A rare revival of Tennessee Williams' Orpheus Descending officially opens Off-Broadway May 1 following previews that began April 23. The modern interpretation of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice was last seen on Broadway in 1989 starring Vanessa Redgrave.
Orpheus Descending is set to run through May 14 in Greenwich Village's historic St. John’s Lutheran Church.

The cast also includes Keir Dullea, Brenda Currin, Mia Dillon, Tom Drummer, Karen Lynn Gorney, Jim Heatherly, Lou Liberatore, Skid Maher, David Pendleton, David Roby, Randi Sobol, Michele Tauber and Penny Lynn White.

Director Pendleton describes the Williams work as “a mythological play and a Christian play, and most of all, an utterly convincing evocation of small-town Mississippi in a desperate time and a beautiful, utterly original love story.“

The story follows Sicilian immigrant Lady Torrance, who runs a dry-goods store in the Deep South during the 1940's. Stuck in an unhappy 20-year marriage with a tyrannical and sickly husband, her world is turned upside down by the arrival of a young drifter called Val Xavier. “Lady begins an affair that not only causes a town-wide scandal, but also, and more importantly, awakens a long-forgotten passion that brings Lady deep solace,“ state production notes.

The creative team includes Susannah Baron (lighting design), Carrie Mossman (set and prop design), Tony French (costume design), Dr. Annette J. Saddik (dramaturg), Duncan Becker (props), Logan Faust (props), Robert Neapolitan (production stage manager), Lefty Lucy (ASM/costume assistant) and Brooke Lynn Tibbs (associate producer/box-office manager).

St. John's Lutheran Church is located at 81 Christopher St. Click here to purchase tickets, priced $18.