The Acting Company's 44th National Tour Pairs Shakespeare & Malcolm X

The Acting Company announces its 2016-17 season and 44th national tour featuring two new gripping dramas in repertory -- the world premiere of Marcus Gardley's X and William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Both will be staged in an exciting artistic and educational collaboration with nearly 30 universities, colleges and community partners. The Company also has announced a five month, monthly Monday night Salon Reading Series in New York City.

The assassinations of Rome's great ruler of the Republic and the revolutionary leader Malcolm X share the stage when The Acting Company pairs Shakespeare's Julius Caesar with X, a compelling new play by lauded playwright Gardley. The two gripping dramas examine the charismatic leaders who rise only to fall victim to rivalry, resentment and retribution. Gardley is a multiple award-winning playwright whose works include Desire Quenched by Touch (The Acting Company Off-Broadway production), The House That Will Not Stand and The Gospel of Lovingkindness.

Ian Belknap, The Acting Company's artistic director, directs X and Devin Brain, The Acting Company's associate artistic director, directs Julius Caesar.

The Acting Company's 15-city tour begins January 31-February 1 in Phoenix, AZ and concludes April 1-2 in Clinton, NY. It comes to New York City March 15-26 at The New Victory Theater. Both plays will be performed in each city.

Complete list of tour cities for the season:

Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 2017 Phoenix, AZ Herberger Theater Center - Center Stage

February 2-6 Mesa, AZ Mesa Arts Center - Piper Repertory Theater

February 10-11 Flagstaff, AZ Northern Arizona Univ. - Clifford E. White Theatre

February 15-16 Lawrence, KS University of Kansas - Lied Center of Kansas

February 18-19 Columbia, MO Univ. of Missouri-Columbia - Rhynsburger Theatre

February 21-23 Kansas City, MO Univ. of Missouri-Kansas City - Helen F. Spencer Theatre

February 24-25 Warrensburg, MO Univ. of Central Missouri - James L. Highlander Theatre

March 2 Baltimore, MD Morgan State - Turpin-Lamb Theatre (Murphy Fine Arts Center)

March 3-7 Towson, MD Towson University - Stephens Hall Theatre

March 8-9 Essex, MD Community College Baltimore Co Essex - Mainstage Theatre

March 10-11 Bowie, MD Bowie State University - MainStage Theatre

March 15-26 New York, NY - The New Victory Theater

March 27-28 Oswego, NY SUNY-Oswego - Charlotte Waterman Theatre

March 30-31 Syracuse, NY Le Moyne College - W. Carroll Coyne Center

April 1-2 Clinton, NY Hamilton College - Wellin Hall

For tickets to X, Julius Caesar and the John McDonald Salon Reading series, visit www.theactingcompany.org or call 212-258-3111.

The Acting Company is America's most honored touring repertory theatre, having reached four million people with 143 classic and new works. It brings live classical theatre to those who might otherwise never get an opportunity to gain an appreciation for it and have the transformative experience of attending Live Theatre.

To broaden its national reach, The Acting Company has announced a new artistic and educational collaboration with universities, colleges and community partners. "It's an exciting, innovative approach that embraces America's current cultural landscape and better serves the communities we visit on tour," The Acting Company's Executive Director Elisa Spencer-Kaplan said.

"It uniquely positions The Acting Company to become truly part of the community rather than simply being in it," Belknap added. "We have reinvented our model and deepened our impact with a repertory that draws on the past to illuminate "

The new model includes three-year residencies with highly-engaged colleges, schools and civic organizations; long-term relationships that bolster theatre students' professional development; greater opportunity for community engagement; new and expanded partnerships with more than 100 institutions by 2018 and up to 120 performances a year for The Acting Company's actors.

In other news, The Acting Company announced a John McDonald Salon Reading Series Monday nights at 7:00 PM, December through May, at Culture Project on Bleecker Street in New York. A cast reception follows each reading.

The readings are:

December 12, 2016

Design for Living by Noël Coward

Directed by Maria Aitken

'I love you. You love me. You love Otto. I love Otto. Otto Loves You. Otto loves me. There now! Start to unravel from there.' Tony Award nominee Maria Aitken (The 39 Steps), a leading interpreter of Noël Coward, directs this deliciously-wicked, remarkably modern comedy.

February 13, 2017

R.U.R. by Karel Capek

Directed by Dana Ivey

The social satire that introduced the word 'robot' to the world, R.U.R. chronicles a mechanized creation's revolt against its creators. Under the direction of five-time Tony® nominee Dana Ivey, this classic play finds new relevance in an age in which technology-both its promise and its pitfalls-is an increasingly inescapable part of our lives.

March 20, 2017

The Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes by Marcus Gardley

From Marcus Gardley comes an inventive riff on Moliere's Tartuffe set in a world of megachurches and religious hypocrisy. Written in verse, this hit from the London stage will be heard for the first time in New York in this very special Acting Company reading.

April 24, 2017

Doll House by Rebecca Gilman

Directed by Ian Belknap

From Ibsen's masterpiece A Doll's House, Acting Company favorite Rebecca Gilman brings Nora and her family into our century in modern-day Chicago. Replete with social satire and powerful humanity, Dollhouse reunites The Acting Company with one of the country's leading dramatists.

May 15, 2017

Lady Tattoo by Meg Miroshnik

Directed by Devin Brain

Inspired by the subversive trend of wealthy American women embracing tattoo artistry at the turn of the 19th century, Lady Tattoo explores the human need for the power and control that secrets offer. Playwright Meg Miroshnik will reveal her compelling new play to a public audience for the first time in this Acting Company reading.

Founded in 1972 by Oscar-winner John Houseman and producer Margot Harley, The Acting Company has earned a TONY for Excellence in Theater, Obies, Audelcos and Los Angeles Critics Circle Awards. Kevin Kline, Rainn Wilson, Patti LuPone, Frances Conroy, Jeffrey Wright, Harriet Harris, David Ogden Stiers, Keith David, Hamish Linklater and Jesse L. Martin are among its alumni.

The development and production of Marcus Gardley's X is made possible in part by major support from The Roy Cockrum Foundation. Julius Caesar is made possible in part by Shakespeare in American Communities, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. Major support for The Acting Company is provided by the Harold & Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, The Shubert Foundation, Morris & Alma Schapiro Fund, Fribourg Family Foundation, Hearst Foundation, Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, The National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Axe-Houghton Foundation, Rona Jaffe Foundation, Lucille Lortel Foundation, and Actor's Equity Foundation.

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