BAC Presents Ivan Viripaev's JULY

Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) presents a production by one of Russia's foremost voices in contemporary theater, Ivan Viripaev, who returns to New York following his 2014 premiere of Illusions at BAC, an "engaging...moving work" (The New York Times). Next month, a work that also reflects the playwright's unflinchingly honest style, July, comes to the Jerome Robbins Theater for a single performance directed by Viripaev and featuring American actress Jordan Rose Frye, a graduate of Moscow Art Theatre School.

Okko Theatre's production of July, which is performed in English, will run for one night only: Friday, February 28 at 7:30PM at BAC's Jerome Robbins Theater (450 W. 37th Street in Manhattan). The running time is 100 minutes. Tickets, $25, can be purchased at bacnyc.org or 866-811-4111. The play, which contains graphic subject matter, is recommended for mature audiences age 18 and over.

July is regarded as one of the key texts of the New Russian Drama movement, emphasizing hypernaturalistic portrayals of sex and violence, and addressing pressing social issues. The play-a first-person monologue delivered by a female actor-follows a rural man's struggle with mental illness and his doomed search for salvation. The original staging, directed by Viripaev and performed by Polish actress Karolina Gruszka, premiered in 2009 at Warsaw's Tadeusz Lomnicki Wola Theater. The U.S. Premiere of July at BAC, performed by Jordan Rose Frye, is a new staging of the work, including an original score performed live by composer Jacek Jedrasik. Set design is by Anna Met, and costumes are by Katarzyna Lewinska. The English translation of July is by Sasha Dugdale.

July is made possible with generous support provided by M.ART Foundation.

Ivan Viripaev is a graduate of the Irkutsk Drama School and the Moscow Drama School. From 2005-16 he worked with the Praktika Theater in Moscow, and served as its artistic director between 2013-16. Viripaev's acclaimed theater works include Illusions (2011), July (2006), Genesis No 2 (2004) and Oxygen (2003). He has written and directed films including Delhi Dance (2012), Oxygen (2009), and Euphoria (2006). Among his many accolades are the prestigious Golden Mask Award, the International New Drama Festival Award, and awards at the Venice, Warsaw, and Sochi film festivals. Since 2016, Viripaev has lived and worked in Warsaw where he is co-founder and director of the renowned theater producing company WEDA Project, which supported the creative development of July.

Franco-American film and theater actress Jordan Rose Frye was born in the United States. In 2016 she graduated from the Moscow Art Theater School. Following graduation, she joined Viktor Ryzhakov's repertory theater company in Moscow, where she performed in numerous productions, including: Oleg Glushkov's The Twelve Steps of Gagarin, Viktor Ryzhakov's An Unmodern Concert, #whatpoems: To Love by Andrei Rodionov and Ekaterina Troepolskaya, A Modern Concert by Viktor Ryzhakov and Tatyana Pykhonina, Mikhail Rakhlin's Fro!, and others. She also appeared in Aleksei Kuzmin-Tarasov's Siri at the Meyerhold Center, and Cazimir Liske's Christmas at Praktika Theater. She appeared in Anton Megerdichev's Going Vertical (2017), and stars in Grigoriy Dobrygin's Sheen667 coming out in March 2020. She lives in New York City.

Okko Theatre is a production company engaged in the creation, support, and development of theater and educational projects. It produces high quality theater, working with established and emerging playwrights, actors, and musicians from Russia and around the world. Okko Theatre makes the dramatic arts accessible to viewers through its digital platform.

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