It's official! CLIVE rehearsals have begun!

World Premiere

CLIVE

By Jonathan Marc Sherman

Directed by Ethan Hawke

with Brooks Ashmanskas, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ethan Hawke, Zoe Kazan, and more

Inspired by Bertolt Brecht's inflammatory play Baal, Clive tracks a dissipated songwriter in 1990s New York City from the hedonistic heights of seduction and consumption into an ecstasy of self-destruction. This production reunites Jonathan Marc Sherman and Ethan Hawke, who teamed previously at The New Group on Things We Want (written by Sherman, directed by Hawke). At once a celebration and a nightmare vision of life lived for pleasure, Clive boasts an eclectic selection of classic American songs performed live.

Set Design: Derek McLane

Costume Design: Cathy Zuber

Lighting Design: Jeff Croiter

Sound Design: Shane Rettig

Original Music: GAINES

CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS

CYNTHIA ROWLEY INTERVIEWS GRETCHEN MOL ON FASHION AND THEATER

Gretchen Mol: I think what it was is that I had just started working on the show Boardwalk Empire—and it's been such a great experience. It’s so much bigger than anything I can ever do or even bring to it. Especially with having Martin Scorsese, and everyone else who is involved. Then I got the script for The Good Mother. I read it and thought it was amazing. It really drove me to take the role. I really wanted something that would require the use of my entire being. 

What I found working on it is that the script is a pretty strong skeleton; the script is a very strong piece. The director, Scott Elliott, has been doing this for a while, and he knew what he was doing. I get so many different reactions from people who have seen it—family, friends. It’s been a great thing, and I am exhausted, but it’s good.

CR: Do you think you will do theater again?

GM: Yes, and next time I won’t be as afraid as I was this time around. For actresses, theater is always a place where there are endless strong roles. It’s just not the same with television. I see it as an investment for my future. They keep the door open for you; there will always be parts there. A lot of the actors on Boardwalk do theater, and it’s good to keep those muscles going.

Click here to see more of the interview on Elle.com!!!

Next week for our New Group/New Works Series

FUCK TALK 

by Dave Flebotte 

directed by Steve Cosson 

Tuesday, December 11th at 7 pm

"As long as we don't physically do anything, I don't see the harm in two people talking, do you?"

Please join us for a reading of provocative and rich play by Dave Flebotte (writer on Boardwalk Empire and Desperate Housewives, among others).

 At 42, Dan has logged 23 years soldering transformers, when Linda joins him on the next bench over. It being her 41st birthday, they first connect over age worries, but soon stumble into a game of sharing sexual fantasies. While keeping their noses in their work, what begins as fun leads them into deeper emotional waters than either expect.

To reserve your complimentary tickets,

 please RSVP to seats@thenewgroup.org.

Seating is limited. Hope to see you there!

Ian Morgan 

Associate Artistic Director

FUCK TALK by Dave Flebotte 

Tuesday, December 11th at 7pm 

 Studio Theatre at Theatre Row 

 410 W 42nd St. New York, NY 10036 

 Fourth floor

Cynthia Rowley Goes Off-Broadway

Why fashion designer Cynthia Rowley joined The New Group's The Good Mother- Check it out!

Gretchen Mol on Her ‘Delicious’ Role in The Good Mother, Shocking Fans on Boardwalk Empire & More

Check out this great interview on Broadway.com!

A New Group November Update

TONIGHT!!!

The Opening Night For The Good Mother

 

Performance Schedule:
Monday-Wednesday @ 7pm, Thursday-Friday @ 8pm,
Saturday @ 2pm and 8pm
Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street

Get your tickets here!!

Check out this great "After The Rehearsal" clip with
The Good Mother's Alfredo Narciso!

---

Coming up soon as part of our

New Group/New Works series...

ALIEN CHILD

by Jim Shankman

directed by Craig George

Monday, November 19th at 7 pm

With

Jessica Dickey, Shana Dowdeswell, Jacob Liberman,

Wayne Maugans, and Jill Shackner

Please join us for our third reading of the season, Charlie is a severely autistic teen, and her twin brother Jonah is the only one who can calm her down. When their parents begin to cave under pressure to give up Charlie's care, Jonah refuses to let her go - and things get ugly fast. Jim Shankman's sparkling, insightful, and often comically absurd play gets us inside the chaos that this crisis creates for this family, beautifully balancing the perspectives of Jonah, Charlie, and their parents.

To reserve your complimentary tickets, please RSVP to seats@thenewgroup.org.

Seating is limited.

