The first preview for Suzan-Lori Parks' new play, In the Blood has been pushed back to Nov. 2. Previously it was due to begin Oct. 26. No official opening date has been announced.
In the Blood, directed by Marcus Stern, is a freely-imagined take on Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter," about an unwed mother struggling to raise her children. It will be staged in the Anspacher Theater. Parks' other plays include Venus.
Previously announced as part of the Public season, under the producer George C. Wolfe:
• Tina Landau's Space, directed by the author, is the New York premiere of Landau's 1997-98 hit that played the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. Landau has continued to develop the work since the Windy City staging that Time magazine called one of the year's best. A psychiatrist is challenged by the stories of three patients and their otherworldy experiences. Begins Nov. 16 in Martinson Hall.
• Liev Schreiber as Hamlet, directed by Andrei Serban, reunites the actor and director of the Public's Cymbeline. Begins Nov. 23 in the Newman Theater. Diane Venora stars as Gertrude. • House Arrest, Anna Deveare Smith's one-woman examination of the U.S. presidency, the public and the media. Monologuist Smith, who plays multiple characters in the new piece, which has been in development for several years, is known for her socially aware pieces, Fires in the Mirror and Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992. Jo Bonney (Stop Kiss) will direct House Arrest in the Newman Theater, beginning March 2000. Exact dates have not been announced.
• Two Sisters and a Piano, by Nilo Cruz, directed by Loretta Greco, concerns a romance writer and her sister in 1991 Cuba who speak out against Castro and are arrested. Begins Feb. 1 in the Shiva Theater.
• Composer-lyricist-librettist LaChiusa's version of The Wild Party, drawn from the Jazz Age poem about a debauched show biz and underworld party, is co-written and directed by George C. Wolfe, with choreography by Joey McKneeley. Previews begin April 6 at Broadway's Virginia Theatre.
• Joe's Pub, off the lobby of the Public Theater on Lafayette Street, opened in October 1998 and will continue to offer eclectic entertainment in the new season. Among expected performers are Toshi Reagon & Big Lovely, Ute Lemper, Ann Magnuson, Abdullah Ibrahim and Lea DeLaria.
For information about the Public Theater season, call (212) 239-6200 or (212) 260-2400.
-- By Kenneth Jones
