THE OPEN GATE Begins Previews At Theater For The New City, Today

Theater for the New City (Crystal Field, Executive Director) has announced that it will present THE OPEN GATE, a musical adaptation of Nobel Prize-winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer's novel The Manor, on Sunday October 14th atTheater for the New City (155 First Avenue at 10th Street).

The musical which deals with the fates of a wealthy Jewish businessman and his four daughters begins previews on Thursday, October 11th. Written and directed by David WIllinger, THE OPEN GATE has music composed by Arthur Abrams and choreography by Michael Vazquez. The show will play a limited engagement through October 27th. Tickets are $20 and $10 for seniors and students, which can be purchased by visiting www.smarttix.comor by calling 212-868-4444. In an effort to reach all audiences, tickets for previews for THE OPEN GATE will be priced as "pay what you can" and are only available at the Box Office the day or performance. The 15 member cast is soon-to-be-announced.

THE OPEN GATEcenters around an upwardly mobile Jewish family that started out in the humblest beginnings in 19thcentury Poland and their conflict with social and scientific changes of the time. This historical mosaic deals with the struggle between modern thought and values and the old life of intense piety.

Set design is by Mark Marcante, with lighting design by Alex Bartenieff, costume design by Carolyn Adams, sound design by Santos Collado, video design by Kayla Lessard and prop design by Lytza Colon. Matt Benson is the musical director

The performance schedule for THE OPEN GATE is as follows: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm, with matinees on Sundays at 3pm through October 27th.

David Willinger (Book/Lyrics/Director) has written the book and lyrics for a musical version of Thomas Hardy's famous novel Casterbridgewith Christopher Beste in addition to The Tale of Teiresias and the Idiot that ran at Hartley House Theatre and an opera based on Hugo Claus's The Life and Works of Leopold IIwith Hellmuth Dusedau, composing. Non-musical self-authored plays, which he has also directed, include: Andrea's Got Two Boyfriends(published by DPS and performed throughout the US and in Poland), Malcolm's Time, Frida y Diego, Bombing the Cradle, Caprichos, and The Trail of Tears: A Drama from the Historical Record, written with Peggy Dean. Has adapted and directed such novels as Joseph Conrad's Secret Agent, Camus's The Stranger, Carson McCullers's Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Paul Willems' The Wound, Dickens' Martin Chuzzlewit, Ibarguengoitìa's The Dead Girls, and most recently William Saroyan's novel Rock Wagramunder the title The Upper Lip. Willinger has directed at TNC, La Mama, INTAR, HERE, the Laurie Beechman Theatre, and the Cubiculo, all in New York, as well as for the Ambassador Theatre in Washington D.C. He has directed world premières of Eduardo Machado's Don Juan in NYC, Serge Goriely's The Sorcerers, Adrienne Kennedy's Diary of Lightsas well as co-directing her Solo Voyagestogether with Joseph Chaikin. His original play, Out of Their Minds, was presented at New Media Rep. On Jewish subjects he has directed René Kalisky's Jim the Lionheartedas well as Hanoch Levin's Job's Passionand Winter Wedding. Willinger has seven published anthologies of play translations from French and Dutch to his credit, and also just published Ivo van Hove Onstagewith Routledge. As professor of theatre at City College of NY, he has directed such musicals as Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Promenade, The Wiz, Little Shop of Horrors, and numerous other non-musical plays.

Arthur Abrams wrote the score for the ballet The Velveteen Rabbit. He also composed and directed music for the Yiddish Theater documentary film The Golden Age of Second Avenue, often shown on Public TV. Theatrical credits include the score for America's Favorite Newscaster, Heather Smiley For President, The Folk Singerand An American Worker, in collaboration with Tom Attea. Mr. Abrams has been honored with numerous awards, including a DAAD music fellowship to Mannheim, Germany, a scholarship to the Orff Institute at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and a Meet the Composer grant for the score of The Golden Bear.