ALIEN CHILD by Jim Shankman

Monday, November 19th at 7pm

Studio Theatre at Theatre Row

410 W 42nd St.

Fourth floor

2012-2013 Season

• • FALL 2012 • •
World Premiere

THE GOOD MOTHER
By Francine Volpe

Directed by Scott Elliott

With Darren Goldstein, Gretchen Mol,

Alfredo Narciso, Eric Nelsen and  Bill Sage

In this taut psychological thriller, Larissa is a single mother who can barely meet the mortgage on her house in Mount Vernon, NY. When a bizarre incident involving her 4-year-old daughter forces her to face someone from her past, her own questionable actions come back to haunt her. Gretchen Mol stars as Larissa in this suspenseful drama by Francine Volpe, in a world premiere production at The New Group.

Set Design: Derek McLane
Costume Design: Cynthia Rowley
Lighting Design: Jason Lyons
Sound Design: Bart Fasbender

Previews begin October 29th
Opening November 15th
Closing December 22nd

Performance Schedule:
Monday-Wednesday @ 7pm, Thursday-Friday @ 8pm,
Saturday @ 2pm and 8pm
Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street

Tickets on Sale beginning September 13th

Bunty Berman Presents... Workshop

Here is a sneak peak of the Bunty Berman Presents... workshop. Enjoy!

Table Read with the Actors

Paul Bogaev

 

Russian Transport Artists Drop By!

Raviv Ullman

Sarah Steele

Morgan Spector

THE NEW GROUP'S 2012-2013 Season

NEW WORKS, NEW WORLDS, THE NEW GROUP

Fall 2012 World Premiere

THE GOOD MOTHER

By Francine Volpe

Directed by Scott Elliott

with Gretchen Mol and Bill Sage

In this taut psychological thriller, Larissa is a single mother who can barely meet the mortgage on her house in Mount Vernon, NY. When a bizarre incident involving her 4-year-old daughter forces her to face someone from her past, her own questionable actions come back to haunt her. Gretchen Mol stars as Larissa in this suspenseful drama by Francine Volpe, in a world premiere production at The New Group.

Winter 2013 World Premiere
CLIVE
By Jonathan Marc Sherman
Directed by and featuring Ethan Hawke

Inspired by Bertolt Brecht's inflammatory play Baal, Clive tracks a dissipated songwriter in 1990s New York City from the hedonistic heights of seduction and consumption into an ecstasy of self-destruction. This production reunites Jonathan Marc Sherman and Ethan Hawke, who teamed previously at The New Group on Things We Want (written by Sherman, directed by Hawke). At once a celebration and a nightmare vision of life lived for pleasure, Clive boasts an eclectic selection of classic American songs performed live.

Spring 2013 World Premiere

Bunty Berman Presents...

Book and Lyrics by Ayub Khan Din

Music by Ayub Khan Din and Paul Bogaev

Directed by Scott Elliott

 Set in a failing 1950s Bollywood studio, with songs in the style of Hollywood's Golden Age, this sparkling and hilarious new musical is from Ayub Khan Din, author of The New Group hits East is East and Rafta, Rafta.... Movie producer Bunty Berman has long been the toast of Bombay, but now Raj, his biggest star and best friend, is beginning to lose his lustre. When their new movie bombs, Bunty must navigate through divas, mobsters and ambitious tea-boys to keep his studio alive.

                                                     Click Here for More Information
                                               

The New Group Receives 3 Drama Desk Nominations!

Congrats to Claybourne Elder (Outstanding Actor in a Play - ONE ARM), David Lander (Outstanding Lighting Design - ONE ARM), and Morgan Spector (Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play - RUSSIAN TRANSPORT) on their 2012 Drama Desk nominations!

Click here to view the complete list of nominees.

Congratulations to Erika Sheffer on her 2012 Outer Critics Circle nomination for the John Gassner Award for Russian Transport!

Click here to see the full list of nominations.

In the News: David Rabe's An Early History of Fire

David Rabe Tries Catching 'Fire' Off-Broadway

by Kathy Shwiff

"David Rabe is rewriting during rehearsals for his new play, An Early History of Fire, which opens off-Broadway on April 30.

This is the first time he has done that in his 40-year career, he said, adding that 'the whole soul of the play started to transform during rehearsals.'

Rabe, who won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1972 for Sticks and Bones, discussed his work as actors read bits of it aloud Sunday afternoon in the theater where An Early History of Fire is in previews.

Among the actors were Rabe’s daughter, Lily, who is appearing on Broadway in the play Seminar; Judith Ivey, who won a Tony Award for her role in Rabe’s play Hurlyburly in 1985; and Bobby Cannavale (Nurse Jackie), who appeared in the off-Broadway revival of Hurlyburly in 2005."

Click here to read the full Wall Street Journal article.

