(NEW YORK, NY) -- The Acting Company has announced the return of The Louanna O. Carlin & John MacDonald Reading Series with Kia Corthron’s Sam’s Coming, which will receive a public reading on Monday, April 18 at 7:30pm at The Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street). A reception will follow the reading.
Each season, The Acting Company hosts a series of staged readings. A mixture of new texts, classics of the canon, and forgotten favorites, these readings are a showcase of alumni and a chance to explore other works by playwrights and directors featured in The Acting Company’s National Tours.
Sam’s Coming will be directed by Adrienne D. Williams and will feature Arnie Burton, Pamela Dunlap, Jules Latimer, John Lenartz, April Matthis, Forrest McClendon and more.
Beedee has worked at her small-town big department store for eighteen years and loves it, or thinks she does. The utopia slowly begins to disintegrate, and even visitations from Sam Walton cannot prevent the crash.
This program is partially underwritten by the generous support of Lori-Ann Wynter. Sam's Coming is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Tickets are available for purchase online. All audience members will be required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination and photo ID. Masks will be required at all times throughout the performance.
Under the new leadership of Artistic Director Kent Gash and Managing Director Erik Schroeder, The Acting Company brings professional productions and education programs, in-school residencies, and teacher training workshops to thousands of audience members and students in underserved communities and schools each year. Founded by John Houseman and Margot Harley, the company seeks to develop emerging actors and build enthusiastic, knowledgeable audiences for the theater in towns across the United States. The Acting Company launched the careers of nearly 500 actors, including Kevin Kline, Patti LuPone, Mary Lou Rosato, Keith David, Rainn Wilson, Lorraine Toussaint, Frances Conroy, Harriet Harris, Lisa Banes, Jeffrey Wright, Hamish Linklater, Jesse L. Martin, Roslyn Ruff, Jimonn Cole and Kelley Curran.
Among many accolades, The Acting Company received the 2003 Tony Award for Excellence in the Theater, and recently won the 2019 Audelco Award for Best Play for its production of Nambi E. Kelley’s Native Son directed by Seret Scott.
Since 1972, The Acting Company has performed for over 4 million people in 48 States, 10 foreign countries, on and Off-Broadway, and at leading resident theaters including The Guthrie and The Kennedy Center. New works commissioned by the company include plays by William Finn, Marcus Gardley, Rebecca Gilman, John Guare, Beth Henley, Tony Kushner, Lynn Nottage, Meg Miroshnik, Ntozake Shange, Maria Irene Fornés, Spalding Gray, Marsha Norman, Charles Smith, Samm-Art Williams, and Wendy Wasserstein.
Over 5,000 students in New York City and across the country benefit from The Acting Compnay’s in-school residencies and educator workshops every year. Annually over 30,000 audience members see an Acting Company production across the country who otherwise lack access to professional classical theatre. The Acting Company 2022-23 touring and New York season will perform in 21 states beginning with a world premiere adaptation of Alexandré Dumas' The Three Musketeers by Kirsten Childs under the direction of Gash. The troupe will also perform William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet in repertory, directed by Leah C. Gardiner.
