Warp, a wild, science-fiction adventure conceived by Stuart Gordon, written by Lenny Kleinfeld and directed by Philip Baloun, will be beaming up and out Dec. 22, after only The show began previews Dec. 3 and opened Dec. 15 at the Off-Broadway Theatre at St. Clement's.
Asked about the show's quick return to the ozone, production spokesperson Mark Cannistraro told Playbill On-Line that the run was only supposed to be three weeks long (24 performances total), as kind of a try-out for the producers and potential investors. "They're already looking at getting another venue in New York," Cannistraro said. "This was kind of a showcase to see if the show still worked."
Originally developed and produced at Chicago's Organic Theatre, and then in Washington D.C. at the Georgetown Theatre Company, Warp ran for seven performances on Broadway in 1973. That production, subtitled "My Battlefield, My Body," starred Andre' DeShields and John Heard, and covered only the first part of a trilogy that ran at the Organic.
Warp features numerous special effects including lasers, and is designed by Cecile Bouchier. Peter L. Smith did the lighting, Jose M. Rivera the costumes, Richard Dysinger & Bernard Fox the sound.
Warp follows a lowly bank-teller who's transported to the fifth dimension and told that he's actually Lord Cumulus, Avenger of the Universe. Cast members for Warp are Scott T. Thomson, Kane Schirmer, Angela Nirvana, Darlene Mann, Todd Alan Johnson, Ed Crescimanni and, of course, Tofi.
Stuart Gordon directed the world premiere of David Mamet's Sexual Perversity In Chicago and the feature films Re-Animator and the upcoming Space Truckers. Philip Baloun (pronounced "balloon"), who directed Warp in D.C., staged The Promise at NY's Manhattan Theatre Club and JB at the Cathedral Of St. John The Divine. Lenny Kleinfeld, now a screenwriter in Los Angeles, spent ten years in Chicago as a playwright, critic and freelance magazine writer.
For tickets ($35) and information on Warp, "a comic book come to life," call (212) 279-4200.
--By David Lefkowitz
