VASSA ZHELEZNOVA
Oct 5 - 29 at Duo Theatre

"The rawness and brio of this savage, uncompromising early play is an eye-opener" -- London Daily Mail

"A seldom-seen and remarkable play" -- The Financial Times

"As a family, Maxim Gorky's disgusting bunch in Vassa make the Munsters look perfect" -- News of the World

Horizon Theatre Rep presents Maxim Gorky’s seldom seen masterpiece VASSA ZHELEZNOVA beginning October 5 at Duo Theatre. Christopher Carter Sanderson (Gorilla Rep) directs the New York Premiere of this translation by Tania Alexander and Tim Suter originally performed in London in 1988. It is the first English translation of Gorky’s 1909 version of this vivid portrait of the dissolution of Russian bourgeois society after years of materialism, unchecked ambition and greed. Opening night is scheduled for Sunday, October 8th.

Before Alexis Carrington ruled over Dynasty there was VASSA ZHELEZNOVA, an unscrupulous matriarch with an iron will. After the death of her husband, Vassa ruthlessly tries to keep her self-indulgent children and a high-society brother-in-law from harming the family business. But will her family be destroyed by the very bourgeois values that she seeks to preserve?

The productions stars Ed Banas, Rafael De Mussa, Celia Finkelstein, Rhonda Jensen, Jacob H. Knoll, Laura Malone, Jacqueline Margolis, Bristol Pomeroy, and Susan Romanoff.

Maxim Gorky (1868-1936), considered the father of Soviet literature, was hailed by Chekhov as the voice of his time. A lifelong spokesperson for the underclass, his political activism led to several years of exile in spite of his popularity with Russian readers. Gorky wrote 15 plays, two of which were enormously successful at the Moscow Art Theatre despite heavy censorship. His plays include The Lower Depths, Enemies, Night Lodging, The Children of the Sun and At the Bottom, all of which have been seen on Broadway. He died under suspicious circumstances, but speculations that the was murdered have never been proven. Stalin and Molotov were among those who hand-carried Gorky's coffin. Gorky wrote two versions of VASSA ZHELEZNOVA; the first was in 1909 and a revised version was written in 1935 under Stalin.

Horizon Theatre Rep (HTR), now in its fifth year, is dedicated to producing work from the international repertory. HTR aims to give emerging and established artists the opportunity to take risks, to excel, and to make their mark. Past productions include the English language premieres of Armand Salacrou’s Nights of Wrath, the US Premiere of In the Solitude of Cotton Fields produced at Grand Central Terminal, 3Xpirandello at The New York International Fringe Festival, Jean Paul Sartre's Men Without Shadows and Dejan Dukovski's Powder Keg, both seen at The Flea. For more info visit www.htronline.org

VASSA ZHELEZNOVA runs October 5 - 29, Thursday - Saturdays at 8 PM, and Sundays at 3 PM. Duo Theatre is located at 62 East 4th Street (between 2nd & 3rd Aves -- accessible from the F train at 2nd Ave). Tickets are $18, available at 212-868-4444 or smarttix.com.