Playwright Harold Pinter is having a busy winter Off-Broadway. The dramatist's Ashes to Ashes started previews at the Gramercy Theatre Jan. 19 in a Roundabout Theatre Company production. Also, the Atlantic Theatre Company will present Pinter's Hothouse, with previews beginning Feb. 3 for an opening Feb. 25 and a run through March 14, 1999. The above dates were recently changed from a Jan. 20 start and a Feb. 7 opening, but casting has stayed the same, according to the Boneau/Bryan Brown press office. Larry Bryggman (Wolf Lullaby ), Jordan Lage (Mojo ), Kate Blumberg (Once in a Lifetime ), Patrick Breen (The Substance of Fire ) and Stephen Mendillo (Minutes from the Blue Route ) star.
Hothouse , which was written back in 1958, is set in an insane asylum. Karen Cohlhaas will direct.
Other Pinter plays include The Birthday Party, Betrayal and Moonlight.
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In other Atlantic news, Josh Hamilton (This Is Our Youth), Jillian Armenante and Todd Weeks will star in the theatre's production of The Cider House Rules. The Atlantic Theatre Company will give Parnell's play its NY premiere in the spring. Conceived and directed by Tom Hulce (Amadeus) and Jane Jones, Cider House Rules ran at the Mark Taper Forum through Sept. 27. It was presented in two parts, played on separate evenings during the week or together on weekends in marathons.
The drama concerns young Homer Wells, his life in and outside an orphanage, and his father figure, Dr. Larch, who both saves babies and performs abortions.
Cider House was developed over several seasons at the Seattle Repertory and received positive notices. "Anyone who laments the death of storytelling in contemporary drama will cheer the arrival of Cider House Rules," said Variety's Lynn Jacobson.
The L.A. cast featured (in alphabetical order) Armenante, Tom Beyer, Janni Brenn, Jane Carr, Rebecca Chace, Danyon Davis, Josh Hamilton, Kevin Jackson, Edd Key, Casey Lluberes, Dougald Park, Liann Pattison, Myra Platt, Mike Regan, Mark E. Smith, Jayne Taini, Brenda Wehle, Shane West, Patrick Wilson and Michael Winters.
Miramax will be lensing the film version of Cider House Rules, to be directed by Lasse Hallstrom and star Kate Nelligan & Paul Rudd. Other novels by Irving include "A Prayer For Owen Meany," "The Hotel New Hampshire," and "The World According To Garp."
For information on Off-Broadway's Atlantic Theatre Company call (212) 645-1242.
-- By Robert Simonson and David Lefkowitz
