Photo Flash: Tongue in Cheek Theater's BOOKS ON TAPE

Tongue in Cheek Theater Productions (Jake Lipman, Artistic Director and Producer) today announced its 2011 production of Books on Tape by William Missouri Downs in The New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC). Brock H. Hill directs the New York City premiere. Books on Tape marks Tongue in Cheek Theater's fifteenth production, and is the company's FringeNYC debut.

After a chance seduction in the Books on Tape section of Barnes & Noble, Adriane (Jake Lipman) and Jeffrey (Nate Washburn) set out to understand Mother Theresa, rodeo announcers, near-death experiences and how books on tape can fix their lives in twelve easy steps. Along the way, they meet self help guru Donna Paige Miller (Shana Wiersum) and Father Larry (Geoffrey J.D. Payne), the founder of a new religion. Celebrity biographer Kitty Kelley lends her voIce To a brief comedic voice over.

The creative team's prior collaboration, the 2010 NYC premiere of William Missouri Downs's Dead White Males, garnered the following praise from NYTheatre.com: "Tongue in Cheek Theater's sterling production is a trenchant critique of America's education system in crisis ... The ensemble is first rate."

Books on Tape is stage managed by Allison Lemel, with lighting design by Michael Lounsbery. Philip Rothman is the sound designer. Virginia Monte is the scenic designer. Playwright William Missouri Downs's works include Cockeyed, Forgiving John Lennon, Seagulls in a Cherry Tree (winner of the Larry Corse Prize for playwriting), and Dead White Males, among others. In Hollywood, Mr. Downs wrote for the NBC sitcoms My Two Dads, Amen, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and won the Jack Nicholson Award for screenwriting.

Tongue in Cheek Theater is an independent theater company dedicated to producing comedies that make audiences think. About the company's recent production, The Drunken City, BlogCritics.org raved, "The Drunken City is fun through and through ... Kudos to Ms. Lipman and Tongue in Cheek Theater for making manifest what's funny, and what's sneakily smart, in the blurry scrim of these six characters."

Books on Tape will run during The New York International Fringe Festival for five performances from August 18-28, 2011. Shows are Thur 8/18 at 7 pm, Fri 8/19 at 4:45 pm, Sat 8/20 at 5 pm, Sat 8/27 at 7 pm and Sun 8/28 at 1:15 pm at the Connelly Theater at 220 East 4th Street (between Avenues A and B). Take the F train to 2nd Avenue. Tickets are $15 in advance at www.tictheater.com/tickets, by calling 866-468-7619, and at FringeCENTRAL (45 Bleecker Street at Lafayette Street). Tickets are also available at the door for $18.

For more information about this production, please visit www.tictheater.com.