TACT/The Actors Company Theatre Extends COCKTAIL Party Thru 4/17

TACT/The Actors Company Theatre (Scott Alan Evans, Cynthia Harris and Simon Jones, Co-Artistic Directors), the critically-acclaimed company "dedicated to presenting neglected or rarely produced plays of literary merit," announced today that due to audience demand, its critically-acclaimed production of T. S. Eliot's The Cocktail Party will extend for six (6) additional performances (through Saturday, April 17th at 2pm).

Directed by TACT Co-Artistic Director Scott Alan Evans, performances began at Theatre Row's Beckett Theatre (410 West 42nd Street - between 9th & 10th Avenues) on Sunday, March 7th, 2010. Opening night was Wednesday, March 17th at 7:30pm. Originally scheduled to close on Saturday, April 10th The Cocktail Party will now end its run following the 2pm matinee performance on Saturday, April 17th.

The cast of The Cocktail Party includes TACT Company Members Mark Alhadeff, Cynthia Harris (TACT Co-Artistic Director), Simon Jones (TACT Co-Artistic Director), Jack Koenig and guest artists Jeremy Beck, Ben Beckley, Lauren English, Erika Rolfsrud and Celia Smith.

The creative team is comprised of Andrew Lieberman & Laura Jellinek (sets), David Toser (costumes), Aaron Copp (lights), Jill BC Du Boff & Daniel Kluger (sound), Joseph Trapanese (original music) and Lily Fairbanks (properties). Meredith Dixon is Production Stage Manager.
In the brilliant, witty world of The Cocktail Party, T.S. Eliot's profound exploration of self-deception and redemption, Edward and Lavinia Chamberlayne are throwing a party at their fashionable London flat. The guests arrive only to discover that their hostess is nowhere to be found and a rather strange man, who no one seems to know, acts right at home. Ruthless, compassionate and funny, this "Cocktail Party" embodies the day-to-day struggles of domestic life while turning the classic ‘drawing room comedy' on its head.

After its debut at the Edinburgh Festival in 1949 with Alec Guinness in the role of the unidentified guest, The Cocktail Party premiered on Broadway on January 21, 1950, at the Henry Miller's Theatre and ran for 409 performances. Produced by Gilbert Miller and directed by E. Martin Browne, the production starred Guinness as the mysterious stranger. It received the 1950 Tony Award for Best Play. The play also ran in London with Rex Harrison as the "uninvited guest." A revival opened on Broadway on October 7, 1968 at the Lyceum Theatre and ran for 44 performances. The Chamberlayne's were played by Brian Bedford and Frances Sternhagen. The production also featured Sydney Walker and Patricia Conolly. Guinness returned to the role of the "uninvited guest" at the Chichester Festival Theatre under his own direction in 1968, taking the production to London later in the year.

The Cocktail Party will have the following performance schedule: Monday and Wednesday - Friday at 7:30pm; Saturday at 2pm & 8pm; Sunday at 3pm. Tickets are $27.50 - $55.00 and are available 24/7 through Ticket Central www.ticketcentral.com or from 12 - 8:00pm daily at 212-279-4200. They may also be obtained at the Theatre Row box office (410 West 42nd Street (between 9th & 10th Avenues) between 12pm and 8pm daily.