THE ENGLISH BRIDE to Make New York Premiere at 59E59 Theaters, 10/23-11/17

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) welcomes Centenary Stage Company with the NYC premiere of THE ENGLISH BRIDE, written by Lucile Lichtblau and directed by Carl Wallnau. THE ENGLISH BRIDE begins performances on Wednesday, October 23 for a limited engagement through Sunday, November 17. Press opening is Wednesday, October 30 at 7:30 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday at 8:30 PM; and Saturday at 2:30 PM & 8:30 PM; and Sunday at 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $25 ($17.50 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or go to www.59e59.org.

The mystery wasn't what happened. They mystery was why. A Mossad agent unravels the story surrounding accused terrorist Eileen Finney and the Arab man she loves. This suspense-filled story was inspired by the real-life failed bombing attempt of an El Al flight out of London in 1986.

THE ENGLISH BRIDE was the winner of the 2011 Susan Glaspell Award, and was developed in a rolling world premiere with Theatre Exile in Philadelphia. Centenary Stage Company is an affiliate member of the National New Play Network. It was nominated for the prestigious Steinberg Award of the American Theatre Critics Association.

The cast, who reprise their Centenary Stage roles for the NYC premiere, features Amy Griffin (Forbidden Broadway) as Eileen Finney, Michael Gabriel Goodfriend (Eternal Equinox at 59E59) as Ali Said, and Ezra Barnes (Breakfast With Mugabe) as Dov.

The design team includes Bob Phillips (set design); Joyce Liao (lighting design); Julia Sharp (costume design); and Christopher Colucci (sound design).The dialect director is Dudley Knight. The production stage manager is Danielle Constance.
Lucile Lichtblau (playwright) is a graduate of Yale Drama School, where she received an MCA Playwriting Fellowship. In addition to Theatre Exile in Philadelphia, Lichtblau's work has been produced by The Manhattan Theatre Source, The Vital Theatre, The Hudson Opera House, among others. Her play CarTalk had its world premiere in 2009 at Stageworks, in Hudson, NY. And her play Urban Legend won the Pandora Box Production's New Play Festival. Her new play Hemings Diary received development at Luna Stage, and in the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, where it was nominated for the Weissberger Award, given annually by the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts. Lichtblau also adapted the classic Dickens tale titled A Christmas Carol, Abridged and Rip, a fun-filled adaptation of Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle for Stageworks.

Carl Wallnau (director) is currently Artistic Director of the Centenary Stage Company, an equity theatre located on the campus of Centenary College in Hackettstown, NJ where he is also Associate Professor of Theatre Arts and Chairman of the Fine Arts Department. Recent credits include Antonio in The Tempest (PSF), Aegeon in Comedy of Erros (PFS), and Monsieur Molenous in The Ladies Man (CSC). He has directed numerous productions including the world premieres of Inventing Montana, The Tillie Project, and The Poetry of Pizza as well as the American Premiere of A Laughing Matter and the New Jersey premieres of Below The Belt, Square One, Rounding Third, and Marvin's Room. Wallnau has been cited for outstanding direction in the productions of Springtime for Henry and Quartermaine's Terms. He has worked at numerous regional theatres including Paper Mill Playhouse, Second Stage in NYC, People's Light, The Lark Theatre, The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Hartford Stage, Bristol Riverside, Forum Theatre, Premiere Stages, Orland Shakespeare Company, Arts Center of Coastal Caroline, Foothills Playhouse and 14 months on the road with the First National Tour of Titanic. Wallnau received his MFA from Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts and is married to his favorite actress Colleen Smith Wallnau for whom he wrote the play Mary Todd.... A Woman Apart. The play completed successful runs at Centenary Stage Company in March 2001 and Off-Broadway at the Samuel Beckett theatre on Theatre Row in May 2003. Mary Todd... A Woman Apart is now available for touring.

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