Hazard County
Oct. 7 - Nov. 7 at The 14th Street Y

The Themantics Group presents the World Premiere of Hazard County by Allison Moore. The production, directed by Blake Lawrence, begins performances October 7th at The 14th Street Y Theater. Opening night is scheduled for October 10th.

Hazard County centers around Ruth, an impoverished young mother in rural Kentucky struggling to raise twins after the tragic death of her husband. One day she meets Blake, a tabloid TV news reporter from LA who is combing small-town America for stories about "real people." When he discovers that Ruth has a small fortune left unclaimed, her story seems to be just what he's looking for. With Blake under pressure to unearth an Enquirer-style story, will Ruth be forced to face the secret she's denied for years? The answer partially lies in an unlikely source: 1970’s television staple The Dukes of Hazzard.

The production stars Alice Barden, Stephen Bienskie (Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Actor for The Fix), John Grady (Blue Man Group), Jeanne Hime and Kate VanDevender with sets by Jen Varbalow, lighting by Daniel Ordower, costumes by Erin Murphy and sound by Joanna Lynne Staub.

Allison Moore is an emerging playwright whose plays have been developed and produced at venues including The Guthrie Theater and Actors Theatre of Louisville. Originally from Texas and a graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop, she is currently in residence at the Minneapolis Playwrights Center. Her play Urgent Fury was workshopped by the Cherry Lane Theatre under the mentorship of Marsha Norman. Moore is the recipient of the Jerome Fellowship Grant, the McKnight Continuation Grant for Playwrighting, the Iowa Arts Fellowship in Playwrighting, the Kemp and Felton Fellowships, and the Rosenfield Playwriting Award. Her plays include Klepto, CowTown, Eighteen, CUTRS!, Snapshot (with Lee Blessing, David Lindsay-Abaire, Lynn Nottage and others) and The Strange Misadventures of Patty, Patty’s Dad, Patty’s Friend Jen and a Bunch of Other People.

The Themantics Group is a new company of theater professionals dedicated to producing a season of projects around a particular theme. It was founded in 2002 by Jay Aubrey and Blake Lawrence after the overwhelming success of their revival of Mark Ravenhill’s Shopping and Fucking. Their inaugural production was a new adaptation of Pirandello’s Naked. Hazard County marks the first production of their first full season. The theme for their 2004- 2005 season is "Money! or Morals?" The season will continue in March 2005 with the US premiere of Brad Fraser’s Snake in Fridge. For more information visit themantics.org.

Hazard County runs October 7 - November 7, Thursday - Saturday at 8:00 pm and Sunday at 7:00 pm (Please note: October 7 is at 7:00pm & November 7 is at 3:00 pm). The 14th Street Y Theater is located at 344 E. 14th St. (between 1st & 2nd Aves -- accessible from the L train at 1st Avenue). Tickets are $19. For reservations call Smarttix at 212-868-4444 or online at smarttix.com.