THE NITPICKER
Hourglass Group presents a Benefit Concert of Songs From the Nitpicker
Performed by Nada Surf, The Silos, Sex Mob, Edward Norton, James Urbaniak & more!
Thursday, December 4 @7:30pm at Sin-E, 150 Attorney Street

On Thursday, December 4 at Sin-e, actors Edward Norton and James Urbaniak join some of New York’s hottest bands, singer-songwriters and performers -- including Nada Surf, The Silos, Laura Cantrell, Sex Mob, Crookston, King of France, Craig Wedren (Shudder to Think, Baby), Sam Bisbee, Amy Miles, Aaron Maxwell, Laurena Allan, Nina Hellman, Jeremy Shamos and Carolyn Baeumler for a benefit performance of songs from The Nitpicker, a new musical by Mary McBride

Hourglass Group has commissioned McBride, a playwright and critically acclaimed singer-songwriter, to present songs from The Nitpicker as part of its 2003 Next Stage Festival. The Houston Press described McBride’s music as "crackling with emotion and over-the-top visual imagery while still kicking up a cloud of dance-floor sawdust with three-deep harmonies to boot." The Nashville Scene added that her music is "steeped in vim, smarts and compassion." And The Washington Post concluded "McBride's star may be on the rise."

McBride, originally from Louisiana, has teamed with song writing partner Aaron Maxwell to come up with a slew of southern fried songs --"Betty's Got Lupus," "Midgets in Love," "Roasting Pigs on Judgement Day," "Bucketful of Bugs," "Mother’s Fingers," and "Me? I want to be an Entymologist" -- among many others.... The full production of The Nitpicker will open Off-Broadway in 2004 and will be directed by Anne de Mare.

Hourglass Group develops and produces provocative plays by writers who experiment with heightened dramatic language and innovative theatrical forms. Past productions include Mae West’s play SEX, Ruth Margraff’s Red Frogs at P.S. 122 and the recent concert reading of Mae West’s Pleasure Man starring Charles Busch at the Culture Project.

Hourglass Group’s 2003 Next Stage Festival of new play workshops is made possible in part by LMCC’s Fund for Creative Communities/NYSCA and the Greenwall Foundation. Other plays in the Next Stage Festival include Jake-ann Jones’ Magic Kingdom at the Belt Theatre, José Rivera’s Brainpeople at the Hinton Battle Theatre Lab and the upcoming 800 Words: The Transmigration of Philip K. Dick by Victoria Stewart

The Nitpicker will be presented Thursday December 4 at 7:30pm sharp. Tickets are $20 in advance/$25 at the door. Space is extremely limited. Sin-e is located at 150 Attorney Street, between Clinton and Ridge Streets, just south of Houston. For reservations or more information, call (212) 439-8122 or visit hourglassgroup.org.