THE TRAGEDY OF DANDELION to Open 5/22 at Urban Stages

Ego Actus (Bruce A! Kraemer and Joan Kane producers) will present The Tragedy of Dandelion by Duncan Pflaster from May 22nd through June 8th at Urban Stages. Joan Kane directs a cast of 10 actresses who also double as men in 30 roles. The cast features Louise Flory, Kelly Zekas, Erin Nelson, Maria Peyramaure*, Kate Dickinson, Calaine Schafer, Shannon Stowe*, Mim Granahan*, Dianne Diep andSusan Wallack*. (*Member of Actors Equity)

Written in iambic pentameter and full of Shakespearean tropes and double entendres, the story of Dandelion, a heroic princess, takes place in mythical kingdoms at war. To escape an arcane law that would force her to marry a greedy opportunist who raped her, the pregnant Princess Dandelion dresses as a man and seeks shelter with her royal counterparts in a rival land. There she engenders the affections of both a prince and princess and the respect of an unsuspecting Queen. Her disguise is soon revealed, however, when her father, the King, and the villain who impregnated her arrive and force Dandelion to return to her native kingdom where she will live as their prisoner. With the help of the princess she is in love with, Dandelion is able to escape and again assumes a male identity. She stumbles into a series of wild adventures involving nuns, soldiers and rogues, fighting her enemies with dignity until the delicacy of her condition prevails.

Duncan Pflaster is the author of award winning plays including Fourteen Hundred and Sixty Sketches of Your Left Hand, The Taint of Equality, The Empress of Sex, Sweeter Dreams and Prince Trevor Among The Elephants. His play Pocket Universe was published by Smith and Krause's Best 10 Minute Plays of 2013. The Tragedy of Dandelion was a semi-finalist in the Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference. It went on to win the Audience Favorite Award as a Stage Reading at the 2012 MTWorks New Born Festival. Duncan is a member of The Dramatists Guild.

Director Joan Kane is the founding Artistic Director of Ego Actus. She recently directed Safe at 59E59 Theaters for a sold out run and again in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Named one of the People of the Year in indie theatre by nytheatre.com, she has directed plays and readings at the Lark Play Development Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Theatre for The New City, Planet Connections Festival, Midtown International Theatre Festival and the Actors Studio, among others.

Producer and lighting designer Bruce A! Kraemer has done lighting design for Roundabout Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe and Soho Rep and designed shows at Ensemble Studio Theatre, 59E59, Bleecker Street Theater and many others. Well skilled in technical aspects of theatre and TV, he's worked on a variety of events including the Tony Awards, the Grammys and the Olympics.

Ego Actus (Latin for "my way") was founded in 2009 by Joan Kane and Bruce Kraemer. They produce, direct and develop plays that are meant to be a complete audience experience using all elements of theatre contributed by a talented team of playwrights, actors and designers who have made those disciplines the focus of their lives. Each associated artist brings their own creative vision to the shows produced by Ego Actus and their work is unified into a collective "my way".

The Tragedy of Dandelion plays at Urban Stages (259 W. 30th Street) from Thursday May 22nd thru Sunday June 8th. Performances are Wednesdays thru Saturdays at 8PM with matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 3PM. All tickets are $18. For tickets go to Dandelion.BrownPaperTickets.com or call (800) 838-3006. For more information go to www.egoactus.com.

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