Greil Marcus — the once-editor of Rolling Stone and Creem magazines, author of books like "In the Fascist Bathroom," "Double Trouble: Bill Clinton and Elvis Presley in a Land of No Alternatives " and "The Dustbin of History" and loyal zealot of the '70s rock group Sex Pistols — is the basis of the Foundry Theatre's production of Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century. The New York premiere, adapted from the cult novel with the same name, will play at lower Manhattan's Ohio Theatre May 2-June 10 with an opening on May 10.

Lipstick Traces takes a look at modern history via an alternative perspective. A conflict theorist's vision at heart, Marcus' novel is adapted by Kirk Lynn for the stage. Conceived by Shawn Sides and created by Rude Mechanicals (of Texas), the production won several accolades for its Austin run and was nominated for the New Play Award by the American Theatre Critics Association.

Rude Mechs co-artistic director Sides also directs the NY debut of Lipstick Traces. The cast will feature Lana Lesley, Jason Liebrecht, David Greenspan, James Urbaniak, T. Ryder Smith and Ean Sheehy. The design team for the show features Heather Carson for lighting design and Darron L. West handles sound design.

Foundry Theatre have brought many unique productions to Off- and Off-Off-Broadway including Rinde Eckert's And God Created Great Whales and Lola Pashalinski's Gertrude & Alice: A Likeness to Loving. For more information on their productions, visit www.thefoundrytheatre.org.

For tickets to performances of Lipstick Traces at the Ohio Theatre, 66 Wooster Street, call (800) 965-4827. For further information on the play, visit www.lipsticktraces.org. — by Ernio Hernandez