THE WEAK ONES Opens Off-Broadway Tonight!

Matthew Martin and Tim Realbuto, the writing team behind the Broadway-aimed GHOSTLIGHT, have teamed up again to write their first non-musical THE WEAK ONES.

Set to open this evening at The Hudson Guild Theatre in NYC, the production will be helmed by Martin, with Realbuto (HBO's "The Sopranos") heading the cast as a lawyer who must defend a woman society has deemed a sociopath.

He will be joined onstage by Abigail Ludrof (The HVAC Plays), Cathy Salvodon (CPTV's "The Cobblestone Corridor"), Paul Thomas Ryan ("All My Children"), Kyle Doherty (Traveling Papers) and stage newcomer Drew Logan Powell (Currently Young Weller on NBC's "Blindspot") as Realbuto's young son. HAMILTON star Ariana DeBose provides the voice of the 911 operator.

According to press notes, the plot is as follows: "On the brink of a highly publicized case George Taylor (Realbuto), a single father struggling to balance work and family after an unspeakable tragedy, must defend self-confessed murderer Samantha Barrish (Ludrof), a woman society has deemed a monster. But might there be two sides to every story? Inspired by true events, THE WEAK ONES examines the balance struck when two seemingly different people are both out of options. "

In order to sufficiently research the play, Martin and Realbuto have interviewed many female prisoners across the country and even traveled to meet a few in person. "It was very important, even though the play is mainly fictitious, that we get certain aspects right. And we felt the way to do that was to go directly to the source. We spoke to such brave and open women who were so generous with their insights and so forthcoming with their stories. There is so much more we can learn by simply facilitating a conversation than by making a judgment based on what we assume to be true. At a time when our country's social climate is restless and on the brink of real and necessary change, these are the moments when art is the most vital. This process has shown us in a real but visceral way that, yes, terrible people exist, but sometimes those we are quickest to condemn might surprise us."

The production will run from September 8th-11th as part of the Thespis Theatre Festival. Costume design is by Somie Pak (What Was Lost at Beautiful Soup Theatre Company), with hair and make-up design by Allison Farengo (MTV's "Punk'D). The stage manager and lighting designer is Paul Mitchell Wilder (Tim Realbuto: Wunderkind at The Triad). Roger Gonzalez serves as the show's publicist.

For information on performance times and to purchase tickets, please visit http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2560175 or www.TheWeakOnesPlay.com. Industry folk looking to attend the production can contact TheWeakOnesPlay@gmail.com for comp tickets. All performances will take place at The Hudson Guild Theatre, 441 West 26th Street(between 9th and 10th Avenues), NYC.