The show is staged every Friday and Saturday night. There are two different casts that cover each night. I'm in the Friday night cast, however we covered Saturday night the past few weeks.
Here's the Goldstar New York summary of the show:
A baseball fan, a handsome young man, a middle-aged woman, her milquetoast husband and a philosopher wait in a Line - for what, it's not exactly clear -- in this classic absurdist comedy-drama by prolific playwright Israel Horovitz (Park Your Car in Harvard Yard). Their subsequent jockeying for position creates a biting satire on the American desire to get ahead at all costs. Line is New York's longest-running Off-Off-Broadway play, having taken hold of the 13th Street Repertory Theater in 1974 and running continuously ever since. It's also kicked off many a career, including that of Richard Dreyfuss, Chazz Palminteri, John Cazale and Christopher Meloni. Obie Award-winning Horovitz is not only the most-produced American playwright in French theater history, but he's also the father of Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock).
I was brought into the production through fellow actors Mark Solari and Jason Ongoco. Last Summer, Mark and I were in Jason's production of Harold Pinter's Party Time.
During that production, Mark auditioned and won the role of Fleming. This past January, the Friday night cast was going through some turnover. Originally, Jason was going to play Dolan. However, Jason went to LA for pilot season and I stepped into the part, with only two weeks to memorize!
The show has played at the 13th Street Repertory Theater since 1974. Growing up, there were associations I had with the term 'New York City Off-Broadway Theater.' Stereotypical thoughts from TV and movies about spaces downtown in abandoned lofts and basements of brownstones in the village. The 13th Street Rep embodies all those notions.
The theater is a national landmark, due to its being a stop on the Underground Railroad. Backstage in the dressing room, is the trap door that leads to a hidden area underneath the floorboards.
The rest of the theater, especially the waiting room feels like a Smithsonian preservation of an Off-Broadway theater from the 70s, including wood paneling and a bar made from large casks.
Not only is the show a standard, the theater is an experience.
I would post photos of the cast, but we've been too busy trying to get up to speed for me to take any snapshots. As, the production rolls on, I'll post some pics.
I'll be there every Friday night, so come see an NYC institution. Tickets are half priced if you order online:
http://www.goldstar.com/events/new-york-city-ny/line-1
And since Israel Horovitz is the father of one of the Beastie Boys -
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