Stephanie Hayes, Alenka Kraigher and More Set for The Public's OLD-FASHIONED PROSTITUTES (A TRUE ROMANCE)

The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) announced complete casting today for the world premiere of OLD-FASHIONED PROSTITUTES (A TRUE ROMANCE). Written, directed, and designed by Richard Foreman who has been working with The Public Theater for more than 36 years, OLD-FASHIONED PROSTITUTES (A TRUE ROMANCE) begins performances in The Public's Martinson Theater on Tuesday, April 30 and runs through Sunday, June 2, with an official press opening on Tuesday, May 7.

Single tickets, starting at $60, are on sale now and can be purchased by calling (212) 967-7555, www.publictheater.org, or in person at The Public Theater at Astor Place at 425 Lafayette Street. The Library at The Public will also be open nightly for food and drink, beginning at 5:30 p.m., and Joe's Pub will continue to offer some of the best music in the city.
The complete cast of Richard Foreman's OLD-FASHIONED PROSTITUTES (A TRUE ROMANCE) features Stephanie Hayes (Gabriella), Alenka Kraigher (Suzie), Nicolas Norena (Michelin Man), Rocco Sisto (Samuel), and David Skeist (Alfredo).

Foreman has a long history with The Public Theater that began in 1977 when he directed the Shakespeare in the Park production of The Threepenny Opera. His other Public Theater credits include Penguin Touquet (1981), Three Acts of Recognition (1982), Don Juan (1982), Egyptology: My Head Was A Sledgehammer (1983), The Golem (1984), Largo Desolato (1986), What Did He See? (1988), Venus (1996) and most recently, Idiot Savant in 2009, which he wrote, directed and designed.

Snapshots from an enigmatic fairy-tale in which Suzie, the elusive coquette, brings Samuel to hisknees - from where he worships a life he only half understands, OLD-FASHIONED PROSTITUTES (A TRUE ROMANCE) is an expressionistic chamber-play that twists emotional heartache into a landscape of continual mental invention. Marking the return to theater of a celebrated artist who the New York Times has dubbed "the Godfather of the American avant-garde," it is presented in association with Ontological-Hysteric Theater.

OLD-FASHIONED PROSTITUTES (A TRUE ROMANCE) features costume design by Gabriel Berry, and lighting design by Yael Lubetsky.

Richard Foreman (Playwright/Director) has been the Founder and Director of Ontological-Hysteric Theater since 1968 and has written, directed and designed more than 50 of his own plays in New York City and abroad. Among his honors are 10 OBIE Awards (including one for Sustained Achievement); a MacArthur "Genius" fellowship; a Guggenheim fellowship; the Literature award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters; a Lifetime Achievement Award in the Theater from the National Endowment for the Arts; the PEN Club Master American Dramatist Award; and election to the Order of Arts and Letters of France. He most recently directed Idiot Savant with Willem Dafoe at The Public Theater in 2009. His other Public Theater credits include The Threepenny Opera (1977), Penguin Touquet (1981), Three Acts of Recognition (1982), Don Juan (1982), Egyptology: My Head Was A Sledgehammer (1983), The Golem (1984), Largo Desolato (1986), What Did He See? (1988), and Venus (1996).

Stephanie Hayes (Gabriella) has recently appeared at The Public Theater in Gabriel Kahane and Seth Bockley's February House. She has also worked as an actor, writer, and musician in Sweden, the UK, and Canada. Her credits at the Yale School of Drama include The Seagull, Eurydice, Much Ado About Nothing, Homebody/Kabul, and Orestes. Her written plays include Rigor Mortis; Exit; Commander Kitty!; and Vaska Vaska Glöm: A Tale of Foreigners and Fish.

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