offoffBway.com

We’re all for something that was off or off-off moving to another theater for an extended engagement. The artists are happy, the people working on the show are happy, and (in theory) audiences are happy. Plus for every show like this that works (that is, nobody loses their entire investment), that makes it that much more likely that another show will move as well (sort of – it’s the old “hey, that worked! Why not this one?” theory). Usually the direction is downtown-to-midtown and this is the opposite, but we’re not going to quibble. From some of the people who brought you BUG.

NILAJA SUN’S “NO CHILD…”
HEADS DOWNTOWN FOLLOWING SOLD-OUT RUN
ON THEATRE ROW

PERFORMANCES RESUME OFF BROADWAY AT

BARROW STREET THEATRE

SATURDAY, JULY 8, 2006

OPENING SET FOR SUNDAY, JULY 16, 2006

Barrow Street Theatre, Scott Morfee, Tom Wirtshafter, and Epic Theatre Center are proud to announce that No Child…, a solo play written and performed by Nilaja Sun, and directed by Hal Brooks (Thom Pain), will be transferring Off Broadway to the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street at 7th Avenue) this summer. Immediately following a sold-out and critically acclaimed run at the Beckett Theatre on Theatre Row, plans were in motion to bring No Child… to a larger audience. The open-ended engagement will begin performances on Saturday, July 8 with an opening night set for Sunday, July 16 at 7:00 p.m. Set Design is by Narelle Sissons, Lighting Design is by Mark Barton, Costume Design is by Jessica Gaffney and Sound Design is by Ron Russell.

No Child… is an unflinching look into the New York City Public Education system by the acclaimed teaching-artist and solo-performer, Nilaja Sun, who transforms into the teachers, students, parents, administrators, janitors, and security guards who inhabit our public schools every day and are shaping the future of America.

No Child… was commissioned and developed by Epic Theatre Center with additional support from the New York State Council on the Arts and John J. Sharkey. The show is a result of Nilaja Sun’s unique work in one of New York City’s toughest schools, Martin Luther King, Jr. High School, where Epic maintains an extensive arts-ed residency. Martin Luther King Jr. High School was specifically created in 1972 as a fully integrated public school that brought non-white students into the Lincoln Center community. In his new book, Shame of the Nation, Jonathan Kozol cites MLK as a perfect example of “apartheid schooling” as it currently enrolls no white students.
Barrow Street Theatre is operated by Artistic Director Scott Morfee, Executive Director Tom Wirtshafter, and Managing Director Cris Buchner. Barrow Street Theatre has been home to such productions as Roadhouse: The Stage Play by Timothy Haskell (December 2003 – February 2004), BUG by Tracy Letts (February 2004 – January 2005), Eat the Taste by Greg Kotis (Monday Night Series October 2004 – January 2005), Orson’s Shadow by Austin Pendleton (March 2005 – December 2005), TJ & Dave (Late Night Series November – December 2005), and Red Light Winter by Adam Rapp (February – June 2006). In addition to being a performance venue, the Barrow Street Theatre is also a General Management office. Epic Theatre Center is the New York-based, Obie Award-winning company dedicated to nurturing civic-minded artists and audiences.

Tickets are priced at $45 and are available through Telecharge at (212) 239-6200 or by visiting Telecharge.com. Performances are Tuesday – Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 3:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 3:00 p.m.

“The show of the year! An unexpected, superb achievement. Ms. Sun’s gloriously uncynical gem reaches greatness. She has offered hope and belief in a better, saner world. Her schoolkids are lucky to have her. So are we.”

* New York Observer, June 5, 2006

“That Sun has done something great in this show is without question. That she has managed to bring politics that don’t preach and a heart that is not lachrymose to the enterprise is more than ample evidence of her skill as a writer: it is a testament to her intelligence and to the strong moral center that guides her. Like Lily Tomlin and Whoopi Goldberg in their early work, Sun brings us not her world but the world.

By showing us how the other half lives, Sun and Brooks provide an object lesson in what should not be missing from any life curriculum: hope.”

* The New Yorker, May 22, 2006

“…Sun’s work could teach the Board of Ed a thing or two.”

* Time Out New York, May 18, 2006

“Every kid deserves a teacher like Nilaja Sun. It’s enough to make angels weep to watch this caring, committed performance…”

* Variety, May 11, 2006

“A tour de force.”

* New York Post, May 11, 2006