Last Show of the Season Starts Tonight

Previews begin TONIGHT at 8pm

A WORLD PREMIERE FROM THE TONY AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF HURLYBURLY

An Early History of Fire is set at the tipping point of the early 1960s. In a Midwestern town, Danny's days are defined by friendship and loyalty - but the bigger world encroaches in the form of Karen, back from college in the east, alluring and unsettling because of all she has learned. Awhirl in longing and eyeing a chance for radical change, Danny struggles against the grip of his immigrant father, who mourns a vanished world of lost prestige while clinging to his only son. This world premiere marks David Rabe's return to The New Group, following the company's acclaimed 2005 revival of Hurlyburly.

Limited Engagement to May 26th

To order tickets CLICK HERE

OR call 212.239.6200

OR visit the Theatre Row Box Office, 410 West 42nd St.

Monday, May 7th at 7pm
One-Night-Only Reading to Benefit The New Group

Women Behind Bars
By Tom Eyen
Directed by Scott Elliott

with Charles Busch, Janeane Garofalo, Nancy Giles,
Josh Hamilton, Natasha Lyonne, Cynthia Nixon, Rosie O'Donnell,
Rosie Perez, Rhea Perlman, Chloë Sevigny, and Jennifer Tilly

It's New Year's Eve 1952 in The Women's House of Detention in Greenwich Village. When the innocent and lovely Mary-Eleanor is framed by her husband and put away, her arrival in the house of detention sparks rivalries that build to increasingly dangerous -- not to say unspeakable and hilarious -- conflicts among her fellow prisoners and the sadistic Matron. An outrageous send-up of the classic genre of 1950s movies set in women's prisons, Women Behind Bars is a wild ensemble piece by Tom Eyen (who went on to write Dreamgirls). Women Behind Bars premiered in New York in 1974 (The New York Theatre Ensemble) and transferred to Off-Broadway's The Astor Place Theatre, where it opened in May 1975.

For tickets and information, please contact: Brandon Suisse brandon@thenewgroup.org.

Click here to read the Playbill.com article.

REFLECTING RABE

Readings from David Rabe's work

featuring

Bobby Cannavale, Judith Ivey, and Matthew Modine

Sunday April 15, 4 pm
Acorn Theatre, Theatre Row

The final Dark Night of our season will present readings of diverse excerpts from the body of work of David Rabe, author of the classic plays Hurlyburly and Streamers, as well as The New Group's current premiere, An Early History of Fire. Special guests, including Bobby Cannavale, Judith Ivey, and Matthew Modine, will read selections from Rabe's acclaimed novels and lesser known plays like Those the River Keeps, as well as reflect on Rabe's singular and brilliant career. Public discussion with David Rabe and the actors will follow.

The New Group is committed to fostering artistic dialogue, and this is the fourth season that we are presenting Dark Nights at The New Group, in which important theater artists discuss their creative process and present works-in-progress. These events are free to all, and allow our audience to interact with our artists around thought-provoking topics. Recent Dark Nights have included filmmaker Todd Solondz speaking with Thomas Bradshaw about writing about taboo subjects; readings of scenes from Hamlet, with Lisa Emery, Mamie Gummer, Josh Hamilton, and Wallace Shawn; and Ethan Hawke and Jonathan Marc Sherman discussing Jonathan’s new play inspired by Brecht’s Baal, and performing Brecht scenes and songs. All events are on Sundays in the Acorn Theater at Theatre Row.

To RSVP please email seats@thenewgroup.org.
There is a $20 suggested donation. Event is free to subscribers.
Space is limited, so reservations are a must.

CASTING ANNOUNCEMENT

AN EARLY HISTORY OF FIRE
By David Rabe
Directed by Jo Bonney

With
Deema Aitken, Gordon Clapp, Erin Darke, Jonny Orsini,
Devin Ratray, Dennis Staroselsky, Theo Stockman, Claire van der Boom

 An Early History of Fire is set at the tipping point of the early 1960s. In a Midwestern town, Danny's days are defined by friendship and loyalty - but the bigger world encroaches in the form of Karen, back from college in the east, alluring and unsettling because of all she has learned. Awhirl in longing and eyeing a chance for radical change, Danny struggles against the grip of his immigrant father, who mourns a vanished world of lost prestige while clinging to his only son. This world premiere marks David Rabe's return to The New Group, following the company's acclaimed 2005 revival of Hurlyburly.

Previews begin April 5th

Complete Casting Announced for David Rabe's An Early History of Fire; Lily Rabe Withdraws

Broadway.com - full article

Claire Van Der Boom Replaces Lily Rabe in An Early History of Fire Off-Broadway

Playbill.com - full article

Lily Rabe Leaves Cast of New Group's EARLY HISTORY OF FIRE

BroadwayWorld.com - full article

Click here for tickets.

