CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM THE SOUND AND THE FURY

NEW YORK THEATRE WORKSHOP TO PRESENT

THE SOUND AND THE FURY
( APRIL SEVENTH, 1928 )  

BASED ON PART ONE OF THE NOVEL BY WILLIAM FAULKNER
CREATED BY ELEVATOR REPAIR SERVICE
BEGINNING TUESDAY, APRIL 15
OPENING TUESDAY, APRIL 29

NEW YORK, MARCH 13, 2008 - New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Acting Managing Director Fred Walker have announced that The Sound and The Fury (April Seventh, 1928), based on part one of the novel by William Faulkner, created by Elevator Repair Service (ERS), and directed by John Collins, will begin performances Tuesday, April 15, at NYTW, 79 East 4th Street, between Second Avenue and Bowery. Opening night is scheduled for Tuesday, April 29 at 7:00pm. The production will run through May 18.

Elevator Repair Service, a theater ensemble, was founded by John Collins and a group of actors in 1991. The ensemble's body of work combines elements of slapstick comedy, hi-tech and lo-tech design, vaudeville, both literary and found text, found objects and discarded furniture, and the group’s own highly developed style of choreography. Recently, ERS' focus has turned to literature with work based on the fiction of Henry James, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jack Kerouac, and, now, William Faulkner. These include the Bessie Award-winning Room Tone (2002-2004), No Great Society (2007 at NYTW’s 4th Street Theatre), and Gatz, the group’s highly acclaimed marathon performance of The Great Gatsby, which continues to tour the U.S. and Europe and will next be seen at the Dublin Theatre Festival.

Written by Nobel Prize winner William Faulkner in 1929, The Sound and the Fury tells the story of the decline of the Compson family of fictional Yoknapatawpha county, Mississippi . A once noble clan descended from a Civil War hero, the family falls victim to many of the shortcomings Faulkner believed were the problems of the reconstructed South—racism, greed, selfishnesss—thereby showing how the ideals and life of the old South could not easily be maintained or preserved in the post-Civil War era. April Seventh, 1928, part one of the novel, is told from the point of view of Benjy Compson, who is mute with the mind of a child.

James Nicola says “ERS has been working on this exciting new production for the past two years as a Company-in-Residence at NYTW, including a three-week residency with us at Dartmouth last summer.  We had a wonderful time together, discovering many common bonds amongst us all.  I believe that their distinctive approach to the task of theatrical adaptation will result in a renewed appreciation for both Faulkner’s ravishing words and as well as the power of and the necessity for live performance. I am extremely proud that this essential downtown theatre company will be making its off-Broadway debut on our stage.”

John Collins says “William Faulkner is notorious for structural complexity in his writing. The first section of The Sound and The Fury is one of the more daunting passages in American literature and this was a draw for us. To get inside the head of  Benjy—whom he describes as ‘truly innocent’ —Faulkner chose to leap from one event in time to another (jumping as far as thirty years into the past) seamlessly and, sometimes, without any hints as to what he's up to. Bringing this to the stage struck us a great challenge.”

John Collins founded Elevator Repair Service—a name derived from a comically flawed career placement test—in 1991 at Nada with his first production, Mr. Antipyrine, Fire Extinguisher. In the 15 years since, he has directed or co-directed all of the company's shows, often acting as its producer and sound and lighting designer as well. Since 1991 John's work with ERS has been seen across the U.S. and Europe . New York Magazine called ERS "the best experimental theater group in town," while New York Newsday said the group's work was "wacko enough to be truly inspired." The New York Times has called them "thrilling...and audacious." Concurrent with his work as ERS’ director, John has earned a reputation as an innovative sound and lighting designer. Since 1993 he has worked for The Wooster Group and has earned numerous awards and distinctions, including two Drama Desk nominations and a Bessie Award. As a lighting designer, he won a Bessie Award for his design of ERS' Room Tone. John was born in North Carolina and raised in south Georgia. He holds a B.A. in English and Theater Studies from Yale.

The cast of The Sound and the Fury (April Seventh, 1928) is Mike Iveson, Vin Knight, Aaron Landsman, April Matthis, Annie McNamara, Randolph Curtis Rand, Greig Sargeant, Kate Scelsa, Kaneza Schaal, Susie Sokol, Tory Vazquez, and Ben Williams.

