July 9, 2008

Home
Playbill Club
Discounts
Benefits
Join Club
Member Services
News
U.S./Canada
International
Tony Awards
Obituaries
Awards Roundup
All
Listings/Tickets
Broadway
Off-Broadway
Regional/Tours
London
Features
Week in Review
Broadway Grosses
On the Record
Stage to Screens
On Opening Night
Playbill Archives
Ask Playbill.com
Special Features
All
Playbill Store
Enter Store
Casting & Jobs
Job Listings
Post a Job
Celebrity Buzz
Diva Talk
Brief Encounter
The Leading Men
Cue and A
Onstage & Backstage
Who's Who
Insider Info
Playbill Digital
Multimedia
Video
Interactive
Polls
Quizzes
Contests
Theatre Central
Sites
Connections
Reference
Awards Database
Seating Charts
Restaurants
Hotels
FAQs

RSS News Feed


News: US/Canada
Related Information
Email this Article Email this Article
Printer-friendly Printer-friendly
Primary Stages Season to Feature Gurney, Blessing, Margulies and Howe Premieres

By Andrew Gans
19 Jan 2008

Playwright Donald Margulies
photo by Aubrey Reuben

Primary Stages' 2008-2009 season will boast three New York premieres and one world premiere.

The 24th season of the theatre company that performs at 59E59 Theaters was announced Jan. 19 by Casey Childs, executive producer; Andrew Leynse, artistic director; and Elliot Fox, managing director.

The season will kick off July 22 with the New York premiere of A.R. Gurney's Buffalo Gal. Mark Lamos will direct the production from the author of Love Letters and The Dining Room. Buffalo Gal, which will play through Aug. 30, concerns "Amanda, a once successful television personality whose star is now fading. Life imitates art as she returns to her hometown of Buffalo to star in Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard. Just as she is connecting with her roots – both on stage and off – she is called back to Hollywood for a role that could recharge her career. Will the love of theatre be enough to keep her in Buffalo?"

Another New York premiere, Lee Blessing's A Body of Water, will follow. Maria Mileaf will direct the production, which runs Sept. 16-Oct. 25. Blessing's play, according to press notes, tells the story of "Avis and Moss who awake one morning in a house set in the forested hills above a picturesque body of water. The weather's great, the view's magnificent. However, neither of them seems to know whose house this is or who they are. Will a stranger at their doorstep be able to help?" Blessing is the author of A Walk in the Woods and Going to St. Ives.

Shipwrecked! An Entertainment — The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told By Himself) is the lengthy title of Donald Margulies' play, which will make its New York premiere at Primary Stages Jan. 27, 2009-March 7, 2009. In Shipwrecked Margulies — whose works include the Pulitzer Prize-winning Dinner with Friends and the Obie-winning The Model Apartment — has written about "a tale of adventure that left England spellbound in the 19th century. . . Louis de Rougemont invites you to hear his amazing story of bravery, survival and celebrity. Shipwrecked! examines how far we're willing to blur the line between fact and fiction in order to leave our mark on the world."

The 2008-2009 season will conclude with the world premiere of Tina Howe's Chasing Manet. Jane Alexander will head the cast of Manet, which runs March 25-May 2, 2009. The new play, according to Primary Stages, is described as such: "A rebellious painter from a distinguished family in Boston and an ebullient Jewish woman with a huge adoring family form an unlikely bond. Inside the confining walls of Mount Airy Nursing Home, the two plot an escape to Paris aboard the QE2. But can they possibly pull it off amidst the chaos of their surroundings? The tension and comedy grow as they struggle to take wing for the last time." Howe is the author of Coastal Disturbances and Painting Churches.

In a statement Primary Stages executive producer Childs said, "We are so happy and pleased to announce a season that includes works by such great award-winning playwrights. And I am thrilled for Tina Howe [to] join our growing roster of illustrious playwrights."

Subscription packages are available by calling (212) 279-4200 or by visiting www.TicketCentral.com.

For more information log on to www.primarystages.com.




Keyword:

Features/Location:

Writer:

 


advanced search

Free Membership
Exclusive Ticket Discounts
Join

NEWEST DISCOUNTS
The Country Girl
Some Americans Abroad
Grease
Summertime Classics
Damn Yankees
A Catered Affair
Naked Boys Singing
Thurgood
Title of Show
The 39 Steps

ALSO SAVE ON BROADWAY'S BEST
A Chorus Line
August: Osage County
Boeing-Boeing
Cirque Dreams
Gypsy
Spamalot
Title of Show
Xanadu
Young Frankenstein

and more!



Newest features from PlaybillArts.com:

New York Philharmonic: New York’s Hometown Orchestra

Photo Journal: Doktor Faust at the Munich Opera Festival

Click here for more classical music, opera, and dance features.


· Schedule of Upcoming Broadway Shows
· Schedule of Upcoming Off-Broadway Shows
· Broadway Rush and Standing Room Only Policies
· Long Runs on Broadway
· Weekly Schedule of Current Broadway Shows
· Upcoming Cast Recordings
· Hit Show Ticket Tips
· Broadway's July 4th Performance Schedule Changes


Click here to see all of the latest polls !


Email this page to a friend!