Pearl Theatre to Present HENRY IV, PART 1, 2/15-3/17

The Pearl Theatre Company continues its 29th season-the first season in its new home on West 42nd Street-with Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1. On the heels of acclaim for its current Bard-centric production, In Acting Shakespeare, The Pearl picks up where the company left off after last year's staging of Richard II, directed by Artistic Director J. R. Sullivan. Henry IV, Part 1 is directed by Davis McCallum and features Resident Acting Company members Bradford Cover as King Henry and Dan Daily as Falstaff.

Performances of Henry IV, Part 1 will take place February 15-March 17 at The Pearl Theatre. Critics are welcome as of Thursday, February 28 for an official opening of Sunday, March 3 at 7pm. The Pearl Theatre is located at 555 West 42nd Street in New York City. Tickets are $65 ($50 previews, $35 seniors, $20 students, $20 Thursday rush) and can be purchased by visiting pearltheatre.org or calling 212.563.9261.

McCallum (Water by the Spoonful, The Whale) whirls us into a world where the rule of Henry and the magnificent misrule of Jack Falstaff are about to collide. While the king prepares for war, brash Prince Hal and a boisterous crew of robbers and rascals laugh at the gathering storm. Shakespeare's rousing tale of comic conspiracies and heroic deeds reveals how a Prince's coming of age will shape the fate of a nation-one way or another.

The cast of Henry IV, Part 1 includes Pearl Resident Acting Company (RAC) member Bradford Cover (Broadway: A Thousand Clowns, Pearl's 1998 production of Richard II) as Henry, Pearl RAC member Dan Daily (Pearl's The Philanderer, The Bald Soprano) as Falstaff, Obie Award-winning Pearl RAC member Sean McNall (Broadway: A Life in the Theatre, Pearl's 2011 production of Richard II) as Northumberland, Pearl RAC member Lee Stark (Pearl's Playboy of the Western World) as Lady Percy, Pearl RAC member Dominic Cuskern (Broadway's Inherit the Wind; Pearl's Twelfth Night) as Glendower, Pearl RAC member Chris Mixon (Pearl's Figaro; The Mint's Dr. Knock) as Worcester, John Brummer (Long Day's Journey Into Night at Actors Theatre of Louisville) as Prince Hal. Cast also includes Shawn Fagan as Hotspur, Michael Irish as Walter Blunt, Ade Otukoya as John of Lancaster, Ruibo Quian as Lady Mortimer, and Will Sturdivant as Mortimer.

The creative team includes Daniel Zimmerman (Sets), Whitney Locher (Costumes), Michael Chybowski (Lighting), Peter John Still (Sound), Kate Farrington (Dramaturg) and Dale Smallwood (Production Stage Manager).

And while The Pearl's 2013-2014 season has not been announced, Artistic Director J. R. Sullivan confirms that Henry V will anchor the season. "Henry IV is one of the greatest works in the entire Shakespearean canon," says J. R. Sullivan, The Pearl's Artistic Director, "and it occupies the heart of the tetralogy of plays that culminate in Henry V. More than a 'history play' in any narrowly defined sense, Henry IV, Part 1 vaults into levels of dramatic scope and comic sweep that advanced all of Shakespeare's history plays into entirely new considerations."

On Davis McCallum's unique take on Henry IV, Sullivan says, "Henry IV is a story of family-focused on a son, Prince Hal, who has in effect two fathers, one of blood but another whom he has chosen. Director Davis McCallum brings an acutely perceptive eye and ear to this remarkable play. His dynamic take on the work, given physical life by his design team, is especially strong for our times, as well as our Acting Company, and The Pearl's new performance space on 42nd Street."

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