Newsday Spotlights 5 New Playwrights, Including Erika Sheffer

Off-Broadway Spotlights 5 New Playwrights



 "Works by new or little-known playwrights are attracting most of the right attention in Off-Broadway theaters around town. Here are five I recently got to know.

RX by Kate Fodor
Primary Stages, 59E59 Theaters, 59 E. 59th St.; 212-279-4200; primarystages.org

CQ/CX by Gabe McKinley
Atlantic Theater, Norton Space, 555 W. 42nd St.; 212-279-4200; atlantictheater.org

RUSSIAN TRANSPORT by Erika Sheffer
New Group, 410 W. 42nd St.; 212-239-6200; thenewgroup.org

Erika Sheffer tackles both a family tragicomedy and a big-picture global crime in her off-center, highly original and impressive playwriting debut. We are in the Sheepshead Bay bungalow of a struggling but loving family of Russian-Jewish immigrants. In moves the mother's handsome, increasingly menacing brother (played with imposing, silky duplicity by Morgan Spector). His arrival from Russia is first folded into the everyday family banter, before he ensnares the teenage children (beautifully played by Sarah Steele and Raviv Ullman) and, ultimately, reveals secrets that are genuinely surprising.

Despite some weirdness in her Russian accent, Janeane Garofalo is a sturdy, funny-serious and welcome presence as the nobody's-fool mother. Scott Elliott, head of The New Group, directs his new find with the tenderness and brutality it deserves. How he got the cast (including Daniel Oreskes as the hardworking father) to speak Russian -- or at least to sound as if he were speaking Russian -- is a very good mystery.

YOSEMITE by Daniel Talbott
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, 224 Waverly Place, 212-279-4200; ticketcentral.com, closing Feb. 26

PSYCHO THERAPY by Frank Strausser
Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce St., 212-352-3101; psychotherapytheplay.com, closing Feb. 25"

Click here to read the full article.

RUSSIAN TRANSPORT is a
Time Out NY 'Critics Pick'

"Erika Sheffer’s engrossing moral thriller starts in familiar domestic comedy, with a Russian-immigrant twist, then veers into ugly new territory with the arrival of a sexually charged sociopath (an impressive Morgan Spector). The mostly excellent ensemble cast, directed smartly by Scott Elliott, drives the play ahead forcefully on ever-twisting roads."

 

Click here to read the full article.

Janeane Garofalo: On Making Her Stage Debut

The Truth About Janeane Garofalo: She's Making Her Stage Debut, At Last

"Janeane Garofalo takes a tart, tangy sip of her Red Bull — the Large Economy Size, it looks like, but she says no: 'There is a 20-ouncer. I've already had one today. This is my second one so that's why I'm down to 16 ounces.' Now, if only she can wrap up this pre-show interview in time for a fast smoke, it’ll be Showtime!

The show in question is not the liberal-slanted standup she's been slinging around comedy clubs since 1985 but rather a fascinating first-play by Erika Sheffer called Russian Transport, which has just been extended till March 24 at the Acorn on Theatre Row. It has transported her to a place she has never been before — onto a stage in a play — not a second too soon, it being her 20th year as a practicing actress."

Click here to read the full article.

RUSSIAN TRANSPORT Talkbacks

Check out these photos of the cast of Russian Transport, along with playwright Erika Sheffer and The New Group's Artistic Director, Scott Elliott, at last night's post-show talkback!

L to R: Scott Elliott, Raviv Ullman, Morgan Spector, Janeane Garofalo, Sarah Steele, Erika Sheffer

The New Group will host another talkback on February 8th immediately following that evening's performance of Russian Transport. We hope to see you there!

Family loyalty is tested. Previews begin TONIGHT at 7pm for RUSSIAN TRANSPORT!

PREVIEWS BEGIN JANUARY 17TH

RUSSIAN TRANSPORT

By Erika Sheffer

Directed by Scott Elliott

With

Janeane Garofalo, Daniel Oreskes, Morgan Spector, Sarah Steele, and Raviv Ullman

Russian Transport is a suspenseful family drama set in the Russian Jewish community of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Diana and Misha, an immigrant couple, run a struggling car service while trying to carve out the American Dream for their teenagers, Alex and Mira. When Diana's sexy and mysterious brother Boris arrives to stay with them, family loyalty is tested. For Alex and Mira, Uncle Boris is an exciting addition to their home, but soon Alex is pulled into his Uncle's dangerous world. Laced with humor and intrigue, Russian Transport captures the complex layers of one very particular immigrant experience.

Performance Schedule:
Monday-Wednesday @ 7pm, Thursday-Friday @ 8pm,
Saturday @ 2pm and 8pm