The 1959 The Sandbox "introduces one of America's most dysfunctional families, a grasping, materialistic married couple who stage a perverse seaside idyll destined to end in the demise of the wife's aged mother. In this pioneering work, Albee manipulates clichés of language and social mores, breaking the fourth wall and purposefully destroying the audience's illusion of passive observation of the action of the play."

The American Dream, written in 1960, "continues the story of The Sandbox's Mommy and Daddy. It is a ferocious, uproarious attack on the substitution of artificial for real values, a startling tale of murder and morality that rocks middle-class ethics to their complacent foundations. In it, Albee explores the hollowness of the American dream, as well as the fallacy of the ideal American family."

Both one-acts — directed by playwright Albee — feature Lois Markle, Tony Award winner Judith Ivey, Drama Desk Award winner George Bartenieff, Kathleen Butler, Harmon Walsh and (in Sandbox only) Jesse Williams. Daniel Shevlin plays the musician.

The Cherry Lane Theatre is located in Manhattan at 38 Commerce Street, near Seventh Avenue, between Bedford and Barrow Streets.

For more information or tickets visit www.cherrylanetheatre.org.

Here is a look at the production, which opens April 1 and runs through April 19:

Judith Ivey in The American Dream.		George Bartenieff in The American Dream.

Judith Ivey, Harmon Walsh and George Bartenieff in The American Dream.

Judith Ivey and Kathleen Butler in The American Dream.

Judith Ivey and George Bartenieff in The Sandbox.		Jesse Williams and Lois Markle in The Sandbox.

Jesse Williams, Lois Markle and Daniel Shevlin in The Sandbox.