The Present Company has found its second hit of the season. Following the successful run of Brian Parks' Americana Absurdum , the troupe has just extended the run of Leigh Silverman's Brandon Teena until Jan. 16, 1999. Its original run was scheduled for Dec. 1-19.
Brandon Teena takes its plot from the real-life story of its title character. Teena was a Nebraska teenager who, though born a woman as Teena Brandon, lived her life as the man Brandon Teena. An arrest for fraud sent her to a woman's penitentiary and unveiled her true identity. Afterwards, she was publicly reviled by local tormenters and then raped and finally murdered in 1993. The story has inspired much debate and a recent documentary film.
Silverman's play, a combination of research and imagination, tells the tale from Brandon's point of view. Silverman also directs the piece, which stars Erica Schmidt as Brandon Teena.
For information, call (212) 420-8877.
-- By Robert Simonson
