World Premiere Of Richard Willett's 9/10 Set Off-Broadway In August

9/10 – a new play by Richard Willett that tells four stories set in the World Trade Center on the night before September 11, 2001 --  will be given its world-premiere Off-Broadway this summer, with preview performances beginning August 24 prior to its official opening on August 28 at the Gene Frankel Theatre (24 Bond St.), marking the return to the New York stage of the new play company NEW DIRECTIONS THEATER following a ten-year absence, it has been announced by Eliza Beckwith, a co-founder of NEW DIRECTIONS, and director of 9/10.

A popular and active company that began in NYC in the same year in which 9/10 is set, NEW DIRECTIONS previously produced plays by Don Rifkin, Michael Weller, Olga Humphrey (F-STOP) and Richard Willett, including hit productions of his plays TRIPTYCH, RANDOM HARVEST, THE FLID SHOW and TINY BUBBLES.  

9/10 is set on a gorgeous summer evening among the top floors of New York City's most iconic skyscrapers, where several people – lovers, friends, co-workers, some at play, some at work – are in the midst of seemingly normal but life-altering circumstances in the hours before sunrise – when history itself will  forever be changed. 

Directed by Eliza Beckwith, the cast of 9/10 features Jessie Barnes, Jr, Sean Gordon, Royce Thomas Johnson, Chandini Prakash, Kimberly Prentice, Vincent Rame, Alexandra Salter and Milai Taguchi.  The design team includes sets by Maureen Weiss, lights by Ethan Samaha, costumes by Kim B. Walker and sound by Jay Cowit.

Mr. Willett's most recent play prior to 9/10 was titled A TERMINAL EVENT, winning the Julie Harris Playwright Award last year at the Victory Theatre in Los Angeles.  His play GRIEF AT HIGH TIDE will have a world premiere in October at Vivid Stage in Summit, NJ. 

In addition to her work with NEW DIRECTIONS, Ms. Beckwith has directed numerous productions at Ensemble Studio Theatre, and at Alfred University in upstate New York, where she has been a faculty member for several years. 

9/10 is scheduled to perform through September 10.  Tickets are $25 and can be reserved through www.eventbrite.com