THE WOODSMAN announces Off-Broadway engagement

FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW OFF-BROADWAY ENGAGEMENT

Discover how the Tinman lost his heart.

THE WOODSMAN

BY JAMES ORTIZ

MUSIC COMPOSED BY EDWARD W. HARDY

LYRICS BY JEN LORING

DIRECTED BY JAMES ORTIZ and CLAIRE KARPEN

TO OPEN AT OFF-BROADWAY’S NEW WORLD STAGES

FOLLOWING TWO CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED SOLD OUT ENGAGEMENTS

AT 59E59 THEATERS

PERFORMANCES BEGIN WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2016

OFFICIALLY OPENS SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2016

TICKETS NOW ON SALE

“The spectacle is handmade, infused with breath and light.” – The New York Times

“The Woodsman is a grown-up fairy tale that proves happiness is a worthwhile goal, even if it doesn’t last ever after.” – Time Out New York

“Overflows with vivid imagery and emotion.” – New York Magazine

(New York, NY) Producers Robb Nanus, Rachel Sussman, Ryan Bogner and Adam Silberman announced today that the critically acclaimed play The Woodsman, a uniquely inventive retelling of the origins of Oz’s Tin Woodsman, will begin performances on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 and officially open on Sunday, February 7, 2016 at Off-Broadway’s New World Stages – Stage 5 (340 West 50th Street).

Based on the beloved writings of L. Frank Baum, The Woodsman tells the origin story of the Tin Woodsman, the woman he loved, and the witch that would stop at nothing to keep them apart. Back by popular demand, Strangemen & Co. brings this hauntingly beautiful Land of Oz to life through spectacular puppetry and original music.

Directed by James Ortiz and Claire Karpen and written by James Ortiz with music composed by Edward W. Hardy and lyrics by Jen Loring, The Woodsman features Benjamin Bass, Devin Dunne Cannon, Will Gallacher, Alex J. Gould, Amanda A. Lederer, Aaron McDaniel, Lauren Nordvig, James Oritz, Eliza Simpson, Meghan St. Thomas and Sophia Zukoski, reprising their roles from the 59E59 productions.

The Woodsman has set and puppet design by James Ortiz, costume design by Carol Uraneck, lighting design by Catherine Clark and Jamie Roderick, associate direction by Devin Dunne Cannon and costume coordination by Molly Seidel.

The Woodsman was originally produced and developed by STRANGEMEN & CO.

Tickets are now on sale via www.Telecharge.com (212.239.6200) and at the New World Stages box office (340 West 50th Street). Tickets for The Woodsman range from $45 - $85.

The playing schedule for The Woodsman is as follows: Monday at 8pm, Wednesday through Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2:30pm & 8pm and Sunday at 3pm & 7:30pm.

The Woodsman, a recipient of the 2014 Jim Henson Foundation Grant, was created by Strangemen & Co. and premiered at Brooklyn’s Standard ToyKraft in 2012 followed by a production at the Ars Nova ANT Fest in 2013 before transferring to 59E59 Theaters in January 2014 for a strictly limited 3-week, sold out run. The Woodsman returned by popular demand for a critically acclaimed strictly limited engagement at 59E59 Theaters in January 2015, making it one of the only shows in the theater’s history to ever make a return engagement.

In its 59E59 Theaters return engagement, The New York Times hailed, “Mr. Ortiz’s puppets are fanciful and gorgeous: the witch, with her pinched face and dowager’s gown; the crows, whose wings in motion are all taffeta susurration; a fabulous golden-eyed monster, a cross between a tiger and a bear. (Oh, my.),” and The Huffington Post called The Woodsman “A winner! Clever pure theater.” A Time Out New York Critic’s Pick, The Woodsman was praised “as a grown-up fairy tale that proves happiness is a worthwhile goal, even if it doesn’t last ever after.”

