Samira Wiley Joins Reading of THE MISANTHROPE With Original Songs By PASSING STRANGE Composer, Stew

Molière in the Park, presented in partnership with the Prospect Park Alliance and the LeFrak Center at Lakeside, has announced its inaugural season.

The three-day event begins with the company launch and fundraiser on Saturday, May 18 at 7pm, followed by two free staged public readings of two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Wilbur's translation of Molière's THE MISANTHROPE, directed by Molière in the Park's Founding Artistic Director Lucie Tiberghien, with original songs by Tony and two-time Obie Award winner Stew, on Sunday, May 19 at 7pm and Monday, May 20 at 7pm.

The star-studded cast for THE MISANTHROPE includes Emmy and SAG Award winner Samira Wiley (Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale," Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black," Harlem Stage's Antigone in Ferguson), Chris Henry Coffey (Bronx Bombers at Circle in the Square & Primary Stages, Water by the Spoonful at Second Stage), Mandi Masden (Broadway's Saint Joan, Jitney - MTC, 2017 Tony Award), Jennifer Mudge (Into the Woods at Roundabout - Lucille Lortel Award nominee, Broadway's Rocky) and Postell Pringle (FX's "Rescue Me," Broadway's A Free Man of Color at LCT). Additional cast members to be announced.

Molière in the Park is dedicated to bringing, yearly, free and inclusive productions of Molière's masterpieces to the LeFrak Center at Lakeside in Prospect Park. Considered one of the world's greatest French satirists, they aim to make English translations of Molière's plays a vital part of Brooklyn's diverse culture. Every year a new production will bring our community together, free of charge, to experience subversive and timeless comedies under the stars.

In both style and content, Molière's plays capture Brooklyn: funny, gritty, smart, progressive and disruptive, and embracing of all types of people. His vast body of work reflects a common theme of generosity; Every play is a gift to the viewer, as the playwright leads his audience through laughter, honesty, tenderness, anguish and love. Through the lens of his stories, we see ourselves and others as imperfect and intertwined humans. Much like Prospect Park's unifying draw to Brooklynites and New Yorkers, Molière's plays unite us and point to our commonalities rather than our differences. Molière in the Park is a homage to Brooklyn's unique brand of diversity, innovation, and inclusion.

In THE MISANTHROPE, a society built upon a fragile foundation of up-front politeness and behind-the-back gossip is subjected to Alceste's wrecking ball of bluntness and disdain for social norms. Ironically, Alceste is madly in love with Célimène, a skilled courtesan who deftly navigates the shark-filled waters of polite society in her relentless goal for independence. Can such opposites ever hope to find common ground?

The production team includes Garth Belcon (Co-Founding Producer), Jessie Dean (Associate Artistic Director), Kris Stone (Set Design), S. Stoli Stolnack (Lighting Design) and Thyra Hartshorn (Production Manager).

Molière in the Park takes place at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside in Prospect Park, Brooklyn from May 18 - 20, 2019. Enter at 171 East Drive between Ocean Avenue and Lincoln Road. Tickets for all events can be reserved at https://www.moliereinthepark.org. The running time for the reading is approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes including intermission.

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