New Play SHADOWS Written and Directed By Anthony M. Laura To Debut At A.R.T. New York This December

Anthony M. Laura, Artistic Director of Face To Face Films, will direct his new play 'Shadows' Off-Broadway at The Jeffrey And Paula Gural Theater / A.R.T. this December.

The original play tells the story of Lyndsy Elle Cooper (Katia Mendoza), a 30 year old singer trying to make a comeback when her girlfriend Kensley (Annie-Grace Payne) is diagnosed with an illness. The play explores the coincidence of trauma in our lives.

Mr. Laura began writing the play in late 2021. He says "The journey of Lyndsy and Kensley started for me in Chicago. It was my first time visiting and one of the main reasons for traveling was to see a play at Steppenwolf. After touring the theater and seeing a Tracy Letts play (Bug), I left inspired. I had no map for where the story was going but Lyndsy was my starting my point. Suddenly, Kensley and Ariana (Lyndsy's sister and manager played by Annette Berning) emerged and I fell in love with all of them. I took about a year away from the play and during that time directed "The Girl with the Red Hair" (staged in 2022 at the Gene Frankel Theater.). It's an unusual process for me because usually I don't put scripts to the side, I workshop them and put them up right away, so the development of the story was exciting and allowed me time to really get to know these characters. It began as a story about memory and has since become a story about love. It's been quite a bit of time since I wrote a love story and the love of Lyndsy and Kensley is something that hasn't left my mind for over a year. Normally, you don't see what our characters deal with in the same play. It's either a story of young onset or a story of terminal cancer. Our story explores what happens when two incredibly unforeseen and tragic events occur simultaneously and how it impacts our love of each other and the world. It's absolutely fascinating and incredibly challenging to structure the tone of how we tell their story and allow the audience to leave having not witnessed tragedy but love."

Mr. Laura speaks on casting, saying "This extraordinary ensemble is powerful in the way they navigate all of the different relationships we present. It was important to me when writing in focusing on an all female ensemble, something that I believe we need more of, because growing up with strong female role models, I wanted that to reflect in this world. A lot of these characters are based on people I know, or at least parts of them. My sister is reflected a bit in Lyndsy and Kensley, my Aunt Julia in Stella, along with many other remarkable women I've met along the way. This story, and the way I chose to cast the play, is a dedication to all the women who have changed my life by knowing them."

The cast of Shadows features Ms. Mendoza (Lyndsy Elle Cooper), Annie-Grace Payne (Kensley Lennon Coleman), Annette Berning (Ariana Cooper), Alexandra Rooney (Jessa King), Mari Blake (Tatum Ross) and Susan Neuffer (Stella Anders) in the all female ensemble.

The cast will be understudied by Rheanna Salazar (Lyndsy Elle Cooper), Courtnie Keaton (Kensley Coleman), Colleen Wright (Ariana Cooper), Chloe Joyce (Jessa King), Carole Real (Stella Anders) and Chelsea Renae (Tatum).

Mr. Laura, Ms. Mendoza, Kristen Seavey and Templar Grace Wright are producing the show under the Face to Face Films banner. Skylar D'Andrea and Ms. Berning are Associate Producers.

The creative team includes Richard Urquiza (Stage Manager), Candy Dato (Assistant Stage Manager), Yang Yu (Lighting Design), Trey McGee (Sound Design), Philip Lauto (Composer), Rose Hart (Songwriter), Gabe Calleja (Production Executive), Kate Carey (Production Manager), Andrea Alton (Publicity) and Caroline Sinclair (Casting).

Shadows will open on December 1, 2023 and run for nineteen performances through December 16, 2023.