SCREEN PLAY
Extended through July 30 at The Flea

"hilarious" -- Variety
"irresistible" -- Newsday
"deftly orchestrated...(with) grin-making chutzpah" -- New York Times

The Flea Theater has announced the extension of its acclaimed World Premiere of A.R. Gurney’s political satire, SCREEN PLAY. Like O Jerusalem and Mrs. Farnsworth (New York Times 10 Best Plays of 2004), Mr. Gurney wrote the play especially for The Flea.. Flea Artistic Director Jim Simpson directs The Bats with costumes by Melissa Schlactmeyer, lighting by Joe Novak, and musical direction by Kris Kukul. Originally scheduled to end June 25th, performances have been extended through July 30th

Set just before the election of 2015, SCREEN PLAY envisions a future ruled by a conservative religious majority. The economy is sagging, wars are raging and culture is in decay. Many Americans have begun to flee to Canada and Mexico as the government struggles to stop pandemic reverse immigration. With a plot borrowed liberally from a classic 1942 American film, SCREEN PLAY is a tale of politics, history, the city of Buffalo, and a love ruined by the Bush-Gore election of 2000.

Playwright A.R.Gurney’s plays include Scenes from American Life, Children, The Dining Room, The Middle Ages, Sweet Sue, The Perfect Party, Another Antigone, The Cocktail Hour, Love Letters, The Old Boy, The Fourth Wall, Later Life, A Cheever Evening, Sylvia, Overtime, Let’s Do It (a Cole Porter musical), Labor Day, Far East, Ancestral Voices, and Buffalo Gal. His novels include The Gospel According to Joe, Entertaining Strangers and The Snow Ball. He is the winner of Drama Desk, N.E.A., Rockefeller Foundation, New England Theatre Conference, Lucille Lortel, American Association of Community Theatres, American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters awards and he holds honorary degrees from Williams College and Buffalo State University. Gurney was on the faculty of M.I.T. until 1996.

The Flea Theater, under Artistic Director Jim Simpson and Producing Director Carol Ostrow, is one of New York’s leading off-off-Broadway companies. In May 2004, The Flea received a special Drama Desk Award for outstanding achievement and in June 2005 The Flea will receive an Otto for Political Theater. Since its inception in 1996, The Flea has presented 70 plays and numerous dance and live music performances. Past productions include Anne Nelson’s The Guys, A.R. Gurney’s O Jerusalem and Mrs. Farnsworth, Kate Robin’s The Light Outside, Talking Band’s The Parrot, Karen Finley’s The Return of the Chocolate Smeared Woman and Glyn O’Malley’s A Heartbeat to Baghdad.

The Bats are the resident company of The Flea Theater. Each year over a thousand actors audition for a place in this unique repertory company. The Bats perform in extended runs of challenging classic and new plays and support all the visiting performing artists at The Flea Theater. Past Bat productions include the Obie Award winning Benten Kozo, Alice Tuan’s Ajax (por nobody), an acclaimed revival of Brecht’s Baal, Mac Wellman's Cellophane and Liz Swados’ JABU.

SCREEN PLAY runs July 6-30, Monday - Saturday at 7pm with 3pm matinees on Wednesday & Saturday. The Flea Theater is located at 41 White Street (between Broadway & Church Streets -- accessible from the A,C,E,N,R,Q,W,6,J,M,Z to Canal or 1,9 to Franklin Street). Tickets are $30 - $40. For tickets call 212-352-3101 or visit TheaterMania.com.