Contact:
Rick Miramontez /Philip Carrubba
rick@oandmco.com /
philip@oandmco.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
LABYRINTH THEATER COMPANY
PRESENTS WORLD PREMIERE OF
“A V I E W F R O M 1 5 1ST S T R E E T”
A NEW PLAY BY BOB GLAUDINI
DIRECTED BY PETER DuBOIS
PERFORMANCES BEGIN FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5th
AT THE PUBLIC THEATER
COMPLETE CAST ANNOUNCED
New York, NY (September 11, 2007) –
LAByrinth Theater Company
(John Ortiz, Artistic Director; Philip Seymour Hoffman, Co-Artistic
Director; John Gould Rubin, Co-Artistic Director & Executive
Director),
now in residence at The Public Theater, has announced final casting for the opening production of their 2007-2008 season: the world premiere of the new play
A View From 151st Street by
Bob Glaudini with direction by
Peter DuBois. The cast will feature
Gbenga Akinnagbe,
Liza Colón-Zayas,
Craig “muMs” Grant,
Juan Carlos Hernandez,
Russell G. Jones,
Marisa Malone,
Elizabeth Rodriguez, and
Andre Royo.
Preview performances begin Friday, October 5, 2007 at The Public
Theater (475 Lafayette Street) for a limited engagement through Sunday,
November 4, 2007.
Opening night is set for Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.
LAByrinth Theater Company, which presented last season’s smash hit
Jack Goes Boating
by Bob Glaudini, presents Mr. Glaudini’s new play that centers around
the cops, rappers, dealers, teachers, hustlers, husbands and wives who
dwell in the rhythms of rap, raw humor, aphasic staccato and live jazz
on 151st Street in Manhattan.
The creative team includes
David Korins (Set),
Mimi O'Donnell (Costumes),
Japhy Weideman (Lighting),
Bart Fasbender (Sound),
Michael Cain (Composer),
Paul J. Thompson (Music Director),
Andrew Emer (Band Leader) with musicians
Nir Felder, and
Q.
The performance schedule for
A View From 151st Street is
Tuesdays at 7pm, Wednesdays – Saturdays at 8pm, Saturdays and Sundays
at 2pm, and Sundays at 7pm. Please note there will no 2:00pm
performances October 6, 7 & 13; and no tickets available for
Opening Night on Thursday, October 18. Now on sale, tickets are
$50 and available online at www.labtheater.org or by phone at
212.967.7555. Tickets can also be purchased in person as The
Public Theater Box Office (475 Lafayette Street).
www.labtheater.org
BIOS________________________________________
GBENGA AKINNAGBE Gbenga is best
known for his roles on the HBO series “The Wire” as Chris Partlow and
the Showtime series “Barbershop” as Yinka. He has previously appeared
in The Public Theater’s
Henry V (Shakespeare in the Park) and
The Controversy of Valladolid. Gbenga can next be seen in Fox Searchlight’s
The Savages with Laura Linney, Phillip Bosco, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
LIZA COLÓN-ZAYAS LAByrinth Company Member since 1992. Liza has appeared in numerous LAByrinth productions including
In Arabia We’d All Be Kings,
Our Lady of 121st Street, and
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, all written by Stephen Adly Guirgis and directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Her solo show
Sistah Supreme had a summer-long run at The First Hip-Hop Theater Festival at P.S. 122. She toured Europe in a production of A
Story of a Soldier, with acclaimed opera, theater, and TV director Peter Sellars. She received a Lucille Lortel nomination for
Living Out, directed by Jo Bonney. This summer she worked opposite Kevin Bacon in the HBO film
Taking Chance.
Other Television credits include “Rescue Me,” “Conviction,” “Law &
Order,” “Sex and the City,” “Hope and Faith,” “Jonny Zero,” “Law &
Order: SVU,” “Third Watch,” “The Bedford Diaries,” “Deadline” and “New
York Undercover.” This fall she’ll work with Robert DeNiro and Al
Pacino in the feature film
Righteous Kill.
