The Florida-based Urbanite Theatre will launch in New York this summer with an Off-Broadway revival of Tim Ruddy's The International July 15-Aug. 2, in a co-production with New York's Origin Theatre, which premiered in spring of 2014 but was "under-reviewed," according to a production spokesperson.
Christopher Randolph will direct the production at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, 416 West 42nd Street.
It will be a busy summer for playwright Ruddy, who is also currently starring in the Irish Rep’s revival of The Weir through Sept. 15. Set during the Balkan War of 1992-1995, The International was his debut as a playwright.
Here's how the show is described in production notes: "In Ruddy’s probing three-character play, familiar events taking place during an unnamed war in Eastern Europe are seen through the eyes of three different people in three different parts of the world. Linked in surprising ways through the media, technology and global politics these three people couldn’t be more disconnected."
"Too many incredible productions are mounted in New York, run briefly and disappear never to be seen again,” said George C. Heslin, Origin’s artistic director. “This is an unusual source for shows, and producing model,” said Urbanite’s founder and producer Harry Lipstein. "But we think the partially tapped potential of these kinds of productions is well worth exploring.“
Lipstein said that Urbanite's goal will be to pick distinguished productions of powerful plays, re-mount them again in New York in the summer and then put the productions on track to play at Urbanite's home theatre in Sarasota, FL.
No other future titles have been announced.
Co-producer Origin Theatre, now in its 13th season, hosts an annual festival of plays by contemporary Irish playwrights from around the world. Origin is responsible for having introduced Enda Walsh (Once), Mark O’Rowe (Terminus), and Lucy Caldwell to U.S. audiences. The festival’s 8th annual edition will take place in September.
As it did during its initial run, The International will invite audiences to participate in post-show talk-backs about the collateral effects of ethnic conflicts inside and outside the theatre of war. Moderating the talk-backs on Thursdays July 16, 23 and 30 will be Aisling Reidy, the senior legal advisor for Human Rights Watch, and Sarah Crowe, the director of Crisis Communications for UNICEF. For more info visit OriginTheatre.org.
