Axis Theater Company Presents 'Hospital 2008'

Axis Theater Company (1 Sheridan Square, just off 7th Ave.) presents the World Premiere of HOSPITAL 2008. Now in its 9th year, Axis Company's annual episodic play HOSPITAL examines the interior life of a man in a terminal coma. Entering this state in a different way every year, the audience travels with him as he lives out his last few days roaming the vast, dark (and often comic) interiors of his own brain. Although HOSPITAL is a serial play, each evening can be viewed separately as a self-contained, short play.

New York runs on water. From the steam system that heats and electrifies the five boroughs, to the water that flows from millions of taps, without water there is no city. Currently, only two tunnels provide all this water; Tunnel #1 was completed in 1917 and even the newest sections of Tunnel #2 are at least 73 years old. Begun in 1970, Water Tunnel #3's projected completion date is in 2020. As far underground as the Chrysler Building is tall, teams of "sandhogs" risk their lives digging this tunnel. Far beneath our feet, below the subway and the sewer, the sandhogs live their days in a dangerous subterranean universe.

HOSPITAL 2008 takes place in the aftermath of a catastrophic collapse of part of this tunnel. Three men are trapped beneath the city streets, in a part of the system that is unrecognizable to them. As they attempt to find their individual ways back to the surface, it becomes clear that something beyond normal comprehension may have occurred deep beneath the capitol of the world.

Conceived, written and produced by Axis, HOSPITAL is directed by Randy Sharp. The production stars Paul Marc Barnes, Brian Barnhart, Regina Betancourt, David Crabb, George Demas, Joe Fuer, Britt Genelin, Laurie Kilmartin, Lynn Mancinelli, Marc Palmieri, Edgar Oliver, Tom Pennacchini, Jim Sterling, Ian Tooley with original songs by Randy Sharp,  lighting design by David Zeffren; asstistant lighting design by Amy Harper; sound design & song production by Steve Fontaine; costumes by Matthew Simonelli, and cinematography by Ben Wolf. Each episode runs approximately 40 minutes.

Through the careful utilization of various media, Axis Company has produced an eclectic series of original and published plays with highly advanced, State of the art technological components that enhance the internal meaning of the material. Past productions include Buchner's Woyzeck, Beckett's Play, Benjamin Baker's 1848 sensation A Glance at New York and the U.S. premiere of Sarah Kane's Crave, starring Deborah Harry, in addition to numerous original works.  

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