Ethan Hawke Talks "Shepard and Music" at New Group Reading Event

By Ernio Hernandez
28 Dec 2009

Ethan Hawke
Ethan Hawke

Actor-director Ethan Hawke — who will stage the upcoming Off-Broadway revival of A Lie of the Mind — is set to host "Shepard and Music: A Conversation and Readings" Feb. 7, 2010.

The event, which is part of Dark Nights at The New Group series, will take place at Theatre Row's Acorn Theatre at 7 PM.

Hawke will host "readings of excerpts from Sam Shepard's plays and discuss the use of music with his work," according to an announcement. Selected texts will be performed with musical accompaniment by Lie composers Latham and Shelby Gaines.

The New Group will present Shepard's A Lie of the Mind Jan. 29-March 20, 2010. Keith Carradine, Laurie Metcalf and original cast member Karen Young will star in a cast that also features Josh Hamilton, Marin Ireland, Deirdre O'Connell, Alessandro Nivola, Maggie Siff and Frank Whaley.

A Lie of the Mind "centers on Jake, who is blinded by jealousy and rage, and believes he may have murdered his wife," as press notes explain. "While seeking refuge in the home of his abusive and unstable mother, his brother Frankie goes to investigate and finds himself caught in the confusing currents of revenge and longing."

Hawke — who appeared in The New Group revival of Hurlyburly — previously directed Jonathan Marc Sherman's Things We Want for the company as well as the films "Straight to One," "Chelsea Walls" and "The Hottest State."

Tickets ($20) to the event at The Acorn Theatre, 410 West 42nd Street, are available by calling (212) 279-4209. For more information, visit thenewgroup.org.