Playwrights Horizons Announces Casting for A COOL DIP IN THE BARREN SAHARAN CRICK

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) will close its production of the World Premiere of A COOL DIP IN THE BARREN SAHARAN CRICK, a new play by Kia Corthron (Breath, Boom at Playwrights Horizons/PH, Force Continuum) and directed by Obie Award winner Chay Yew (Durango at The Public), on April 11th.

Presented as a co-production with The Play Company (Kate Loewald, Founding Producer; Lauren Weigel, Managing Producer) and Culture Project (Allan Buchman, Artistic Director), the production will begin previews on Thursday, March 4 with an Opening Night set for Sunday, March 28 at 7PM. The limited engagement will run through Sunday, April 11 at Playwrights Horizons' Peter Jay Sharp Theater (416 West 42nd Street). 

The cast will feature Keith Eric Chappelle (Cyrano de Bergerac on Broadway), William Jackson Harper (Ruined), Joshua King, Kianné Muschett (The Brother/Sister Plays) and Myra Lucretia Taylor (Crazy Mary and Fabulation at PH, Nine on Broadway).

In A COOL DIP IN THE BARREN SAHARAN CRICK, an African preacher-in-training (William Jackson Harper) comes to a drought-stricken rural American community to further his studies in religion and water conservation. He stays with a mother (Myra Lucretia Taylor) and daughter (Kianné Muschett) haunted by personal tragedy and takes a special interest in a young orphan (Joshua King) starved for guidance. In the face of all obstacles he maintains an infectious, unstinting optimism determined to battle - by any means necessary - the personal and political forces that threaten the ecology of his new home.

The production will feature scenic design by Kris Stone, costume design by Anita Yavich, lighting design by Ben Stanton and sound design by Darron L West. Production Stage Manager is Kasey Ostopchuck.

A COOL DIP IN THE BARREN SAHARAN CRICK is the result of a Playwrights Horizons' Time Warner commission and has received generous support from the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, Tiger Baron Foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and The Carter Fund.

Playwrights Horizons is supported in part by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate. In addition, Playwrights Horizons receives major support from Carnegie Corporation of New York, Charina Endowment Fund, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Shubert Foundation and Time Warner Inc.

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.