Download production photos at:

www.polkandco.com

Password: Polkpr [Case Sensitive]

Photo Credit: Hunter Canning

For more information visit: www.TheWoodsmanPlay.com Like on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/TheWoodsmanPlay

Follow on Twitter and Instagram as @TheWoodsmanPlay

BIOGRAPHIES

CREATIVE TEAM BIOGRAPHIES

JAMES ORTIZ (Creator, Director, Set and Puppet Design) is a NYC based actor, director, writer, puppet designer, and co-artistic director of Strangemen & Co. Design/directorial credits (puppet or otherwise) include: The Tempest (DC Shakespeare), SeaWife (Naked Angels), Mercury Fur (The New Group), King Lear (Delacorte Theatre in the Park), Ludic Proxy (Soho Rep.), King Lear (Theatre for a New Audience), A Midsummer Night's Dream (New Place Players), Miss Lilly Gets Boned (Studio 42), My Base and Scurvy Heart (Studio 42), An Intimate Evening with Typhoid Mary (Glass Bandits), and The Woodsman (Ars Nova, 59e59). (www.strangemencompany.com)

CLAIRE KARPEN (Director) Directing credits include Woodsman (59E59); Trelawny of the Wells, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, A Little Night Music and Henry IV, Part One (Juilliard); Voices in My Head (Ars Nova); A Soldier's Tale (Chautauqua Theatre Company); and Into the Woods (Brown University). As an actor, Claire has worked around on Broadway and Off, at theaters such as the Roundabout, Classic Stage Company, HERE Arts Center and the Public Shakespeare Lab and regionally at the Old Globe, McCarter, Goodspeed Musicals and Trinity Rep. Training: Juilliard and Brown University. www.clairekarpen.com

EDWARD W. HARDY (Composer) Composition credits: Hamlet (Theatre of War), Joe Turner's Come and Gone (Dean Irby), Master and Margarita (David Bassuk), No Exit (Yellow House Pictures), A Brooklyn Boy (National Black Theatre), The Woodsman (59E59/Ars Nova). Critically acclaimed violinist, violist, composer performs as soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician throughout the United States, England, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Gaillard Center, and Princess Anne Theatre among others. He has worked in cooperation with BAFTA, Google, Grand Canyon NACAP, Trilogy Opera. Edward earned his Bachelors and Masters of Music Degrees with honors. A Very Special Thanks to Jim McElwaine for All of his Support. www.edwardwhardy.com

JEN LORING (Lyricist) Writing debut. Currently developing a full length musical with Strangemen & Co.'s StrangeLab. BFA SUNY Purchase.

CATHERINE CLARK & JAMIE RODERICK (Lighting Design) are so excited to be working on their first joint venture, and even more excited to be with Strangemen & Co.! Love to both of their families and friends. Catherine - Off Broadway: The Woodsman (Lighting Design), Hamilton (Assistant Lighting Design). Jamie - Off Broadway: Ken Davenport's That Bachelorette Show, My Big Gay Italian Mid Life Crisis. Regional: Ed Dixon's Georgie. cclarklightingdesign.com JamieRoderick.com

DEVIN DUNNE CANNON (Associate Director) Directing: Spot on the Wall (NYMF-Next Link), Caulk (Top 200-HBO's Project Greenlight). Acting: 30 Rock (NBC), Bunk (IFC), Smile for the Camera (Web). With Strangemen & Co., Devin originated the characters of "Gwen Post" - On The Head of a Pin and "Ma/Kalidah" - The Woodsman @ 59E59, before assuming the role associate director. BFA - New School University. DevinDunneCannon.com

MOLLY SEIDEL (Costume Coordinator) is thrilled to be back working on The Woodsman! Recent credits: The Dangerous Liaisons (Manhattan School of Music), Buddhas are Screaming in China (Paradise Factory; Outstanding Use of Multi-Media Award), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (New Place Players). Served as resident costume designer for Play Group Theatre (White Plains), and recently completed Juilliard's Professional Intern Program for Costume Design. BFA Fine Art, Ithaca College.

