Summer Shorts 2 Begins July 31st

J.J. Kandel and John McCormack will present SUMMER SHORTS 2, their second annual festival of new American short plays, at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street).  Performances begin Thursday July 31st, and continue through Thursday August 28th. Featured will be some of New York's finest established and emerging actors, including Academy Award nominee Amy Irving, Tony® Award nominees Jonathan C. Kaplan (Falsettos) and Stephanie D'Abruzzo (Avenue Q) as well as Mando Alvarado, Sherry Anderson, David Beck, Lisa Birnbaum, Anthony Carrigan, Jorge Cordova, Clara Hopkins Daniels, Rita Harvey, Mary Joy, J.J. Kandel, Kendra, Mylnechuk, Gio Perez, Patricia Randell, David Ross, Emily Tremaine, Nick Westrate, and Janet Zarish.

Summer Shorts returns for another summer of new American one-acts featuring original plays by the country's top playwrights. Representing some of today's best writing, directing and acting talents, Summer Shorts celebrates theatre, summer and the short form. Don't miss the festival's two separate series, offering a diverse range of voices, styles, and subject matter. Summer Shorts 2 offers eight world premiere one-act plays, in two separate evenings. The two series will run in rotating repertory (a detailed description and schedule follows below). Last year's inaugural season was declared "a Manhattan summertime must" by Show Business Weekly.

The playwrights contributing to Summer Shorts 2 include John Augustine, Michael Domitrovich, Roger Hedden, Skip Kennon, Neil Koenigsberg, Leslie Lyles, Eduardo Machado, Terrence McNally, and Keith Reddin. Maruti Evans will provide scenic and lighting design.

59E59 Theaters is the Drama Desk Award-winning state-of-the-art theater complex in a spectacular location on 59th Street between Park and Madison Avenues in Manhattan. Owned and operated by the Elysabeth Kleinhans Theatrical Foundation, a not-for profit operating foundation, 59E59 Theaters has set an invigorating policy of bringing new, challenging and experimental work to a new neighborhood.

Performances will be Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8:15pm, with matinees Saturdays at 2:15 and Sundays at 3:15.  Tickets are $18 each (59E59 members $12.60). Tickets can be purchased from the Box Office (Monday 12pm-6pm, Tuesday-Saturday 12pm-9pm, Sunday 12pm-7pm), by phone through Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or online at www.ticketcentral.com. Service fees apply to phone and web purchases.

For more information, please visit www.summershortsfestival.com