The Guys' current cast of Peggy Lipton and Dan Lauria will perform the first of two free performances of the two-hander Nov. 19 as part of The Flea Theater's "Holiday Flea-for-All" — given as a gift to the city of New York. The second free event will feature the next cast of Marlo Thomas and Stephen Lang, Dec. 18.
Tickets to the free Nov. 19 and Dec. 18 performances will be distributed at the box office (41 White Street) beginning at 6 PM on the day of each performance for that evening only on a first-come, first-served basis. There is a limit of two tickets per person.
Flea Theater producing director Carol Ostrow explained,in a statement, "Following the September 11th attacks, The Flea Theater, like every other business in the neighborhood closed down. When we re-opened the theatre a month later, our attendance dropped by 90 percent...Our theatre was clearly going to join the list of business casualties as a result of 9/11...The Guys saved The Flea. The Holiday Flea-For-All is our way of saying thank you to the city."
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The Guys, based on first-time playwright Anne Nelson's real experiences, is a dialogue between a fire captain — who has lost most of his men in the Sept. 11 attack — and an editor who helps him write the eulogies as she struggles herself to come to terms with the event. Both find out, "We have no idea what wonders lie hidden in the people around us." The film version of The Guys featuring former cast members Sigourney Weaver and Anthony LaPaglia under the direction of Bat Theatre Company artistic director (and Weaver's husband) Jim Simpson will play an Academy Award-qualifying run in Los Angeles Dec. 13 prior to a wide theatrical release in either February or March of 2003 according to a Focus Features spokesperson.
The New York casts of The Guys have included Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Irwin, Anthony LaPaglia, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Swoosie Kurtz, Amy Irving, Tom Wopat,Carol Kane, Stephen Lang, Marlo Thomas, Polly Draper, Terrence Mann, Peggy Lipton and Dan Lauria. The Los Angeles production has featured Robbins, Helen Hunt, Sarandon, Philip Baker Hall, Jeanne Tripplehorn, David Hyde Pierce, Glenne Headley, William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman. Robbins and Sarandon also performed the work at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
For tickets to The Guys at The Flea, 41 White Street in Tribeca, call (212) 206 1515 or visit www.thebat.com. Limited $15 tickets for firemen and Port Authority workers with ID. Rush Tickets ($25) are sold on the same day, based on availability.
— by Ernio Hernandez