CRAIG “muMs” GRANT LAByrinth Company Member since 2006. muMs was last seen onstage in LAByrinth’s
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot,
written by Stephen Adly Guirgis and directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman
at the Public Theater. He is best known for his role in the HBO prison
drama “Oz.” As the character 'Poet', muMs recited his own poetry on the
show for the entire six seasons. His other TV credits include “Law and
Order: CI,” “The Sopranos,” “Chappelle’s Show” and “Hack.” Film credits
include
The Interview,
Dark Water,
Everyday People and
Bamboozled. This fall muMs can be seen in three episodes of “Boston Legal” and the movies
Capers,
Ball Don’t Lie and
Order of Redemption.
JUAN CARLOS HERNANDEZ Juan Carlos is a graduate of Loyola University in New Orleans and the Juilliard School in NYC. Recent film work includes
The Mercy Man,
Company Retreat, and
Carlito’s Way II. Theater productions include
Souls of Naples,
A Question of Mercy, and
Wait Until Dark
on Broadway. Juan Carlos has worked on numerous television shows
including “Law & Order,” “Oz” and the voice of Fidel on PBS’s new
cartoon “Car Talk.”
RUSSELL G. JONES LAByrinth Company Member since 1995. Theater: originated roles in
Our Lady of 121st Street,
God,
The Crackhouse and The Devil,
The Death of Don Flagrante Delicto, and
In Arabia We’d All Be Kings. Television: “Law & Order,” “Law & Order CI,” “Spin City.” Film:
Traffic (SAG Best Ensemble),
Squeeze,
The Saint of Avenue B,
Companions, and coming soon,
Turntable (2006 Best Actor, San Diego Noir Festival).
MARISA MALONE Marisa was last seen in
The Notorious Bettie Page directed by Mary Harron. She was also the female lead in Eugene Garcia's
Burnt Eden,
which won the Public's Choice Award at the Montreal Festival of New
Cinema. A graduate of the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting, Marisa
is also an accomplished painter and has lived and worked in Paris,
France for several years. Her TV credits include "Sex in the City" and
"Law & Order".
ELIZABETH RODRIGUEZ LAByrinth
Company Member since 1998. Born and trained in New York City, Elizabeth
has appeared in numerous television shows and feature films including
“Law and Order,” “Six Feet Under,” “NYPD Blue,” “The Shield,” “ER,”
“OZ,” “Third Watch,” “Fresh,” “Return to Paradise,” “Acts of Worship,”
“Four Lane Highway,” “Dead Presidents,” and in the role of Gina
Calabrese in Michael Mann's feature
Miami Vice. Upcoming films include:
Tonight at Noon and
The Mayor's Limo. Rodriguez's stage credits include: Stephen Adly Guirgis'
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (LAByrinth in co-production with The Public Theater, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman) and
Den of Thieves (L.A.'s Black Dahlia); Nilo Cruz's
Beauty of the Father (MTC, directed by Michael Greif); and Brett C. Leonard's
Roger and Vanessa (L.A.'s Actors' Gang).
ANDRE ROYO Andre Royo currently
appears as the series regular character Bubbles on the HBO hit “The
Wire.” He has been featured on Lifetime’s “Strong Medicine,” UPN’s
“Cuts,” CBS’s “CSI: “Miami,” and
Jesus Children of America, a
short film directed by Spike Lee. Andre’s experience is not limited to
the small screen. He has been blessed to work with Samuel L. Jackson
and Jeffrey Wright on
Shaft, and with Blair Underwood in the independent feature
G. Most recently Andre appeared opposite Josh Hartnett in Austin Chick’s
August. On the film festival circuit Andre’s work in
Big Bank Take Little Bank received high praise at the American Black Film Festival and
Men Without Jobs premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Andre wrote his first short film,
Andre Royo’s Big Scene,
which in turn received praise at The Pan African Film Festival. As a
director/producer with his production company Dreamher Inc., Andre
stepped into theaters with his first directorial project,
In the Last Car,
which went on to win the Audience Award at the Downtown Urban Theater
Festival and was an official entry in the Hip-Hop Theater Festival.
