Mark Ruffalo and Jessica Hecht will star in a one-night-only presentation of IRONWEED: An Evening of Art & Humanity at Brooklyn Academy of Music May 17. The performance will preview a new play adapted from William Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that is being directed by Jodie Markell and produced by Brad Gilbert.

The performance will intertwine live performance with recorded sound, presenting scenes from the new play, written by Kennedy and Markell. The evening will also include excerpts from an upcoming audio recording of the play, featuring Norbert Leo Butz, Kristine Nielsen, John Magaro, Michael Potts, David Rysdale, Frank Wood, Katie Erbe, and others.

Ruffalo will star as Francis Phelan, who returns to Albany after years of living on the streets. Hecht will be Francis' close friend, Helen Archer.

The work features songs by Tom Waits, an original score by Tamar-kali, and sound design by Skip Lievsay. The audio version of the play will be released this fall by the AudioFilm division of Gilbert's Autonomy Productions.

The performance will be followed by a conversation with Ruffalo and Hecht, moderated by writer Vinson Cunningham. They will be joined by expert voices to discuss the unhoused crisis currently facing the country.

Tickets for the performance go on sale April 15 at 1 PM for BAM Members and Patrons, with a general sale following April 18 at 1 PM.

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