(Doric Wilson - Mark Finley - Barry Childs)
in association with Peculiar Works Project

celebrating the origins of off-off-Broadway

7 pm - Tuesday & Wednesday - April 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26 & May 2 & 3

Special Benefit Performance - 7 pm - May 16^th

followed by a Q&A with Lanford Wilson, Marshall W. Mason

& Mark Finley, moderated by Doric Wilson

!!!!SHE'S BACK!!!!

Lady Bright returns to The Duplex

7 pm - Saturday & Sunday - Oct. 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, 29  -  2006

Lanford Wilson's

The Madness of

Lady Bright

directed by Mark Finley

with Melissa Center, Marlon Hurt & Michael Lynch

asst. director: Frederic Gravenson

produced by Barry Childs and Doric Wilson

set by Michael Muccio

production dedicated to the beloved memory of Johnnie Mae Lynch

$10 plus a two drink minimum

Lanford Wilson (Playwright) In 1962, Wilson moved to New York, where he quickly became associated with the burgeoning avant-garde theater movement in Greenwich Village. His early plays were produced at Caffe Cino and the La Mama Experimental Theater Club. In 1969, Wilson, Marshall Mason, Rob Thirkield, and Tanya Berezin founded the Circle Repertory Company. Wilson has continued to be associated with Circle Rep, and Mason has directed the premieres of his productions ever since. In his depictions of gay subjects, Lanford Wilson proves himself to be a powerful voice speaking of the lives of gay men today. His early one-act play The Madness of Lady Bright (1964) depicts the demise of a lonely, disturbed drag queen. Balm in Gilead (1965) includes several identifiably gay characters among its enormous cast. One of Wilson's most successful portrayals of gay themes occurs in Lemon Sky (1968), in which the main character, Alan (whose situation is based on Wilson's own life after high school), is forced to come to grips with his homosexuality when he attempts a reconciliation with his estranged father. Wilson's other major gay play is Fifth of July (1978), chronologically the last of the Talley trilogy. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1980 for Talley's Folly and remains one of America's most frequently produced and widely respected playwrights. Other works include The Rimers of Eldritch (1965) Serenading Louie (1970), Hot L Baltimore (1973), Burn This (1987), Redwood Curtain (1992), Sympathetic Magic (1997), and Book of Days (1998). As an openly gay man who is successful in mainstream theater, Wilson is a model for many aspiring writers.  He joins other Cino playwrights such as Robert Heide, Robert Patrick and Doric Wilson whose depictions of gay subjects proves to be powerful voices speaking directly to the lives of gay men today.

Michael Lynch (Leslie Bright) started his career at age of 14 with the 1972 NYSF production of Derek Walcott’s Ti Jean And His Brothers. Other credits include: the original Mineshaft production of Doric Wilson’s Street Theater; Silence, Cunning, Exile (NYSF); Under the Kerosene Moon and How to Write a Play (dir. Everett Quinton); Al Carmines’ The Agony of Paul (Judsons Poet Theatre); Joe Godfrey’s A Queer Carol (the Duplex) and he has worked with The Ridiculous Theatrical Company and Peter Brooks’ International Centre for Theatre Research. Films include Dog Day Afternoon, Kid With Radio, The Wiz and Chocolate Babies. He also appeared in the very first Law and Order television movie which started the series. He has worked with Ben Vereen, Everett Quinton, The Hot Peaches, Cyndi Lauper (all drag remake of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, and has appeared on the David Letterman Show. Michael is the author of two plays, About Face: Gay Black And From the Bronx, and No Fats No Fems: A World Of Exclusion, which premiered at BAAD, then moved for a successful run at LaMama ETC.

Peculiar Works Project was founded in 1993 by Ralph Lewis, Catherine Porter and Barry Rowell to create fresh, engaging performance that is accessible and fun for diverse audiences. From initial concept to full production, PWP originates, develops and presents both intimate theatrical projects utilizing multi-media design, and large-scale performance events that breathe life into entire NYC buildings. We perform in unconventional spaces, because we believe unique sites impact our work, this work in turn impacts the site, and then audiences experience both in surprising new ways. In landmark buildings, gutted storefronts and other peculiar sites throughout NYC, these site-specific productions take the work directly into local communities. Over 80 projects and performance events have been presented in 12 years, supporting more than 100 artists annually. PWP brings our unusual work to new audiences by building partnerships with other organizations, including the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, Judson Church, HERE Arts Center, Dixon Place, Soho ThinkTank, The Culture Project, Instituto Cervantes, Gertrude Stein Rep and CHARAS/El Bohio Community Center, among others.

Celebrating 50 years of Off-Off Broadway, Peculiar Works presents The OFF Project, an exploration into the venues, plays and artists of NYC’s early alternative theater movement. In the late 1950s, a spark of revolution turned Greenwich Village into a hot spot of artistic experimentation. Like so many others, PWP has been enormously influenced by the plays from this period, so we’re bringing together some of today’s hottest downtown directors and performers to pay tribute. Our year-long series of readings, workshops, and "talk-back" dialogues will culminate this fall in a "performance heritage trail" that will mark the half-century milestone by marking its territory: traveling to the sites of the original venues where the movement began. With OFF, audiences will tour historic Village streets to see short scenes from landmark plays on the actual sites where they premiered. Come along: www.peculiarworks.org.