Julia Dahl, a writer and producer of TV's "Party of Five," takes to the stage as writer-director of Wonderland, a world premiere, opening June 14 at the American Place Theatre mainstage in New York City.
Previews began June 2 for the coming-of-age drama, about self-doubting, politically-ambitious Generation X'ers in the Clinton era. It's expected to continue to late July.
The ensemble piece, set on New Year's Eve in Sag Harbor, NY, features Brad Beyer, Christine Burke (TV's "Union Square"), Paul Fitzgerald, Kate Jennings Grant, James Patrick Stuart (TV's "All My Children") and Henry Strozier. Designers are Beowulf Borrit (sets and costumes), Ryan McMahon (lights) and Hector Olivieri (sound).
APT presented a reading of the work in 1997. It was subsequently workshopped in Los Angeles, winning an L.A. Dramalogue Award. It is not to be confused with a play with the same title, by Chay Yew.
Dahl's other plays include Licking Grandma's Fingers, Just Shoot Me and When the Bough Breaks. Her screenplay, "Molly Gunn," will be produced by Greenstreet Films, directed by Fisher Stevens. Earlier this year, Calista Flockhart of TV's "Ally McBeal" had been mentioned for the production, but she chose to work on bash, a collection of three Off-Broadway one-acts by Neil LaBute (the filmmaker of "In the Company of Men").
American Place Theatre is at 111 W. 46th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. Tickets for Wonderland are $35. Call (212) 239 6200.
-- By Kenneth Jones
