Playwrights Horizons Now Accepting LIVEforFIVE Entries for THE WHALE

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) begins accepting entries today, Wednesday, October 3, for its popular LIVEforFIVE online lottery for $5 tickets to the New York premiere of THE WHALE, a new play by Obie Award winner Samuel D. Hunter (A Bright New Boise), directed by Davis McCallum (February House, A Bright New Boise, the upcoming Water By the Spoonful at Second Stage). Due to the overwhelming response to Playwrights Horizons' 2012/2013 season, all productions are now playing longer runs to accommodate the larger subscription base. The limited engagement of THE WHALE, originally announced through Sunday, November 18, will now play through Sunday, December 2.

A ticketing initiative created in 2007 as part of Playwrights Horizons' Arts Access program, LIVEforFIVE makes a limited number of $5 tickets available for the first preview performance of each Playwrights Horizons production through a lottery via the company's website (www.PlaywrightsHorizons.org). The LIVEforFIVE lottery for THE WHALE will be for tickets to the first preview on Friday evening, October 12 at 7:30 PM at Playwrights Horizons' Peter Jay Sharp Theater (416 West 42nd Street).

Details for the LIVEforFIVE lottery are as follows: beginning today at 10AM, theatergoers can enter the lottery by filling out an entry form at www.PlaywrightsHorizons.org. Entries will be accepted until Tuesday, October 9 at 12 Noon. Winners of the lottery will be notified via email no later than 3PM on Tuesday, October 9 with instructions on how to book their $5 tickets. Unclaimed tickets will be offered via email to a limited standby list starting at 12 Noon on Wednesday, October 10 on a first-come, first-served basis. One or two tickets may be purchased for $5 each. Up to 30 tickets will be available for Sharp shows via the lottery.

The cast of THE WHALE features Theatre World Award winner Cassie Beck (The Drunken City and Prayer for My Enemy at PH, The Norman Conquests), Reyna de Courcy (Burning), Tony Award and Obie Award winner Shuler Hensley (Oklahoma!, Sweet and Sad, Young Frankenstein), Tasha Lawrence (Wilder, Wilder, Wilder; Good People) and Cory Michael Smith (The Shaggs at PH, the current Cock).

On the outskirts of Mormon Country, Idaho, a six-hundred pound recluse (Mr. Hensley) hides away in his apartment eating himself to death. Desperate to reconnect with his long-estranged daughter (Ms. de Courcy), he reaches out to her, only to find a viciously sharp-tongued and wildly unhappy teen. Big-hearted and fiercely funny, THE WHALE tells the story of a man's last chance at redemption, and of finding beauty in the most unexpected places.

Writing in The Denver Post on the World Premiere of THE WHALE at Denver Center Theatre in January, Ray Mark Rinaldi called it, "A rich night of theater. Very much a play of today and audiences ready to engage the times should understand its rewards."

The production features scenic design by Mimi Lien, costume design by Jessica Pabst, lighting design by Jane Cox and sound design by Fitz Patton. Production Stage Manager is Alaina Taylor.

The Arts Access program at Playwrights Horizons allows 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 and The McGraw-Hill Companies.

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