Birney, Williams, Pawk Lead A SMALL FIRE at Playwrights Horizons, Previews 12/16

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) has announced complete casting for the World Premiere of A SMALL FIRE, a new play by Obie Award winner Adam Bock (The Drunken City at PH, The Receptionist, The Thugs, Swimming in the Shallows). Directed by Trip Cullman (Adam Bock's The Drunken City at PH and Swimming in the Shallows, plus Bachelorette, Some Men, The Last Sunday in June, the upcoming Edgewise), the production will begin previews Thursday, December 16 at 8PM with an Opening Night set for Thursday, January 6 at 7PM. The limited engagement will play through Sunday, January 23 at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street).

The cast will feature three-time Obie Award and Drama Desk Award winner Reed Birney (Circle Mirror Transformation, The Savannah Disputation at PH, Blasted), Tony Award nominee Celia Keenan-Bolger (Saved at PH, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Les Misérables), Tony Award winner Michele Pawk (Prayer for My Enemy at PH, Hollywood Arms, Cabaret, Mamma Mia!) and NAACP nominee Victor Williams (Deacon Palmer on "The King of Queens," Troilus and Cressida for New York Shakespeare Festival).

When a tough-as-nails contractor (Ms. Pawk) finds her senses slipping on the brink of her daughter's (Ms. Keenan-Bolger) wedding, the impact on her family is nothing less than seismic. A SMALL FIRE is a human parable in which unexpected loss leads to an unlikely love story.

The production will feature scenic design by Loy Arcenas, costume design by Ilona Somogyi, lighting design by David Weiner and sound design by Robert Kaplowitz. Production Stage Manager is Lori Ann Zepp.

The performance schedule for A SMALL FIRE will be Tuesdays at 7PM, Wednesdays through Fridays at 8PM, Saturdays at 2:30 PM & 8PM and Sundays at 2:30 PM & 7:30 PM. Single tickets, $70, may be purchased online via www.TicketCentral.com, by phone at (212) 279-4200 (Noon-8pm daily), or in person at the Ticket Central Box Office, 416 West 42nd Street (between Ninth & Tenth Avenues). There are special added Monday evening performances on December 20 and 27 and January 3, all at 7PM, as well as a special added Wednesday matinee on December 29 at 2:30 PM.
A ticketing initiative created as part of Playwrights Horizons' Arts Access program, LIVEforFIVE makes available $5 tickets for the first preview performance of each Playwrights Horizons production through a lottery via the company's website. The LIVEforFIVE lottery for A SMALL FIRE will be for tickets to the first preview on Thursday, December 16 at 8 PM. Details for the lottery are as follows: beginning Wednesday, December 8 at 10 AM, theatergoers can enter the lottery by filling out an entry form at www.playwrightshorizons.org. Entries will be accepted until Monday, December 13 at 12 Noon. Winners of the lottery will be notified via email no later than 3:00 PM on Monday, December 13 with instructions on how to book their $5 tickets. Unclaimed tickets will be offered via email starting at 12 Noon on Tuesday, December 14 on a first-come, first-served basis. One or two tickets may be purchased for $5 each. At least 50 tickets will be available for Mainstage shows via the lottery.

Reflecting Playwrights Horizons' ongoing commitment to making its productions more affordable to younger audiences, the theater company will offer HOTtix, $20 rush tickets, subject to availability, day of performance only, starting one hour before showtime to patrons aged 30 and under. Proof of age required. One ticket per person, per purchase. STUDENT RUSH, $15 rush tickets, subject to availability, day of performance only, starting one hour before curtain to full-time graduate and undergraduate students. One ticket per person, per purchase. Valid student ID required.
LIVEforFIVE, HOTtix and STUDENT RUSH are some of Playwrights Horizons' popular Arts Access initiatives, which allow the institution to reach out to those who may not be able to afford the cost of a full-price theater ticket. This program is supported, in part, by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The McGraw-Hill Companies and the Elroy and Terry Krumholz Foundation.
A special open captioned performance of A SMALL FIRE for theatergoers who are deaf and hard of hearing will be held on the Saturday, January 8 matinee at 2:30 PM. Funding for this program is provided, in part, by the Theodore H. Barth Foundation and the Theatre Development Fund's TAP Plus program in cooperation with the New York State Council on the Arts.

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