Every day is opening night.

Lilly Award Foundation’s “(3) Plays From Kilroys’ List” Concludes With “Тhe Tall Girls” 3/23

Contact:
Rick Miramontez / Philip Carrubba

rick@oandmco.com   / philp@oandmco.com

212-695-7400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE

THE LILLY AWARDS FOUNDATION

CONCLUDES THE INAUGURAL

“(3)PLAYS FROM THE KILROYS’ LIST: A READING SERIES”

WITH

“T H E   T A L L   G I R L S”

A PLAY BY MEG MIROSHNIK

DIRECTED BY LEIGH SILVERMAN

 

FEATURING KALLY DULING, ALEXANDRA HENRIKSEN,

COLBIE MINIFIE, SARAH STEELE, ERIN WILHELMI, AND ANATOL YUSEF

 

MONDAY, MARCH 23rd AT 7:00 P.M.

 

AT THE DUKE ON 42nd STREET

A NEW 42ND STREET® PROJECT

 

AN “AFTERCHAT” RECEPTION

SPONSORED BY THE INTERVAL TO FOLLOW THE READING

 

New York, NY (March 20, 2015) — The Lilly Awards Foundation has announced additional casting for the final play in the Inaugural (3)Plays from The Kilroys’ List: A Reading Series featuring new works by female playwrights Larissa FastHorse, Meg Miroshnik and Laura Schellhardt, with female directors Lear deBessonet, Leigh Silverman and Liesl Tommy. 

Anatol Yusef (“Boardwalk Empire”) joins previously announced Kally Duling (“One Bad Choice”), Alexandra Henriksen (The Snow Geese), Colbie Minifie (Punk Rock), Sarah Steele (“The Good Wife”), Erin Wilhelmi (Perks of Being a Wallflower) for the staged reading of the new play, The Tall Girls by Meg Miroshnik and directed by Leigh Silverman on Monday evening, March 23rd, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at The Duke on 42nd Street (229 West 42nd Street). 

Admission is free but reservations are strongly recommended and can be obtained at http://www.thelillyawards.org or https://www.artful.ly/the-lilly-awards-foundation.

The Tall Girls takes place in Poor Prairie – the dusty, desolate town where fifteen-and-a-half-year-old Jean has been exiled as caretaker for her wild-child cousin, Almeda. It’s a grim, dangerous place to eke out an existence as a teenage girl—until a handsome man with a past arrives, a brand-new basketball in tow. As the town’s girls come together to form a team set on making it out of Poor Prairie, a murky committee of townspeople threatens to stamp out girls' sports altogether.  Inspired by the flourishing and decline of high school girls' basketball teams in the 1930s rural Midwest, The Tall Girls asks: Who can afford the luxury of play? And what is the cost of childhood?

After each reading, attendees are invited to join the artists and members of The Lilly Awards at “AfterChats” hosted by The Interval (www.the-interval.com), a new website dedicated to female voices in theatre. The “AfterChats” will be held at Bea Restaurant (403 West 43rd Street) and will offer guests the chance to discuss the plays, learn more about getting involved with the community, and to mingle and be merry over snacks and wine. To stay updated on all the AfterChat fun, follow @TheIntervalNY on Twitter. 

(3)Plays from the Kilroys’ List: A Reading Series was created to support the Lilly Awards Foundation’s mission to promote gender parity at all levels of theatrical production, and develop and celebrate the work of women in the theater.  Released by The Kilroys in 2014, THE LIST consists of the 46 plays most recommended by industry leaders in a national survey of the best underproduced plays by female and trans* playwrights. It was created as “a tool for producers committed to ending the systemic underrepresentation of female voices in the American theater.”

The Lilly Awards Foundations launched the inaugural 3-play series with the new play, The Comparables  by Laura Schellhardt with direction by Lear deBessonet.  The cast featured Cassie Beck, America Ferrerra and Kate Mulgrew.  The series continued Monday, March 16th at 7:00 p.m. with the staged reading What Would Crazy Horse Do? by Larissa FastHorse and directed by Leigh Silverman, the cast featured Emily Berg, Jason Grasl, Slate Holmgren and Madeline Sayet

The Lilly Awards were started in 2010 as a way to honor the work of women in the American Theater. The founders of The Lilly Awards are Julia Jordan, Marsha Norman and Theresa Rebeck. The Lilly Awards Foundation was named after Lillian Hellman, a pioneering American playwright who famously said, “You need to write like the devil and act like one when necessary.” The Lilly Awards have expanded their mission to promote gender parity at all levels of theatrical production, as well as develop, celebrate and advocate for the work of women in the theater.  The Lilly Awards Foundation created the Inaugural (3)Plays from The Kilroys’ List: A Reading Series in order to support the sister mission of The Kilroys and their organization, and to put the work of women playwrights in front of the community that can produce and support them. For more information: www.thelillyawards.org, Like them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheLillyAwards or follow on Twitter at @thelillyawards.

The Kilroys

Founded in 2013, The Kilroys are a group of LA-based female playwrights and producers committed to gender inclusivity in the American theater. They are creating positive initiatives to achieve field-wide change while working independently to advance the artistic and professional goals of their members. Their first national initiative, THE LIST, is published on their website and is a tool for producers committed to ending the systemic underrepresentation of female voices in the American theater. For more information, go to www.thekilroys.org or follow on twitter at @thekilroys13.

The New 42nd Street

Founded in 1990, The New 42nd Street is an independent nonprofit organization charged with the continuous cultural revival of 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. Committed to the transformational power of the arts, The New 42nd Street builds on the foundation of seven historic theaters to make extraordinary performing arts and cultural engagement part of everyone’s life. The New 42nd Street fulfills this purpose by ensuring the ongoing vibrancy of 42nd Street’s historic theaters; maintaining and fully using the New 42nd Street Studios and The Duke on 42nd Street to support performing artists in the creation of their work; and through The New Victory Theater, New York’s premier theater devoted to kids and families.

About The Duke on 42nd Street

The Duke on 42nd Street is an intimate black-box performance space in the heart of the theater district, available for rental to both nonprofit and commercial organizations. Featuring a gallery along all four walls and a custom, state-of-the-art seating system, The Duke on 42nd Street is a fully-staffed, full service facility that offers full light, sound and support systems in various configurations. Many performing arts companies have called the theater their home, including Primary Stages, The Royal Court Theatre, Transport Group, Theatre for a New Audience, Lincoln Center Theater, Steppenwolf Theater Company, Armitage Gone! Dance, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Naked Angels, Classical Theater of Harlem and the National Theater of Great Britain.

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