The comedy, adapted from Nikolai Erdman's The Suicide, will begin previews Off-Broadway Dec. 11 prior to an official opening Jan. 8, 2015. Directed by Neil Pepe, the limited engagement will continue through Jan. 18 at the Linda Gross Theater.
The cast of Dying for It includes Mia Barron (Domesticated, The Coast of Utopia), Ben Beckley (The Cocktail Party, "The Jew of Malta"), Nathan Dame (Pump Boys and Dinettes, The Lightning Thief), Patch Darragh (When We Were Young and Unafraid, Our Town), Clea Lewis (Absurd Person Singular, Once in a Lifetime), Peter Maloney (Ernest in Love, It's A Wonderful Life), Andrew Mayer (Fiddler on the Roof, The 12 - A New Rock Musical), Mary Beth Peil (Follies, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown), Jeanine Serralles (The Maids, The Misanthrope), Joey Slotnick (Chapter Two, The Big Knife), Robert Stanton (A Free Man of Color, Mary Stuart) and C.J. Wilson (Bronx Bombers, A Steady Rain).
Here's how the production is billed: "Dying for It is the story of Semyon (Slotnick), a man down on his luck, married to a nag (Serralles), and out of options. When he decides to throw in the towel and kill himself, a deluge of sympathetic visitors descends upon him, determined to make him a martyr for their many causes. Swept up in the firestorm of attention, Semyon does take matters into his own hands, but not quite in the fashion that everyone expects. An outrageous satire on the hypocrisy and illogic of Soviet life, this play was banned by Stalin before it ever saw the light of day, and is now regarded as an under-known 20th century classic comedy."
Buffini's plays include Handbagged, Welcome To Thebes, Marianne Dreams and Dinner, among others. She has written the screenplays "Tamara Drewe," "Jayne Eyre" and "Byzantium." Dying for It will feature scenic design by Walt Spangler, costume design by Suttirat Larlarb and Moria Clinton, lighting design by David Weiner and sound design by Ben Truppin-Brown, original musical composed by Josh Schmidt and fight direction by J. David Brimmer.
The Linda Gross Theater is located at 336 West 20th Street. Visit atlantictheater.org for more information.
