SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL
April 24 - May 16 at The Connelly Theatre

"Bearded or barefaced, these ladies act up a storm." -- The Washington Post

"The entire company is refreshing and enormous fun and a great contribution to New York Theatre." -- The New York Observer

The Queens Company, the only classical theater company in the US devoted to presenting all-female productions, will present Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s 1777 comedy School for Scandal beginning April 24th at The Connelly Theatre. Rebecca Patterson directs this delicious comedy of city folks behaving badly. Opening night is scheduled for Monday, April 26 at 7:30pm.

In School for Scandal brothers Joseph and Charles vie for the hand of the same girl with hilarious results. The cast of devious and unscrupulous characters includes such members of the leisure class as the appropriately named Lady Sneerwell, Mr. Snake, Sir Benjamin Backbite, Mrs. Candour, and Mr. Surface -- individuals bent on undermining the most refined reputations with innuendoes and ingenious fabrications. In this hysterical look at the human propensity to gossip, love is lost and gained, honor ruined and revived as sharp wits target their heart’s desire. Ultimately, the message is clear: a tongue is a terrible thing to waste.

The production stars Lauren Jill Ahrold, Virginia Baeta, Cynthia Brown, Eliza Ladd, Valentina McKenzie, Maureen Porter, Shanti Elise Prasad, Gisele Richardson, Ami Shukla and DeeAnn Weir with costumes by Sarah Iams, lighting by Aaron Copp, and set design by Jeremy Woodward.

According to director Rebecca Patterson, School For Scandal seems especailly appropraite for an election year. "Many skeletons are being tucked away in closets only to be flushed out and publicly paraded by eager gossipmongers," she explains. "The behavior that is expected of us publicly is often at odds with our true desires -- just ask Bill Clinton. The impact of public opinion is seen daily. Which paper do you buy? The one with the Gossip, of course!"

With a motto of "All female! All the time! No apologies!", The Queens Company was founded in 2000 by Rebecca Patterson, DeeAnn Weir and Virginia Baeta. Inspired by Ariane Mnouchkine’s Theatre du Soleil, Polly Teale’s Shared Experience and Simon McBurney’s Theatre de Complicite, The Queens Company presents classical works in productions that cross the boundaries of gender, race and sexual orientation. Past productions include Antony and Cleopatra, Macbeth, The Duchess of Malfi and The Feign’d Courtesans. They have presented works at venues including Mint Space, Urban Stages, HERE and Tribeca Playhouse. The New Yorker called their recent production of Much Ado About Nothing, "fun and frivolous... it’s a charming evening: the actresses understand Shakespeare’s language and adroitly put across his jokes, and the director, Rebecca Patterson, insures that there is a great deal of physical humour."

School for Scandal runs April 24 - May 16, Thursday - Monday at 7:30pm. (Please note: the final performance is Sunday, May 16 at 2pm and there is no performance on Thursday, April 29). The Connelly Theatre is located at 220 East 4th Street (between Avenues A & B -- accessible from the F train at 2nd Avenue). Tickets are $15. For reservations call 212-868-4444 or visit smarttix.com.