The Hunger Waltz
January 8 - 25 at Manhattan Ensemble Theatre

"A provocative playwright who's just beginning to garner a national following, (Sheila) Callaghan creates work that's realistic and unpredictable, dark and funny, reassuring and disturbing." -- Philadelphia Weekly

Relentless Theatre presents Sheila Callagahan’s The Hunger Waltz beginning previews January 8th at Manhattan Ensemble Theatre. Directed by Olivia Honegger, the production stars downtown favorite Susan O’Connor (Never Swim Alone, Shopping & Fucking). Opening night is scheduled for Saturday, January 10th.

The Hunger Waltz explores one woman's search for identity over a period of 600 years. The play takes place in three acts, in three time periods: the 18th century, the 20th century, and the 22nd century. Gwen, the protagonist, searches for a personal freedom she cannot name. She attempts to discover its nature through interactions with her female lover and her abusive husband. Elements of the supernatural intervene and guide her on her quest.

The Hunger Waltz stars Michael Connors, Susan O’Connor, Kittson O'Neill and Brenton Popolizio. The production features sets by Orit Jacoby Carroll, lighting by Dana Sterling, costumes by Naomi Wolff and sound design & original music by Robert Kaplowitz.

Sheila Callaghan is the recipient of a 2000 Princess Grace Award, a 2001 LA Weekly Award for Best One-Act, a 2001-02 Jerome Fellowship, a 2002 Robert Chesley Memorial Prize for Playwrighting (along with Christopher Shinn) and a Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award. Her plays include Scab, American Jack, The Katherine Calamity, Softland, and Kate Crackernuts. She is currently working on commissions from Playwright’s Horizons, South Coast Rep and Eye of the Storm Theatre in Minneapolis.

Olivia Honegger most recently directed Suzanne Bradbeer's The Sleeping Girl for the Stamford Center. She directed the West Coast premiere of Kenneth Lonnergan’s Lobby Hero for South Coast Repertory, where she also directed Sheila Callaghan’s Scab. She also assisted Marion McClinton on August Wilson’s King Hedley II at the Mark Taper Forum, Goodman Theatre, Kennedy Center and Broadway’s Virginia Theatre.

Relentless Theatre was founded in Los Angeles in 1994 by a trio of graduates from New York University: Ian Ferguson, Olivia Honegger and William Wheeler. LA productions include Paula Vogel’s And Baby Makes Seven, The Monogamist, Skin, and The Crackwalker, the latter earning year-end "Top 10" nods from the Los Angeles Times, Backstage West, Drama-logue, Entertainment Today and New Times. Despite being named "LA’s most gritty theatre company" by the Los Angeles Times, the company recently relocated to New York City. The Hunger Waltz marks their East Coast debut.

The Hunger Waltz runs January 8-25, Thursday - Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday at 2pm. Manhattan Ensemble Theatre is located at 55 Mercer Street (in Soho, one block North of Canal Street -- accessible from the A,C, E train at Canal). Tickets are $15. For information and reservations call 212-340-1916 or visit relentlesstheatre.com.