The Flea Premieres One-Acts 'The Break Up' & 'The Happy Sad'

The Flea Theater will present the World Premiere of The Break Up and The Happy Sad. Directed by Sherri Kronfeld, this evening-length work features two thematically related one act plays by Tommy Smith and Ken Urban. Performances begin March 6 with opening night scheduled for Saturday, March 22 at 9PM.

"The Break Up and The Happy Sad is about nine New Yorkers looking for happiness. In The Break Up, a man falls in love with his drug dealer, with disastrous results.  In The Happy Sad, Stan loves Annie, but Annie doesn't love Stan. Marcus loves Aaron, but Marcus doesn't like monogamy," state press notes.

The production features nine members of The Bats, the resident acting ensemble at The Flea: Felipe Bonilla, Havilah Brewster, Jane Elliot, Pete Forester, Tom Lipinski, Stephen O'Reilly, John Russo, Annie Scott and Ronald Washington. The design team includes sets by John McDermott, lights by Ben Kato, costumes by Erin Murphy and sound by Brandon Wolcott.

Tommy Smith (playwright, The Break-Up) has written plays including White Hot, Sextet, Air Conditioning, Sunrise, Demon Dreams and Caravan Man (with Gabriel Kahane).

Ken Urban (playwright, The Happy Sad) has had work produced and developed by Target Margin, Moving Arts, Soho Rep, Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, Annex Theatre, The Chocolate Factory, and Luna Stage, among others. His plays include The Private Lives of Eskimos, I (Heart) Kant, The Female Terrorist Project, The Absence of Weather, and Wasps.

Sherri Kronfeld has directed new work by Joe Basile, Sabrina Chapadjiev, Phil Hopkins, Adam Klasfeld, Lucas Rockwood and others at venues including Ensemble Studio Theater, FringeNYC,  American Living Room at HERE,

The Break Up and The Happy Sad runs March 6 - April 7, with performances Friday and Saturday at 9pm and Sunday and Monday at 7pm.  The Flea Theater, is located at 41 White Street (between Broadway & Church Streets -- accessible from the A,C,E,N,R,Q,W,6,J,M,Z to Canal or 1 to Franklin Street). Tickets are $20. For  a complete performance calendar and ticketing, visit www.theflea.org or call 212-352-3101