Elixir Productions Theater Company presents the play by Alex S. DeFazio, a finalist for the Princess Grace Playwriting Award and author of more than a dozen other plays. Radium was written while DeFazio was pursuing his MFA at Columbia University.

Elixir Productions is a not-for-profit company "committed to theatre of immediacy and daring that challenges perceptions of sexual identity."

Elixir co-founder Jody P. Person directs, Alexa Shaughnessy is producer. The non-Equity cast includes Bobby Abid, Nathaniel P. Claridad, Jon Deliz, Thay Floyd, Dustyn Gulledge and Elizabeth Sugarman.

Radium is "an erotic, lyrical drama in two acts" that serves as "an investigation into the interrelated lives of five urban gay men and the challenges they face in finding real intimacy."

According to production notes, "While the goal of this production is to create an event by gay artists for GLBT audiences in New York City, the play also tells a much more universal story about people searching for identity and human connection: Of how badly all of us need other people in our lives and how important it really is to have both physically and emotionally gratifying relationships." Performances continue to April 16. The play contains mature subject matter.

Tickets are $25 ($15 for seniors/students) and are available at www.smarttix.com or by telephone at (212) 868-4444. Tickets will also be available for cash purchase at the box office the night of performance. Performances are at 8 PM Thursday-Monday.

The Jewel Box Theater is located at 312 West 36th Street, Fourth Floor (between Eighth and Ninth Avenues).

For more information, visit www.elixirproductions.org.