Downtown NY theatre staple David Greenspan takes a trip Uptown this winter to star in Primary Stages' latest offering, High Life , a play by Canadian Lee MacDougall, which began performances Jan. 12, 1999 and opens Jan. 27 for a run through Feb. 14, 1999.
High Life has been called "the `Reservoir Dogs' of Canadian theatre." In it, three ex-cons and one new recruit plot to knock over a series of bank ATM machines. Of course, when you're dealing with a hypochondriac, a psychotic and a hustler, no fail-safe plan goes unfoiled.
David Greenspan leads a cast which features John Bedford Lloyd, Matthew Mabe and Isiah Whitlock. An actor, director and playwright, Greenspan won an Obie Award for his performances in the Off-Broadway revival of The Boys in the Band . He also appeared in Richard Foreman's recent Benita Canova . Casey Childs directs High Life.
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Upcoming at Primary Stages:
The Turn of the Screw, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the eerie and ambiguous Henry James novella and directed by Melia Bensussen, fills the next Primary Stages slot, (Mar. 10-Apr. 16, 1999). James' story tells of a young governess haunted by demons -- who may just be in her own head. Conor McPherson, whose St. Nicholas put Brian Cox in award competition last season, will return to Primary Stages in late spring with a new work, This Lime Tree Bower (May 5-June 6, 1999). in which three young men give conflicting accounts of an unlikely weekend in a small, tawdry Irish seaside resort.
A new play by David Ives, whose Mere Mortals and All in the Timing went into open-ended runs from their Primary Stages debuts, is also under consideration, as is a solo show "in the tradition of" St. Nicholas and Virgins & Other Myths.
Now in its 14th season, Primary Stages is headed by artistic director Casey Childs. The company recently received three major grants -- from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Jerome Foundation, and New American Writers Group -- to help nurture new playwrights.
For tickets ($30-$35) and information on shows at Primary Stages, call (212) 333-7471.
-- By Robert Simonson
