New plays by John Patrick Shanley, Mac Wellman, Gen LeRoy and David Ives will fill the 1996-97 season at Off-Broadway's Primary Stages Company.
Shanley will open the season with his two one-act comedies, Missing Marisa and Kissing Christine, brought together under the title Missing/Kissing., which runs Oct. 2-Nov. 10.
An as-yet-unchosen solo performance piece will follow the Shanley show in December. Obie Winner Mac Wellman offers Second Hand Smoke from Jan. 8-Feb. 9, 1997; Gen LeRoy's play, Not Waving comes in Feb. 19-March 23. A screenwriter, LeRoy married to set designer Tony Walton.
Finishing the season are six short plays by David Ives, directed by John Rando. Ives' Mere Mortals And Others runs April 16-May 18, 1997.
The previous season at Primary Stages saw Donald Margulies nab an Obie for The Model Apartment (which was also nominated as a Best Play by the Drama Desk), Willy Holtzman get strong reviews for Sabina, and Colin Martin's gay solo, Virgins & Other Myths, move to the Atlantic Theatre for an extended run. One reason for the new evening of Ives' plays this year was the huge success of All In The Timing, which started at Primary Stages and then ran Off-Broadway for 18 months. For information about the new season at Primary Stages on West 45th Street, call (212)333-4052.
-- By David Lefkowitz
