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PRESS RELEASE: For immediate and ongoing inclusion in all theatrical, entertainment, events, calendars (post through October 25th, 2008)
PR Contact: John DiDonna
Contact Phone (not box office): 407.314.4272 (cell)
Contact email: jdidonna@bellsouth.net
t h e e m p t y s p a c e s t h e a t r e c o
in co-production with
Warren Acting Company
is proud to present the Central Florida Premier of
“the fire-breathing new drama by Stephen Adly Guirgis” – NY Times
JESUS HOPPED THE A TRAIN
The Empty Spaces Theatre Co, (an ongoing collaboration between John DiDonna, Seth Kubersky, Anna DeMers and Kevin G Becker) and Mt Dora’s Warren Acting Company (Joel and Amanda Warren) are proud to present this “shocking, shattering, stunningly well-written” (– The Daily Telegraph) work by New York playwright and LAByrinth Theatre Company member Stephen Adly Guirgis.
Set in the urban landscape of the New York Correctional system and Riker’s Island, Guirgis mixes searing and visceral drama with dark comedy, as he explores timeless yet contemporary themes of guilt and innocence, judgment and desperation, . . .and the true nature of redemption – the path of which is not always as clean and clear as we would hope.
Jesus Hopped the A Train - originally produced by New York’s LAByrinth Theatre Company and directed by acclaimed actor Philip Seymour Hoffman - won the Edinburgh Fringe First Award, the Detroit Free Press Play of the year, and was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award as Best New Play.
The production features well known Central Florida actor Dennis Neal as Lucius Jenkins, a drug addicted “god fearing man” awaiting extradition and death in Florida for crimes so heinous that they are numbing; Roger Floyd as Angel Cruz, a man who perhaps has done the most loving and heroic thing, in all the wrong ways; Alexis Jackson as Mary Jane Hanrahan, the public defender caught between doing the right thing, or doing the right thing; Lawrence Benjamin as D’Amico, a former prison guard who is guilty of one thing – liking Lucius Jenkins: and Jeremy Wood as Valdez, a guard best described as “Man ain’t nothing but a test of faith”. The work is directed in Empty Spaces’ collaborative form by John DiDonna, with co-direction by Seth Kubersky and Joel Warren.
The Empty Spaces Theatre Co/Warren Acting Company production is the Central Florida Premier of this fiery work by Guirgis, and will play for a limited three week run in Loch Haven Park ’s John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center, in the Mandell Theatre beginning October 9th, and playing through October 25th.
Tickets are available by calling 407.328.9005, or on the internet at www.redchairproject.com
WHAT: Jesus Hopped The A Train
The Central Florida Premier of this searing drama from
Stephen Adly Guirgis
WHO: The Empty Spaces Theatre Co. and the Warren Acting Company
Collaborative direction by John DiDonna with co-direction by Seth Kubersky and Joel Warren.
Featuring: Dennis Neal, Roger Floyd, Alexis Jackson, Lawrence Benjamin and Jeremy Wood
WHERE: The John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center
Mandell Theatre
Located in Loch Haven Park (corner of 1792 bordered by Princeton and Rollins Streets)
Orlando , Florida
WHEN: October 9th, 10th, and 11th evening performances
October 17th, 18th evening performances and Sunday Matinee on the 19th
October 24th and 25th evening performances
Evening Box office opens @ 8pm / Matinee @ 2pm
Evening Doors open @ 8:20pm / Matinee @ 2:20pm
Evening Curtain @ 8:30pm / Matinee @ 2:30pm
TICKETS: General Admission - $22.00
Student and Senior - $15.00
(special discounts are available)
Reservations available by calling 407.328.9005 or online at www.redchairproject.com (beginning Friday, September 26th)
PARKING: Parking is available in the public parking areas of Loch Haven Park , as well as paid parking available in the Orlando Science Center Parking Garage located on Princeton Street across from the Park.
WARNING: Jesus Hopped the A Train contains adult language and violent themes.
AUTHOR BIO: (http://www.newdramatists.org/stephen_adly_guirgis.htm)
Stephen Adly Guirgis: is a longtime member of LAByrinth. His play, Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train, completed a critically praised Off-Broadway run, won the Fringe Festival Award at the Edinburgh Festival, moved to London ’s Donmar Warehouse, and transferred to The Arts Theatre in London ’s West End under the direction of Phillip Seymour Hoffman. The play was also produced and extended by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago during the 2001-2002 season. New productions are forthcoming this season both regionally and throughout Europe and South America . Jesus is included in the Smith and Krauss anthology Best Plays of 2001. His previous play, In Arabia, We’d All Be Kings, was also produced by LAByrinth, directed by Phillip Seymour Hoffman and published through DPS. It was named one of the Ten Best Plays of 1999 by Time Out NY magazine. Stephen is the recipient of new play commissions from Manhattan Theatre Club and South Coast Repertory, and is a member of MCC’s Playwright’s Coalition. TV writing credits include “NYPD Blue,” “The Sopranos,” David Milch’s “Big Apple” and NBC’s “UC: Undercover.” Stephen developed and directed Liza Colon-Zayas Sistah Supreme and Marco Greco’s Cable Ace Award winning “Behind the Counter with Mussolini.” He continues to work as an actor and begins shooting Brett C. Leonard’s Jailbait opposite Michael Pitt this fall.