The Punishing Blow- August 13 @ The Kirk Theatre

THE YORK SHAKESPEARE COMPANY is pleased to announce the New York Premiere of Randy Cohen’s THE PUNISHING BLOW, directed by Seth Duerr, who together will be conducting Q&A sessions after every Saturday and Sunday matinee. THE PUNISHING BLOW will play a three-week limited engagement at the Kirk Theater (410 West 42nd Street address).  Performances begin Friday, August 13 and continue thru Saturday, August 28. Opening Night is Friday, August 13 (8 p.m.).

 

PRESS IS WELCOME AT ALL PERFORMANCES

Working in the classical Actor-Manager system, Seth Duerr directs and performs in four-time Emmy Award-winner and New York Times “Ethicist” Randy Cohen’s The Punishing Blow: An Illustrated Lecture Delivered by Order of the Orange County Criminal Court. Duerr directs and plays Leslie, an anti-Semitic college professor whose court-ordered public lecture is this play. Dark, yet humorous, Leslie’s lecture transcends its purpose and becomes a reflection on the nature of hate and of the professor himself. Following the performance, both Cohen and Duerr will hold a Q&A session on this provocative one-man show.

 

After being arrested for drunk driving followed by an anti-Semitic rant, college professor Leslie (Duerr) can avoid jail time if he enters rehab, attends anger management classes, and gives a lecture on a figure from a list of The 100 Most Influential Jews of All Time.  Rather than choose a more famous figure, such as Einstein or Moses, he picks Number 82: Daniel Mendoza, the 18th century British bare-knuckle boxing champion and father of “scientific boxing.”

 

In presenting the life and times of Mendoza, Leslie allows details about his personal life to creep into his monologue. The audience discovers, through quick and sardonic asides, what led him to this point, gaining insight to the professor’s tumultuous marriage, arrest, sentencing, and character.  The Punishing Blow is an exploration of anti-Semitism, boxing, marriage, and of a man’s own insecurity and bitterness.

 

 THE PUNISHING BLOW plays the following regular schedule through Sunday, August 28:

           Wednesdays at 8pm

Thursdays at 8pm

Fridays at 8pm

Saturdays at 2pm

Saturdays at 8pm

Sundays at 3pm

 

There is an added performance on Tuesday Aug 24, 2010 at 7pm

 

Tickets are $18 and are now available online at www.telecharge.com or by calling 212-239-6200. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Theatre Row Box Office, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily.  TDF vouchers accepted.

 

Running Time: 84 minutes, no intermission

 

Website: www.yorkshakespeare.org

 

Talkbacks with Randy Cohen and Seth Duerr every Saturday at 2pm and Sunday at 3pm. In addition, they will join guest speakers at the following performances:

·         Wednesday, August 18: David Margolick, an American journalist who was a contributing editor at Condé Nast Portfolio. Before joining Portfolio, Margolick was a longtime contributing editor at Vanity Fair, where he wrote about culture, the media, and politics.

 

·         Wednesday, August 25: Binnie Klein, author of Blows to the Head: How Boxing Changed My Mind.

 

·         Thursday, August 26: Paul Lukas, an ESPN contributor who obsesses over sleeve lengths, sock stripes, and other uniform minutiae in his Uni Watch column, and has been appearing on Page 2 since 2004.

 

·         Friday, August 27: David Rakoff, a Canadian-born writer based in New York City who is noted for his humorous, sometimes autobiographical non-fiction essays. Rakoff is an essayist, journalist and actor and is a regular contributor to Public Radio International’s This American Life.

Two Gentlemen of Verona

The award-winning JUDITH SHAKESPEARE COMPANY NYC, founded in 1995, returns to the NYC stage – for their first full Shakespeare production in six years! – with the gender-reversed romantic comedy Two Gentlemen of Verona, August 4-22 at TBG Theatre (312 West 36th Street).  JSC Artistic Director Joanne Zipay directs this comedy of youthful love and passion, betrayal and heartbreak, friendship and forgiveness.  Tickets are $25 at SMARTTIX or at the door (Reservations strongly suggested, as seating is limited.)  This production is made possible by the generous support of the New York State Council on the Arts, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Mr. Charles E. Bockwith and JSC’s individual donors.

August 4-22, 2010  -  Tuesday thru Saturday at 8PM / Sunday at 2PM  

                 (Additional 7PM performances on 8/8 and 8/15, additional 3PM performance on 8/21)

Where:            TBG Theatre, 312 West 36th Street (at 8th Ave.)

Tickets:          $25  at www.SMARTTIX.com  / 212-868-4444

                        (212-592-1885 for group or industry reservations)  TDF/V or $10 Student Rush tickets (with valid ID) at any performance

