James Franco to Make Stage Directorial Debut
(© David Gordon)
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater has announced the lineup of productions set for its 20th anniversary season.
Kicking off Rattlestick's special summer season will be a world premiere production of Robert Boswell's The Long Shrift, directed by James Franco in his theatrical directorial debut. Performances will run from July 7-August 23 at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Film director Jennifer DeLia will also be making her theatrical debut this summer at the helm of Scott Organ's Phoenix, a coproduction with Poverty Row Entertainment. Julia Stiles and James Wirt are slated to star in the production, running from July 28-August 23 at the Cherry Lane Theatre.
The company will then present the second annual Theater:Village (the West Village Theater Festival), presented by Axis Theatre, Cherry Lane Theatre, New Ohio Theatre, and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Entitled E Pluribus, the festival will feature four new plays celebrating the diversity of America, running from September 3-October 5. The lineup will include Juárez: A Mythology Documentary, a coproduction with Theater Mitu at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, conceived and directed by Rubén Polendo. Additional festival plays will be announced in the near future.
The regular season will then continue with the world premiere of Pitbulls, written by Keith Josef Adkins and directed by Leah Gardiner. The production will run at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater from November 6-December 13.
The world premiere of Laith Nakli's Shesh Yak will follow, running from January 15-February 19, 2015, at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Bruce McCarty will direct.
Next will be the New York premiere of Everything You Touch, a coproduction with Boston Court and True Love Productions, written by Sheila Callaghan. Jessica Kubzansky will helm the production, set to run at the Cherry Lane Theatre from February 13-April 14, 2015.
Playwright Laura Eason will then present the world premiere of her new play, The Undeniable Sound of Right Now at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Directed by Kristen Kelly, performances will run from March 20-May 2, 2015.
The world premiere of Michael Laurence's Hamlet In Bed will follow in the same theater, featuring direction by Lisa Peterson. Performances will run from May 14-June 18, 2015.
Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, America, Kuwait, a world premiere play written and directed by Daniel Talbott, will be the final addition to the Rattlestick season. The production dates and location will be announced shortly.
