Coc Bloc! Shakespeare, Zindel Included in Jean Cocteau Rep’s First Off-B’way Season

Downtown’s Jean Cocteau Repertory joins the ranks of Off-Broadway theaters this year. In celebration, the 32-year-old company will offer a diverse season that mixes Shakespeare with Oscar Wilde and Paul Zindel with Chekhov, plus a little Marivaux besides. A permanent resident acting company that offers a nearly year-round season of mostly classical works, the JCR has accepted a new Equity contract designating it a full Off-Broadway venue.

Shakespeare’s Henry V, the Coc’s first production of the season, opens September 12 and will then be joined in repertory by Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. Later, producing artistic director David Fuller will take the company to Russia (for Uncle Vanya, directed by company founder Eve Adamson) and to The Land of Dysfunction (for Zindel’s heartbreaking Pulitzer Prize winner The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds). JCR’s final production of the season is to be Rod McLucas’s new translation of The Triumph of Love.

The Jean Cocteau Repertory is at 330 Bowery, at Bond Street. For tickets or more information, call 212-677-0060 or visit the company’s website.