The Starship Astrov

Oberon Theatre Ensemble in association with The Midtown International Theatre Festival
is pleased to present the World Premiere production of THE STARSHIP ASTROV by Duncan
Pflaster, directed by Eric Parness. THE STARSHIP ASTROV will play 5 performances at
the Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row (410 W 42nd St). Performances begin Saturday, July
17th and continue through Saturday, July 31st.
Press are cordially invited to all performances.
Award-winning playwright Duncan Pflaster (Prince Trevor Amongst The Elephants) returns to the
Midtown International Theatre Festival with another classic-bender fantasy, a mashup of Chekhovian
comedy and science fiction.
The year is 3047. A diplomatic mission brings a professor, his lovely alien wife and his faithful doctor
aboard The Starship Astrov, where unspoken love and misunderstandings abound between the
ship’s crew and guests. Asking the question, will humanity stay the same, or will the future change us?
Featuring Walter Brandes*, Elizabeth A. Davis*, Philip Emeott, Ariel Estrada*, Jennifer
Gawlik*, Rafael Jordan* and Christine Verleny.
Mark Richard Caswell is the costume designer, Isabella F. Byrd is the lighting designer, and
Nick Moore is the sound designer. Jenna Lazar is the production stage manager, and Jaime
Carrillo is the assistant director.
THE STARSHIP ASTROV plays the following performances through Saturday, July 31st:
Saturday, July 17th at 9:00pm
Tuesday, July 20th at 8:00pm
Friday, July 23rd at 8:00pm
Thursday, July 29th at 7:00pm
Saturday, July 31st at 2:00pm
Tickets are $18.00. Visit www.ticketcentral.com to purchase online, or call 212-279-4200. Tickets are
also available at Theatre Row’s box office open from 12pm – 8pm.
For more information visit: www.OberonTheatre.org
For more information about the festival, visit www.MidtownFestival.org
Press photos are available at: http://picasaweb.google.com/kampfirefilms/TheStarshipAstrov#
Running Time: 90 minutes.
*Appearing Courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association.

Love Me Tinder - July 21 - August 1 2010

From July 21 to August 1, 2010, Mike Reardon and Write Paths Studio
in association with the Midtown International Theatre Festival,
will present Martin Dove’s riveting drama, Love Me Tinder.
For more information visit us on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Love-Me-Tinder/122056477821669
For tickets go to http://www.midtownfestival.org.

Love Me Tinder is the explosive debut drama by Martin Dove.
Shocking revelations and insights into the human psyche run
rampant in this unconventional love triangle. At times hilarious,
devastating, and touching, this play is a must-see!

Love Me Tinder tells the story of 17-year-old Dusty Simmons
who left his home in Secaucus, New Jersey in 1984.
He left everything: his girlfriend, his best friend, and his
youthful dreams. Ten years later, on Valentine’s Day,
Dusty returns and finds that sometimes…it’s too late to come home.

Love Me Tinder (Equity Approved)
by Martin Dove
The Main Stage Theater
312 W. 36th Street, 4th floor
New York, NY

7/21-Wed-8PM;
7/24-Sat-6PM;
7/25-Sun-4PM;
7/29-Thu-6PM;
7/31-Sat-6PM;
8/01-Sun-4PM

The Midtown International Theatre Festival’s 2010 Season runs from July 12 -
August 1, 2010 at the Beckett Theatre, Theatre Row, 410 W. 42nd Street, NYC;
the June Havoc Theatre, 312 W. 36th Street, 1st floor; the Dorothy Strelsin
Theatre, 312 W. 36th Street, 1st floor; the Main Stage Theater, 312 W. 36th
Street, 4th floor; and the Jewel Box Theater, 312 W. 36th Street, 4th floor.
Tickets are $18 ($15 for Short Subjects). Tickets for shows at the June
Havoc Theatre, the Dorothy Strelsin Theatre, the Main Stage Theater, and the
Jewel Box Theater are available at www.midtownfestival.org
or by phone at 866-811-4111. Tickets for
shows at the Beckett Theatre, Theatre Row are available at
www.ticketcentral.com

The Midtown International Theatre Festival, now in its eleventh year,
celebrates the diversity of theatre. The MITF welcomes theatrical
storytelling across a broad spectrum of genres, forms, identities, cultures,
and appetites. The MITF seeks to nurture these new ideas, perspectives, and
stories on its stages, with an eye set on guiding these productions toward
future success and longevity. The festival, traditionally held in summer,
represents a fantastic, often paradoxical, adventurous and intriguing
cross-section of the forefront of the theatre world. The MITF proudly hosts
production companies from across the country and around the globe, uniting
talent in one of the biggest theatre capitals in the world.

Mr. Chatterton created the MITF, a Midtown alternative to other theatre
festivals, in 2000 as a way to present the finest off-off Broadway talent in
convenience, comfort, and safety. In 2008, the Festival added two 99-seat
theatres and inaugurated the Commercial Division for upwardly mobile shows
with commercial ambitions. The MITF’s artistic emphasis is on the script
itself and therefore the Festival requests minimal production values.

Asian Belle - 7/15, 7/17, 7/23, 7/24, 8/01 @ The Abingdon Theater

What happens when a sweet southern belle realizes…..she’s not so southern after all??

An Alabama nail salon, Vacation Bible School, school musical type casting- the daughter of a Vietnamese war bride spends her youth aspiring to be a Southern Belle…a funny, touching and true solo show. Y’all come see it!

performance schedule:

Thursday, 7/15 @ 6pm

Saturday 7/17 @ 3pm

Friday 7/23 @ 8pm

Saturday 7/24 @ 5pm

Sunday 8/01 @ 4pm

The Abingdon Theater

312 W 36th Street, Floor 6

New York, NY  10018

subway:  A, C, E, 1, 2, 3, B, D, F, R, N, Q, and W

                to 34th Street  (walk toward 8th Ave and up to 36th St)

tickets:  $18

purchase at:  www.michelleglick.com