MADDY: A Modern Day Medea & The Swan Song August 6, 2009

Redd Tale Theatre Company emerges into its sixth year with the world premiere of MADDY: A MODERN DAY MEDEA, an adaptation of Euripides’ play written and directed by Will Le Vasseur, followed by Anton Chekhov’s THE SWAN SONG directed by Lynn Kenny. Preview is August 6th at Nicu’s Spoon Theatre. Opening Night is set for August 7th.

MADDY is set in the heartland of America at The Corinthian, a trailer park. Against the backdrop of the original Greek tragedy, this production adds a Fringe/X-Files/Supernatural element into the mix. Maddy finds herself seven years into a relationship: Two children, jobless, broke, living in a trailer park, her lover about to marry the landlord’s daughter, and an impending eviction. Faced with mounting adversity, Maddy must decide whether her humanity is worth fighting for or returning to her former existence. Immediately after, THE SWAN SONG brings back ghosts of our theatrical past. An old actor awakes from a drunken stupor to find an empty stage, a candle, and former glories of his career.

MADDY: Starring Lynn Kenny, Blaine Pennington, Heather Shields, James Stewart, and Ben Strothmann. Directed by Will Le Vasseur.
THE SWAN SONG: Starring Will Le Vasseur and Ben Strothmann. Directed by Lynn Kenny.

Having survived a transplant cross country to New York City, Redd Tale Theatre Company continues to follow its motto: “To Provide Enlightening, Entertaining Theatrical Experiences That Contribute To Humanity's Next Step Forward.” Beginning 2003 with a recreation of the 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds, RTTC followed the next year with the West Coast premiere of Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens in Seattle. Then moving East, produced a successful run of Closer by Patrick Marber in 2007, and a critically acclaimed production of Lonely Planet by Steven Dietz in 2008. Now Redd Tale is entering its next phase with Maddy, RTTC’s first original work.

MADDY: A MODERN DAY MEDEA and THE SWAN SONG run August 7 through August 29th, Thursday through Saturday at 8pm, matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2pm. Nicu’s Spoon Theatre is located at 38 West 38th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues (accessible from B/D/F/V at Bryant Park or R/Q/N/W at Herald Square).

Tickets are available at 212-868-4444 or www.smarttix.com

Official Website: http://www.reddtale.org