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Home , John Guare, Man of La Mancha, Mitch Leigh

199 14th Street Tickets: (212) 352-3101 OR , NY 11215 www.galleryplayers.com www.galleryplayers.com Administration: (718) 595-0547 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : Matt Schicker June 2007 [email protected] 718.595.0547 x4

THE GALLERY PLAYERS ANNOUNCES 41st SEASON: Six Degrees of Separation; Yank! A New Musical; The Santaland Diaries; The Wild Party; Lysistrata; ; 11th Annual Black Box New Play Festival

New York, NY—The Gallery Players, Brooklyn’s premier Off-Off Broadway theater, announces its 41st season in 2007-2008. With a diverse lineup of plays and musicals, this 41st season continues The Gallery Players’ mission to produce quality live theater in Brooklyn and to provide theater artists with opportunities to work on great material. This season also offers some exciting new changes for The Gallery Players’ audience members. This year, for the first time ever, The Gallery Players has added 2PM Saturday matinee performances to the last 2 weekends of each show.

The Gallery Players kicks off its season with John Guare’s award-winning Six Degrees of Separation, September 15-30, 2007. Based on an actual incident, John Guare’s play is a witty and biting commentary on the things that drive people - the desire for wealth, fame, social standing, and meaningful human connection. The 1993 film version of Six Degrees starred (Grease, The West Wing) and (Men In Black, Independence Day). Six Degrees of Separation will be produced by Cathy Bencivenga.

Yank! A New Musical with book and lyrics by David Zellnik and music by Joseph Zellnik runs October 20- November 4, 2007. Those who missed its 7 sold-out performances in the 2005 Festival will get to see this new musical that garnered rave reviews. A love song to Hollywood's "it takes one of every kind" platoon flicks and to 1940s Broadway, Yank! tells the story of a war reporter named Stu and an army private named Mitch who fall in love and struggle to survive in a time and place where the odds are stacked against them. Suffused with songs in period style (swing, big band, boogie-woogie) Yank! explores what stories don’t get told in wartime, and how WWII became the great catalyst in bringing gay men and women together. With the hot-button topics of “don’t ask, don’t tell” military policy and gay marriage currently poised to be at the forefront of national politics for the November 2008 presidential election, The Gallery Players’ mounting of Yank! is timely indeed. Yank! A New Musical will be produced by Matt Schicker.

From December 1-16, 2007, The Gallery Players explores the ‘anti-holiday’ cult classic, The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris, adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello. Sedaris’ absurd and acerbic account of working as a Christmas elf at Macy’s in Manhattan mercilessly cuts through the Christmas spirit to point out the insane things we humans do during the holidays. His wry observations and social critique have made him one of the most renowned humorists today. The Santaland Diaries will be produced by Réne Becker.

The Gallery Players will throw The Wild Party February 2-24, 2008. With its award winning score - book, music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa - The Wild Party is a tale of moral decadence and out of control. It’s the Roaring Twenties and the party to end all parties is being thrown by a Vaudeville dancer and a Vaudeville clown who are in love/hate relationship marked by turmoil and recklessness – very much like the time in which they live. The era - flappers, hot jazz, booze, and sex! The guests - an assortment of people who are living on the very edge. The party – wild. And decadent frivolity leads to a violent end. The Wild Party will be produced by Heather Siobhan Curran.

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Continuing its tradition of presenting classic plays with a new twist, The Gallery Players presents Lysistrata by Aristophanes March 15-30, 2008. This audacious antiwar classic, filled to the brim with hilarious innuendo, exposes the shared humanity between two feuding peoples. The women of the warring factions wage a psychological battle of their own when they take over the Acropolis and withhold their sexual favors from the savage local men until such time as the insane conflict is ended.

The Gallery Players presents one of the most beloved musicals of Broadway’s Golden Age, Man of La Mancha, April 26-May 18, 2008. Book by , music by , and lyrics by , the musical tells the tale of author who, imprisoned and awaiting trial before the , joins with his fellow prisoners to perform a play about de la Mancha, the mad knight who quests for justice and tilts at windmills. “The Impossible Dream”, the show’s world-famous hit song, has been recorded by practically every major vocalist, from Frank Sinatra to Placido Domingo to Elvis Presley.

Where can a playwright find an outlet? Where can an audience see new works? The Gallery Players provides both of these in its 11TH Annual Black Box New Play Festival from June 5-29, 2008. Over the years of producing the Festival, The Gallery Players has developed works by countless playwrights, many of whom continue to use the Festival each year to incubate their new ideas. More than 150 plays have appeared in the Black Box New Play Festival since its inception and this year will bring even more writing and acting talent to the stage.

Located in Park Slope, but beloved on both sides of the Brooklyn Bridge, The Gallery Players have been called “local heroes” by Time Out New York and past productions have earned the praise of respected theater artists such as Terrence McNally, , James Rado, André De Shields, Golden, Lorraine Serabian, and others. An Equity Showcase House celebrating its 41st season, The Gallery Players’ exciting productions and nurturing atmosphere have attracted the best actors, directors, designers, and musicians in New York. Among the well -known alumni of The Gallery Players are (, , Torch Song Trilogy), Jennifer Barnhart (), Manoel Felciano ( ), Diedre Goodwin ( , C h i ca g o ), Seth Rudetsky ( S e t h ’ s Broadway Chatterbox), Garrett Long ( The Spitfire Grill), John Rando (director of Broadway’s U r i n e t o w n a n d The Wedding Singer), Brian Charles Rooney ( The Threepenny Opera), Fred Rose ( ), Jonathan C. Kaplan ( , The Diary of Anne Frank) and many other artists.

Schedule: Performances take place Thursdays-Saturdays at 8PM, Sundays at 3PM. New added performances: Last 2 Saturdays of each production at 2PM (except Yank!, which will have a Saturday matinee on November 3 only). Complete information on each production, including a calendar of performances and instructions on how to buy tickets and subscriptions, can be found 24 hours a day at: www.galleryplayers.com

Individual tickets for each performance are $18 for Adults and $14 for children and Senior Citizens. Single ticket sales can be made on-line at www.galleryplayers.com or by calling TheaterMania at (212) 352-3101.

The Gallery Players is located at 199 14th St., between 4th and 5th Aves. in Park Slope, Brooklyn . Take the F t r a i n t o 4th Ave.; R Train to 9th St. By car: BQE to Avenue to 14th Street.

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199 14th Street Tickets: (212) 352-3101 OR Brooklyn, NY 11215 www.galleryplayers.com www.galleryplayers.com Administration: (718) 595-0547

THE GALLERY PLAYERS 2007-2008 SEASON

SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION by John Guare September 15 - 30, 2007

YANK! A NEW MUSICAL Book and Lyrics by David Zellnik Music by Joseph Zellnik October 20 – November 4, 2007

THE SANTALAND DIARIES by David Sedaris adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello December 1 - 16, 2007

THE WILD PARTY Book, Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa February 2 – 24, 2008

LYSISTRATA by Aristophanes March 15 – 30, 2008

MAN OF LA MANCHA Book by Dale Wasserman Music by Mitch Leigh Lyrics by Joe Darion Directed by Matt Schicker April 26 – May 18, 2008

11th Annual BLACK BOX NEW PLAY FESTIVAL World Premiere Plays by Tri-State Area Playwrights June 5 – 29, 2008