Durang, Gurney, Mee, Swados, Wellman, et al. Set for Flea’s 2006-2007 Season

Christopher Durang, A.R. Gurney, Charles Mee, Elizabeth Swados, and Mac Wellman are among the playwrights being presented this season by The Flea (41 White Street).

The season will begin with the world premiere of Gurney’s Post Mortem, October 10-December 9, to be directed by the Flea’s artistic director, Jim Simpson. The play, which is set in the not too distant future, tackles the validity of theater as a potent social force in a society rankled by political conservatism and the evangelical leanings of the right. Gurney has previously collaborated with Simpson and the Flea on O Jerusalem, Mrs. Farnsworth, and Screen Play.

Next up, in the Downstairs Theater, is the New York premiere of Mac Wellman’s Two September, November 19-December 16, directed by Loy Arcenas. The play is set in post-World War II Vietnam and focuses in part on a young female writer who is blacklisted by the House UnAmerican Affairs Committee. Wellman is a co-founder of the Flea.

The Flea will collaborate with the Chelsea Art Museum on Twas the Night Before, December 13-23, a group of 10-minute plays inspired by C. Clement Moore’s famed holiday poem. Durang, Swados, Wellman, Len Jenkin, and Roger Rosenblatt are among the participating playwrights.

Beginning in January, the Flea will host a workshop production of the Music-Theatre Group’s Golden Motors, by Wendy S. Walters and Derek Bermel, and The Rose Project, by Sonoko Kawahara, Deirdre Murray, and Susan Wheeler.

It will be followed by the New York premiere of Mee’s Limonade tous les Jours, March 8-April 28, directed by Simpson. The show, set in Paris, tells of the doomed love affair of an older man and a younger woman. Then, Lava, the acclaimed all-female troupe of acrobats, returns with a new work May 3-27.

Also on tap for the season are the Flea’s annual Playwrighting Festival, Dance @ the Flea, Dance Conversations, a monthly free presentation of works in progress followed by an open discussion, and the premiere of Music Bytes @ the Flea, a free concert series showcasing fresh works of both emerging and established contemporary composers.

For more information, call 212-226-0051 or visit www.theflea.org.