The scenic design for The Sound and the Fury (April Seventh, 1928) is by David Zinn; costume design is by Colleen Werthmann; lighting design is by Mark Barton; sound design is by Matt Tierney; c horeography is by Katherine Profeta; and the production stage manager is Sarah Hughes.

Elevator Repair Service is hosting a benefit gala on Monday, April 28, 2008 to celebrate and support the company’s off-Broadway debut at New York Theatre Workshop with The Sound and the Fury (April Seventh, 1928). The benefit committee includes Oscar-winning actress Frances McDormand, legendary actor and writer Steve Martin, playwright John Guare, “Saturday Night Live” star Fred Armisen, pop star Casey Spooner of FischerSpooner, actress Annie Parisse (“Law and Order” and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days), performance artist Lucy Sexton, as well as diverse representatives of New York’s cultural and finance communities. The evening includes a sneak preview of The Sound and the Fury (April Seventh, 1928), followed by a party with a live DJ set by Natalie Weiss as Unicornicopia, food and wine, and a silent auction, all at New York Theatre Workshop. High-level donors will attend a pre-show party at 6 PM with the benefit committee, featuring wine and hors d’oeuvres at Jimmy’s No. 43, a nearby East Village restaurant. For more information on the benefit or to purchase tickets, contact Elevator Repair Service at benefit@elevator.org, 718-783-1905, or visit www.elevator.org.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW), now celebrating its 25th season, is a leading voice in the world of Off-Broadway and within the theatre community in New York and around the world. NYTW has emerged as a premiere incubator of important new theatre, honoring its mission to explore perspectives on our collective history and respond to the events and institutions that shape our lives. In addition, NYTW is known for its innovative adaptations of classic repertory. Each season, from its home in New York's East Village neighborhood, NYTW presents four to six new productions, over 80 readings, and numerous workshop productions, for over 60,000 audience members. Over the past twenty-five years, NYTW has developed and produced over 100 new, fully staged works, including Jonathan Larson's Rent, Tony Kushner's Slavs! and Homebody/Kabul, Doug Wright's Quills, Claudia Shear's Blown Sideways Through Life and Dirty Blonde, Paul Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told and Valhalla, and

Caryl Churchill's Mad Forest, Far Away, and A Number. The 2002 remounting of Martha Clarke's seminal work Vienna: Lusthaus and subsequent American tour was one of the longest-running productions in NYTW's history. NYTW supports artists in all stages of their careers by maintaining a series of workshop programs including work-in-progress readings, summer residencies, and minority artist fellowships. In 1991, NYTW received an Obie Award for Sustained Achievement and in 2000 was designated to be part of the Leading National Theatres Program by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The Sound and the Fury (April Seventh, 1928) plays at New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th Street, between Second Avenue and Bowery. The regular performance schedule is Tuesday at 7:00pm, Wednesday through Saturday at 8:00pm, and Sunday at 2:00pm and 7:00pm. The Sound and the Fury (April Seventh, 1928) runs through May 18. Tickets, which go on sale March 15, are $55 and may be purchased online at www.telecharge.com, 24 hours a day, seven days a week or by phoning Telecharge.com at (212) 239-6200. For exact dates and times of performance, call Telecharge.com. For more information about The Sound and the Fury (April Seventh, 1928), visit www.nytw.org.

These performances are made possible, in part, with public funds from The National Endowment for the Arts, The New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. The Sound and the Fury (April Seventh, 1928) is also supported with funds from The Edward T. Cone Foundation, The Greenwall Foundation, The All iance of Resident Theaters-N.Y., The J.P. Morgan-Chase Fund for Small Theatres, Altria Group, Inc., The Mental Insight Foundation, and the Association of Performing Arts Presenters Ensemble Theatre Collaborations Grant Program, a component of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Theatre Initiative.

Maintaining its commitment to making theatre accessible to all theatergoers, NYTW continues its CheapTix Sundays program in which all tickets for all Sunday evening performances will cost $20. Tickets may be purchased in advance, payable in cash only, and are available in person only at the NYTW Box Office. And for all performances, student tickets cost $20, based on availability, and can be purchased in advance from the NYTW Box Office with valid student identification. The NYTW Box Office is open 1:00pm to 6:00pm , Tuesday through Saturday.