BOB GLAUDINI (
Playwright)
LAByrinth Company Member since 2004. A few highlights: Poured a cement
foundation for a basement theater in a hotel in downtown San Diego and
stayed on to direct plays by Beckett, Genet, Ionesco, Brecht and
Pinter. Traveled east with a play,
The Shadow Ripens, and stayed to direct the world premiere of Sam Shepard’s
Mad Dog Blues at Theater Genesis. Directed the world premiere of
Cowboy Mouth,
written by and starring Mr. Shepard and co-author rock-poet Patti
Smith, at The American Place Theatre. Theater Genesis at St Mark’s
Church produced his plays
Against the Sun and
Borrowed Time. Wrote for “NYPD Blue.” His plays
The Claiming Race,
Sickness of Youth and
The Poison Tree were presented in the Mark Taper Forum’s New Works Festival.
The Poison Tree
was produced on the Taper’s mainstage in the ’99–’00 season. LAByrinth
Theater Company inaugurated its residency at The Public Theater with
his play
Dutch Heart of Man in 2004.
The Identical Same Temptation (2004) and
The Claiming Race (2005) were produced at Theatre for the New City. Most recently, his play
Jack Goes Boating (2007) was produced as part of LAByrinth’s 15th Anniversary Season.
PETER DuBOIS (
Director) Associate Producer at The Public Theater/NYSF, where directing credits include
Measure for Pleasure (2006
SSDC Callaway Award for distinguished direction of a NY production,
Drama League nom. Distinguished Production of a New Play, Top 10
Productions of 2006: Time Out, Newsday, TheaterMania),
Richard III with Peter Dinklage (Top 10 NY productions of 2004: Newsday),
Biro
(NY Times Critics Pick). Peter was previously the Artistic Director of
Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska. For Perseverance, selected
directing credits include Chekhov’s
The Seagull,
The Winter’s Tale,
Romeo and Juliet and
The Glass Menagerie, as well as the west coast premiere of Susan Lori Parks’
In the Blood and the world premiere of Chay Yew’s
The Long Season.
Other regional credits include Trinity Rep and California Shakespeare
Theatre. Peter is a two-time recipient of Rockefeller MAP grants, one
for his work as director of
The Doll Plays at Atlanta’s Actor’s Express, and the second for his work on Chay Yew’s
The Long Season
at Perseverance and The Public. Prior to his work at Perseverance
DuBois lived and worked in The Czech Republic, where he directed
professionally and co-founded Asylum, a multi-national squat theater.
He recently directed LAByrinth’s production of
Jack Goes Boating, by Bob Glaudini.
LABYRINTH THEATER COMPANY was founded in 1992 by a group of actors
who wanted to push their artistic limits, hone their craft, and create
new plays that truly reflected their heritage and experience. Today,
LAByrinth is comprised of almost 100 established and emerging theater
artists from a wide array of cultural perspectives. Led by Artistic
Director John Ortiz, co-Artistic Director Philip Seymour Hoffman and
co-Artistic Director and Executive Director John Gould Rubin, the
inclusive, multicultural ensemble encourages all members to write, act,
direct, and design, and supports multidisciplinary growth and
exploration in the creation of daring new work that celebrates the
diversity of its New York City home.
Over the last fifteen seasons, LAByrinth has developed hundreds of new plays and staged 47 productions including: J
ack Goes Boating (2007),
A Small, Melodramatic Story (2006),
Sailor’s Song (2004),
Dutch Heart of Man (2003),
Dirty Story (2003),
Our Lady of 121st Street (2002),
Where’s My Money? (2001),
Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train (1999), and
In Arabia, We’d All Be Kings
(1998). Now in its fifth season of residency at The Public Theater,
LAByrinth has also collaborated with The Public to develop new work,
with productions such as
School of The Americas (2006),
Guinea Pig Solo (2004), and
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (2005). For more information on LAByrinth Theater Company, visit
www.labtheater.org.
