New Light Theater Project's NO ONE LOVES US HERE Begins Previews Tomorrow
By: Tyler Peterson
New Light Theater Project, who have just been inducted into the Indie Theater Hall of Fame for 2014 by Indie Theater Now, will present the World Premiere of NO ONE LOVES US HERE by hot, up-and-coming British playwright Ross Howard. This black comedy was a finalist for the New York Stage and Film Founders Award 2012. Directed by Jerry Heymann, previews begin January 15 at Urban Stages. Opening night is slated for January 22.
In NO ONE LOVES US HERE, Washington, a young Native American, is invited to stay in the Beaumonts' upscale guesthouse. The couple, miserable and unsatisfied in their marriage, uses Washington to help them escape their unhappiness. But when Washington begins to fall in love with Mrs. Beaumont, his manipulations pin family member against family member, leading to a climactic bloodbath. A contest for territory, No One Loves Us Here is a blackly comic portrait of love and obsession, the aspiration of displaced youth and a crumbling white-collar class. NO ONE LOVES US HERE stars Dick Hughes (Hamlet with Kevin Kline, Richard III with Al Pacino), Anthony Michael Irizarry, April Kidwell, Jessica Kitchens (Endgame/Play with Bill Irwin at ACT) and Christian Ryan (Salome at The Flea), with a design team that includes Michael O'Connor (lighting), Brian Dudkiewicz (set), Samantha Lind (costumes), Kyle C. Norris (sound design), Andrew Morton (production stage manager), and Anna Clare Kerr (assistant stage manager). British playwright Ross Howard's plays have received full productions notably in London (Theatre 503, Upstairs at the Gatehouse, Riverside Studios, Old Red Lion), Las Vegas (Onyx Theatre), Minneapolis (Pillsbury House Theatre), San Francisco (The Phoenix Theatre), and New York (Cherry Lane Theatre). Hailing from Lancashire, in 2008 he was awarded a Playwright Fellowship from the Edward Albee Foundation. Arthur and Esther was awarded "Best of Fringe" at Las Vegas Fringe Festival 2010 and Frisky & The Panda Man was a winning finalist in the 38th Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival in 2013. Arthur and Esther, Picture Ourselves In Latvia and Our Walk Through The World: Six Short Plays were published by Samuel French in 2014. Ross holds an M.F.A in playwriting from UNLV and has taught theatre and playwriting as an adjunct faculty member of the CSU Fresno theatre department. He now lives in London. Jerry Heymann is an award-winning director. Select credits include: Call Me Charlie with Danny DeVito (La Mama), My Daddy's Serious American Gift (Tiffany Theatre in LA), A Country For Old Men (American Stage Company), Three (Ensemble Studio Theatre), and Demeter's Lost Daughter (St. Clement's Theatre). He holds a PhD and MFA from Carnegie-Mellon University and is a proud member of SSDC. Under Artistic Director Sarah Norris, New Light Theater Project's main purpose is to collaborate - to act as a conduit for artists whose work speaks to the current culture - in order to build and sustain relationships within the theatre community.For more information, visit NewLightTheaterProject.com.
NO ONE LOVES US HERE runs January 15 - February 7, Thursday-Saturdayat 8pm. Urban Stages is located at 259 West 30th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues -- accessible from the A/C/E trains at 34th Street or the 1/2 at 28th Street. Tickets are $15 at BrownPaperTickets.com or 630-632-1459.
