Photo Coverage: Stage 13 Benefit for RISE AND FALL OF ANNIE HALL

Stage 13 (Artistic Directors: Dan Fogler, Sarah Saltzberg, Bjorn Thorstad) hosted a party this Monday, October 20 at 8:00PM at Bar 13 (35 East 13th St) to benefit their fall production, the New York Premiere of The Rise and Fall of Annie Hall by Sam Foreman. The benefit included 2-for-1 drinks, raffle prizes (including tickets to August: Osage County, dress rehearsal tickets to “Saturday Night Live,” and tickets to Don't Quit Your Night Job).

Performances for The Rise and Fall of Annie Hall begin Friday, October 24, and run through Sunday, November 9, at the Lion Theatre at Theatre Row (410 W. 42nd Street). Tickets are $30 and are available at www.TicketCentral.com or in person at the box office. Performances run Tuesday-Saturday at 8:00PM, and Sunday 3:00PM & 7:00PM.

“In this new comedy, Neurotic young playwright Henry Blume is on a mission to turn his favorite Woody Allen movie into the next great American musical. Betrayal, infidelity and romance fuel his reckless pursuit of Broadway glory, turning Henry's life upside down in this up to the minute, New York comedy about the perils of success in a notoriously cutthroat town,” describe press notes.

Sam Gold directs the cast of Noah Bean (FX’s “Damages”), Dan Fogler (Tony winner - Spelling Bee, Focus Features’ “Balls of Fury”), Kate Gersten, Erica Newhouse and Charles Socarides (The Marriage of Bette and Boo, Awake and Sing!). The Rise and Fall of Annie Hall will feature set and costume design by Dane Laffrey, lighting design by Ben Stanton and sound design by Jane Shaw. Rebecca Goldstein-Glaze is the production stage manager, and Lisa Dozier is the producer.

Stage 13 is an ensemble of artists with a common vision dedicated to creating new work for the American theater. The company grew out of Boston University's School for the Arts, where all three artistic directors were classmates along with many founding and current members. Though Stage 13 is only 2 years old, most of the artists have been working together in one form or another for the past decade on stages around the country as well as in NYC, including Broadway, off-Broadway, and improv theatres such as The Upright Citizens Brigade and the People's Improv Theater. In 2004, Sarah Saltzberg and Dan Fogler were part of the creative team behind the Tony Award winning The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and continued with the show to Broadway where it ran for almost three years. Since then, collaboration with fellow artists and institutions has been a cornerstone of Stage 13's mission. Recent projects include Dan Fogler's "Elephant in the Room" in the 2007 New York International Fringe Festival, "Hysterical Psycho" (an improvised comedy-horror film), "Meanwhile, On the Other Side of Mount Vesuvius" (by Jay Reiss, music by Scott Murphy and directed by Jon Carrafa, workshop at Yale Rep), and "The Voyage of the Carcass" (by Dan O’Brien, at Soho Rep). In addition, Stage 13 works closely with PolyPrep School in Brooklyn as part of an ongoing educational and community outreach component of its initiatives.

Photos by Linda Lenzi

Noah Bean and Sarah Saltzberg