CATHEDRAL Opens At Manhattan Theatre Source 4/22

Manhattan Theatre Source (Jim Lawson, Artistic Director) will present Cathedral, a drama about faith and trauma in today’s Catholic priesthood, April 22 through May 16, 2009 at the theatre's Washington Square Park home (177 MacDougal Street).  

Father Jake, for many years a loved and respected priest, is enmeshed in a crisis of conscience and faith that endangers not only his vocation, but his very soul – perhaps even the souls of those nearest to him, especially that of the young hustler who has accused him of inappropriate sexual contact.

Cathedral is a compelling tale, not only about of the eternal conflict between human nature and the religious life, but of the internal conflict inside every person in a time of moral ambiguity, shifting standards and uncertain trust – both in people and institutions.

A full length tragedy in one act, Cathedral is fearless in its depiction of the moral twilight that exists in both the secular and religious world.  Is the reporter trying to expose Jake really acting out of moral outrage, or is she taking emotional revenge for the collected betrayals of the two men in her life?  Is the cardinal blind in more than the strictly physical sense?  Is the young hustler telling the truth, or taking revenge on Jake for rejecting him romantically?  Why is Jake himself haunted by the ghost of his younger self – a ghost that ultimately turns into the young hustler? 

Mr. Pintauro directs his own script for this production.  The cast includes Jon Ecklund as Father Jacob Hansen, Kate Middleton as Katherine McGuire, Vincent Marano  as  Father Angelo Rosetti, Tom Godfrey as Francis Cardinal Hammond, Cary Woodworth  as Young Jake/Will.

Scheduled April 23 through May 16, 2009, CATHEDRAL performs at Manhattan Theatre Source (177 MacDougal Street, between Waverly Place and West Eighth Street, Subway: A/C/E or B/D/F/V to West 4th) Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm.   Tickets are $18.  Tickets may be purchased in advance at www.theatermania.com  or (212) 352-3101.  

Open since 2000, Manhattan Theatre Source (the Source) is an arts service and producing organization located in the heart of Greenwich Village. Named "one of the top five Off-Off Broadway theaters" by New York Magazine, the Source launched Obie Award-winning [title of show], which recently completed its Broadway run, and was home to the world premieres of Coronado by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River) and Richard Vetere's Machiavelli.  For more information, visit www.theatresource.org.

Joe Pintauro (Playwright and director) Pintauro's play, Snow Orchid was a selection of the Eugene O'Neill conference. Circle Rep produced it with Olympia Dukakis and a recent revival in London, starred Jude Law and Paola di Ognisotti. Moving Targets, a number of short plays, was produced by the Vineyard Theatre in New York City. Other plays include Beside Herself, Circle Rep. with William Hurt and Calista Flockhart, and Lois Smith. Raft of the Medusa at the Minetta Lane and London's Gate Nottinghill. Men's Lives, a dramatic adaptation of Peter Mattheissen's non-fiction book, at Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor. The Dead Boy, work-shopped at London's Royal Court with Ian McKellan, Sean Mathias directing. Pintauro directed a Netherlands production entitled, Dode Jongen, in Dutch language. It was also recently produced in Los Angeles. His collection of twenty seven short plays called Metropolitan Operas have been produced in various languages. The trilogy By the Sea, By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea, was produced at The Bay Street Theatre and later at The Manhattan Theatre Club. Pintauro taught fiction writing at Sarah Lawrence and N.Y.U., film making at Marymount College and The School of Visual Arts, N.Y., and playwrighting at Southampton College where he headed the summer writers conference. The Dead Boy was a recent selection of the Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference. His novel, Cold Hands, was singled out by the New York Times as one of the best novels of the year. State of Grace, his second novel, was published by Times Books and well reviewed. Pintauro has studied cinematography, (Columbia University) has a B.B.A. from Manhattan College, a B.A. in Philosophy and he completed full time study in Major Theology. He was awarded the MargaretHill inaugural chair in theatre at Saint Mary's College at Notre Dame, 2001.

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