New Off-Broadway Theater Company is a Revelation
There’s a new theater group in town. Artistic director Leslie L. Smith and managing director David Elliott have announced the formation of Revelation Theater, the newest player on the Off-Broadway scene.
“Dedicated to celebrating voices that reflect challenging issues in contemporary American life,” the company’s statement of purpose reads, “Revelation Theater will assume the mission of presenting the New York premieres of original works which delve into experiences that challenge, inspire and uplift.” The company will debut with a production of David Wiltse’s modern-day thriller Temporary Help (November 12, 2002-January 13, 2003), starring Chad Allen of television’s Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman as a mysterious drifter who gets mixed up with a sinister Midwestern cattle rancher and his wife.
That production will be followed by Holy Cross Sucks!!! (January 8-February 17), a comedy by Rob Nash. Next up is But Not For Me (March 7-April 28), Keith Reddin’s real-time examination of the 1950 Richard Nixon-Helen Douglas California Senate election, to be directed by Revelation’s resident casting director, Billy Hopkins. The final entry in the company’s inaugural season will be Southern Baptist Sissies, a play about the difficulties of growing up gay in the Southern Baptist Church, written and directed by Del Shores. Tickets to any of these shows can be purchased through Telecharge at 212-239-6200; subscriptions to the entire season can be obtained by calling Revelation Theater at 212-947-7000.
In January 2003, Revelation Theater will move into a state-of-the-art 155-seat facility at 334 West 39th Street. While construction is being completed at that stie, the company will have a home at the Women’s Project Theater (formerly known as Theatre Four) at 424 West 55th Street, between Ninth and Tenth avenues.
Serving on Revelation’s artistic advisory board are Kathleen Chalfant, Anthony Rapp, Julie Halston, Lisa Kron, Jeff Calhoun, Chad Allen, Ken Elliot, Morgan Jenness, William M. Hoffman, Richard Kramer, and Del Shores. The members of the board of directors are Ben Pesner, Eileen T’Kaye, Elizabeth Williams, Arthur Pober, and Perry Halkitis.
