The White Horse Theater Company, known for successful productions of Sam Shepard plays, will present a limited engagement of In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel by Tennessee Williams at The Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex (312 West 36th Street) in NYC from February 2, to February 18, 2007. The play is directed by Co-Artistic Director Cyndy A. Marion, recognized for her innovative productions of Buried Child, A Lie of The Mind, States of Shock, True West and praised by The New York Times for “presenting a very good revival of The Late Henry Moss.” Written in 1968, during an experimental phase in Mr. Williams’ career, In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel depicts the tragic demise of a famous American painter and his desperate wife. Set in a Tokyo Hotel Bar, the piece juxtaposes a deeply personal American experience against the cultural backdrop of an exotic and distinctly foreign Japan. Known for poetically realistic portraits of lost American souls in such plays as The Glass Menagerie and the Pulitzer-prize winning A Streetcar Named Desire, the playwright’s In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel shocked audiences with its innovative use of language, stark minimalism, brashness of character and multi-layered symbolism. Seemingly a play before its time, In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel has been rarely produced since its premiere production at The Eastside Playhouse in NYC in 1969. According to critic Allean Hale, In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel was “the courageous experiment of a writer who was not afraid to take risks…No doubt some day, somewhere, some producer will meet its challenge.” The White Horse Theater Company intends to do just that.
The play’s director Cyndy Marion has been hailed by USA TODAY as “a budding young Shepard interpreter” and Newsday praised her direction of Buried Child declaring it, “A deeply compelling staging of a great play.” Ms. Marion’s directing credits with White Horse include: The Late Henry Moss, Buried Child, A Lie of The Mind, States of Shock and True West. Other New York directing credits include Fool For Love, La Turista, Red Cross, 12 Angry Men, Last Train to Nibroc, Mud and The Mandala. She earned her MFA in Directing from Brooklyn College. The White Horse Theater Company, founded by Co-Artistic Directors Cyndy A. Marion and Rod Sweitzer, is a non-profit organization dedicated to producing plays for the public by and involving American artists. They strive to unleash, investigate and question American social and political issues by re-examining American classics and developing new American voices. This production has been made possible in part through the sponsorship of The Field, and with funding provided by White Horse Theater Company sponsors. The cast includes Greg Homison, Larissa Laurel, Niall O'Hegarty, Laura Siner and Toshiji Takeshima. PERFORMANCE INFO: The Abington Theatre Arts Complex (Strelsin Theatre) - 312 West 36th Street, (between 8th & 9th Avenues) Limited Engagement: February 2 - February 18, 2007 (Tuesday-Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 3pm) Tickets: $18. Call 212-868-4444 or visit www.smarttix.com Direct ticket link is http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showCode=INT34 For more information on the company visit www.whitehorsetheater.com
