Leigh Silverman (Well) directs the play, which had its world premiere in April 2006 at South Coast Repertory in California. The Off-Broadway run at PH's Peter Jay Sharp Theater will feature Reg E. Cathey (Julie Taymor's The Green Bird on Broadway, TV's "The Wire," "Oz" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation") and 2006 New York University MFA graduate André Holland (Shakespeare in the Park's As You Like It and Much Ado About Nothing).
Barfield, whose plays include Dent and The Quick, is making her New York City debut with Blue Door. In it, a prominent African-American mathematician in crisis begins to lose his grip on reality, and "the ghosts of his ancestors shatter the silence of an insomnia-filled night."
Blue Door is billed as a tour-de-force for two actors — "a vivid, exuberantly theatrical play about the black American male experience."
Opening is Oct. 10, and performances continue to Oct. 29. Playwrights Horizons is at 416 W. 42nd Street.
The production will feature scenic design by Narelle Sissons, costume design by Toni-Leslie James, lighting design by Mary Louise Geiger, sound design by Ken Travis and original music by Daryl Waters. The production stage manager will be Amy McCraney. Tanya Barfield’s plays have been presented at South Coast Rep, Arena Stage, The Royal Court, New York Theatre Workshop, Seattle Rep, Hartford Stage, The Guthrie Lab and New York Stage & Film. Her works include Dent, The Quick, 121° West, Pecan Tan and The Houdini Act, as well as the book for a children's musical, Kofi's Civil War. Prior to becoming a playwright, she was a solo performer, appearing in her one-woman show Without Skin, or Breathlessness. She is a graduate of Juilliard’s Playwriting Program and a recipient of the Helen Merrill Emerging Playwrights Award.
Playwrights Horizons, "a writer's theatre dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers and lyricists, and to the production of their new work," is under the leadership of artistic director Tim Sanford and managing director Leslie Marcus.
The performance schedule for Blue Door will be Tuesdays through Fridays at 7:30 PM, Saturdays at 2 & 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2 & 7 PM. Tickets are $45 and will go on sale to the general public Aug. 30.
The Pay What You Can performance will be offered on first preview Sept. 28 at 7:30 PM, with tickets being offered through a lottery system 2-6:30 PM.
For ticket information, call (212) 279-4200 or visit www.playwrightshorizons.org.
