The Public Theater (425 Lafayette Street), with an official press opening on Tuesday, March 1. Single tickets are on sale now; all tickets for Public LAB productions are $15.

TIMON OF ATHENS is Shakespeare's play for the post-Bailout Age. Its central concern--money's dark potential to corrupt every human interaction--couldn't be more timely or fascinating. As one of Shakespeare's least-familiar works, it is also one of his most unique: a comedy written with an acid pen, a morality tale told in a fury.

The complete cast for TIMON OF ATHENS features Che Ayende (Thief, Servilius); Tom Bloom (Old Athenian, Senator); Max Casella (Apemantus); Reg E. Cathey (Alcibiades); Cary Donaldson (Thief, Lucilius); Brian Keane (Merchant); David Manis (Lucius, Senator); Anthony Manna (Jeweler, Caphis); Greg McFadden (Poet); Chris McKinney (Lucullus, Senator); Orville Mendoza (Painter); Mark Nelson (Flavius); Joe Paulik (Messenger); Triney Sandoval (Sempronius, Senator) and Richard Thomas (Timon).

TIMON OF ATHENS features set design by Neil Patel; costume design by Katherine Roth; lighting design by Russell H. Champa; sound design by Leon Rothenberg; video design by Andrew C Kircher; wig design by Paul Huntley; fight direction by Thomas Schall; vocal and text coach Shane Ann Younts; and music by Curtis Moore.

For four seasons, Public LAB has premiered exciting new works in scaled-down productions and at affordable prices. Now Public LAB expands to bring this approach to the Bard, where the focus will be on the actor, the text, and the story. Public LAB SHAKESPEARE will broaden the ranks of artists who work on Shakespeare in America, and it will bring Shakespeare at his most spare, clear, and muscular to a wider community of theatergoers.

The 2010-2011 Public LAB season will continue this spring with URGE FOR GOING by Mona Mansour, directed by Hal Brooks (March 25 to April 17) and KNICKERBOCKER by Jonathan Marc Sherman, directed by Pippin Parker (May 6 to May 29).

Public LAB, conceived in association with LAByrinth Theater Company, is an annual series of new plays that lets New Yorkers see more of the work they love from The Public in scaled-down productions. Public LAB allows The Public to support more artists, and gives audiences immediate access to new plays in development. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation supported Public LAB with one of the largest grants ever received by The Public Theater.

Barry Edelstein (Director). His directing credits for The Public Theater include Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice (1995), and WASP and Other Plays. Edelstein is in charge of The Public's Shakespeare Initiative, which oversees all Shakespeare production in Central Park and downtown--including the newly launched Mobile Unit tour to prisons, shelters, etc.--and which runs the Shakespeare Lab professional training program and The Public's Shakespeare-related education and outreach programs. For The Shakespeare Initiative, Edelstein has shepherded The Merchant of Venice (also Associate Producer of the Broadway transfer), The Winter's Tale, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and Othello. Edelstein was the dramaturg for three seasons of Joseph Papp's "Shakespeare Marathon." He was the Artistic Director of Classic Stage Company from 1998-2003. He has staged many productions of Shakespeare and others in NYC and around the country. As an author, his credits include Thinking Shakespeare (2007), and Bardisms: Shakespeare for All Occasions (2009).

The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Joey Parnes, Interim Executive Director) was founded by Joseph Papp in 1954 and is now one of the nation's preeminent cultural institutions, producing new plays, musicals, and productions of classics at its downtown headquarters and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The Public's mandate to create a theater for all New Yorkers continues to this day onstage and through extensive outreach and education programs. Each year, over 250,000 people attend Public Theater-related productions and events at six downtown stages, including Joe's Pub, and Shakespeare in the Park. The Public has won 42 Tony Awards, 151 Obies, 41 Drama Desk Awards and four Pulitzer Prizes. The Public has brought 54 shows to Broadway, including Sticks and Bones; That Championship Season; A Chorus Line; The Pirates of Penzance; The Tempest; Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk; On the Town; The Ride Down Mt. Morgan; Topdog/Underdog; Elaine Stritch at Liberty; Take Me Out; Caroline, or Change; Well; Passing Strange; the Tony Award-winning revival of Hair; Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson; and currently, the 2010 Shakespeare in the Park production of The Merchant of Venice. www.publictheater.org.

TICKET INFORMATION

TIMON OF ATHENS, a Public LAB SHAKESPEARE production, begins preview performances on Tuesday, February 15 and continues through Sunday, March 6 with an official press opening on Tuesday, March 1 at 7 p.m.

The performance schedule is Tuesdays at 7 p.m.; Wednesdays through Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sundays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

All tickets for Public LAB shows are $15. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling (212) 967-7555, by visiting www.publictheater.org, or in person at The Public Theater box office. The Public Theater is located at 425 Lafayette Street.

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