THE PEARL THEATRE COMPANY Welcomes Lee Stark As New Company Member

THE Pearl Theatre Company (J.R. Sullivan, Artistic Director; Shira Beckerman, Managing Director) announces Lee Stark as the newest member of the Resident Acting Company. The 12th member of the ensemble, Stark will be featured in The Pearl's upcoming production of THE SNEEZE, Michael Frayn's adaptation of Chekhov's short stories and plays which begins performances this week.

New York City's only full-Equity ensemble, The Resident Acting Company is at the core of The Pearl's mission to produce work with timeless themes of immediate relevance. Past and current Pearl artists have been nominated for and received Tony, Obie, Callaway, and Barfield awards; performed on Broadway; been featured in theatre, radio, and television across the country; and continue to hone their creative skills in a variety of endeavors. Stark will join current company members, who have been with The Pearl for an average of eight years: Jolly Abraham, Rachel Botchan, Robin Leslie Brown, Bradford Cover, Dominic Cuskern, Dan Daily, TJ Edwards, Robert Hock, Sean McNall, Carol Schultz, and Edward Seamon.

Lee Stark is a graduate of Northwestern University. She was seen at The Pearl last season as Pegeen Mike in The Playboy of the Western World and as Hypatia Tarleton in Misalliance. Regionally, she originated the role of Elizabeth in J.R. Sullivan and Joseph Hanreddy's adaptation of Pride and Prejudice at Milwaukee Repertory Theater, and was featured in Talking Pictures at The Goodman Theatre and The Crucible at Steppenwolf.

"Lee Stark is a most welcome addition to our ensemble of resident actors," said Pearl Theatre artistic director J. R. Sullivan. "Her memorable work last season in both Playboy of the Western World and Misalliance demonstrated her great gifts and her extraordinary stage instincts for comedy as well as the dramatic. We are delighted to welcome this young artist to the Pearl ensemble."

Founded in 1984, The Pearl Theatre is a New York City repertory company of resident actors that produces a full range of plays rooted in the classic tradition, impacting over 30,000 artists and audiences each year. Over its 27-year history, The Pearl has been awarded with a 1992 Obie grant for Continued Artistic Excellence; a special Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance; a sweep of Actors' Equity Association's awards for Performance in Classical Plays; an American Theatre Wing grant for consistent commitment to excellence in the professional theatre; and the Board of Education's Friend of Manhattan High Schools Award for Classics in the Classroom, the Pearl's Arts-in-Education initiative which has allowed thousands of New York City high school students to experience classical theatre.

The Pearl performs at New York City Center's Stage II. Performances begin on September 17th for THE SNEEZE, followed by ROSMERSHOLM, which will begin in November. The season will continue with THE MISANTHROPE by Molierè in January 2011 and conclude with David Davalos' contemporary comedy WITTENBERG.

Subscriptions for the 2010-2011 season are currently available and can be purchased by calling 212-598-9802 online at www.pearltheatre.org.

Individual tickets for all of The Pearl's productions are on sale through CityTix® at 212-581-1212, online at www.nycitycenter.org, or at the City Center Box Office (West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues).

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