City Attic Theatre Presents The Frankophile UNDER St. Marks Dec. 11-21

City Attic Theatre (Dianna Marino and Amanda Embry, Artistic Directors), a New York City-based company, proudly continues its fourth season of producing theatrical masterpieces with the World Premiere of Melissa Gawlowski's hilarious farce The Frankophile at UNDER St. Marks, directed by Michael Page.

The story follows Alceste, the infamous misanthrope, who left his place in Moliére's play in search of a world up to his standards. After four centuries of refusing change and running from play to play, he is confronted by Moliére, returned from the dead and hell-bent on rewriting him entirely. Faced with the deadline of his life, Alceste must swallow his pride, face his past, and discover whether even stock characters have the power to change.

Melissa Gawlowski's plays have been presented in New York, Chicago, and Hong Kong, among other locales. Locally, her plays have presented by the Festival of Samhain, the Strawberry One-Act Festival, City Attic Theatre, Analogous, Brooklyn College, and the 52nd Street Project. Her work is published by Heinemann and Smith and Kraus and was a finalist in Collaboration's Sketchbook Festival and the American College Theatre Festival. Melissa is the resident playwright of City Attic Theatre and is an artist-in-residence of Analogous. Metis, an experiment in the interaction of improvised sound and the written word that she co-conceived with Marie Evelyn, will have its second annual performance in January. Her play Spring Tides will be produced in Philadelphia by the Cardboard Box Collaborative this spring.

Michael Page is the managing director of NYC's Barrow Street Theatre and has directed more than 100 plays, musicals, cabarets, and special events in New York and around the country. He has worked at the Barrow Street Theatre, The Pearl Theatre Company, City Attic Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Abingdon Theatre Company, Provincetown Tennessee Williams Festival, and is involved with the Obie Award-winning company The Civilians and artistic director of The Fugitive Kind.

The cast of The Frankophile includes Elizabeth Audley, Matt Berg, Alexis Black, Jeff Scot Carey, Dash Combs, and Brian Marino. Scenery designed by Amanda Embry, costumes designed by Hollie Nadel, lighting designed by Kerrie Lovercheck. Andrew Beal is the dramaturg.

UNDER St. Marks is located at 94 St. Marks Place. Tickets are $15 and are available at the door (cash only). Tickets on December 14th are "pay-what-you-can." For reservations, please call 212-330-7045 or e-mail cityattic@gmail.com.

City Attic Theatre provides a home for theatrical artists, creating new opportunities to nurture their craft in a collaborative setting while developing powerful theatrical masterpieces. The goal is to remove the boundaries that dictate the traditional roles of artists, to release and unify the collaborative imagination.

This production is made possible through the support of The Field. This project was also made possible in part with public funds from the Manhattan Community Arts Fund, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. The show is an Equity approved showcase.

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