STRANGEMEN & CO. (Original Producer) was founded in 2010 by graduates of the SUNY Purchase Acting Conservatory for Theatre Arts and Film with a shared interest in company-devised work, fostering collaborations utilizing diverse theatrical forms, and honoring what is true and simple in each story. Strangemen & Co.’s plays include On the Head of a Pin by Frank Winters, which enjoyed a critically-acclaimed, sold-out run at 59E59 Theaters, and The Woodsman. Other past works include The Little Mermaid adapted by James Ortiz, Empire Comics Presents!, by Frank Winters, Free Delivery by Dan Regelski, and an adaptation of James Thurber’s The 13 Clocks by Will Gallacher workshopped in May 2014 at Guild Hall Theater in East Hampton, NY.

PRODUCER BIOGRAPHIES

ROBB NANUS is a New York-based producer. Recent credits include the sold-out remount of The Woodsman at 59e59 Theaters, the Drama Desk award winning musical The Lion and the sold-out, New York premiere of Andrew Lippa's I Am Harvey Milk starring Kristin Chenoweth, the Orchestra of St Luke's and the 120 member All Star Broadway Men’s Chorus at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall. Robb is also a founding partner of Spruce Lake Theatrical alongside David Bloch and Broadway composer Andrew Lippa. He has worked in various capacities with the Ars Nova, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, the Tony Award winning Signature Theatre in DC and is currently developing pieces for The Kennedy Center and Strathmore Concert Hall.

RACHEL SUSSMAN is a New York-based producer and currently the Director of Programming and Artist Services for the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF). She is a co-founder of The Indigo Theatre Project as well as a co-founding Artistic Director of The MITTEN Lab, an emerging theatre artist residency in her native state of Michigan. Rachel has worked with Second Stage Theatre, RKO Stage, 321 Theatrical Management, and CREATE-Ireland in Dublin, Ireland, among others. Rachel is a 2014-2016 Women's Project Lab Time Warner Foundation Fellow and sits on Advisory Boards for The Musical Theatre Factory and Strangemen & Co.

RYAN BOGNER has produced shows at Williamstown Theater Festival, The Ohio Theater, 42West, The Zipper Factory, The Julia Miles Theater, LaMama, Dixon Place, The New York Musical Theater Festival, The New York International Fringe Festival as well as countless developmental workshops, readings and concerts. Notable productions as an independent producer include: HERE LIES LOVE (Williamstown), THE ORION EXPERIENCE and YEAST NATION: the triumph of life. He currently serves as the Director of Creative Development and Production at RKO Stage Productions, where he is responsible for the theatrical development of titles taken from the RKO Pictures film library and other acquired properties, as well as management of the company’s business and Broadway producing operations. BFA, The Boston Conservatory, MFA, Columbia University.

ADAM SILBERMAN started his professional career with producer Cameron Mackintosh, first in Australia in 1988, and then in London from 1992. In 1999 Adam returned to Australia to work for the renowned director Baz Luhrmann, and designer Catherine Martin. Adam served as the Executive Producer for the Broadway productions La Bohème (2002), Spider-Man (2010), and Ghost (2011) which also played in London’s West-End. Since 2012 Adam has been Executive Producer and International Development Director for Stage Entertainment USA producers of Sister Act, Big Fish and Rocky on Broadway and also the largest theatre owner and producer in continental Europe.

ACTOR BIOGRAPHIES

BENJAMIN BASS received his B.F.A. from SUNY Purchase. He can be seen in the recently released film "James White" starring Chris Abbot and Kid Cudi. Recent credits include: The 13 Clocks (Guild Hall); The Woodsman (59E59); A Devil Inside (Purchase Performing Arts Center). Thank you!

DEVIN DUNNE CANNON Directing: Spot on the Wall (NYMF-Next Link), Caulk (Top 200-HBO's Project Greenlight). Acting: 30 Rock (NBC), Bunk (IFC), Smile for the Camera (Web). With Strangemen & Co., Devin originated the characters of "Gwen Post" - On The Head of a Pin and "Ma/Kalidah" - The Woodsman @ 59E59, before assuming the role associate director. BFA - New School University. DevinDunneCannon.com

WILL GALLACHER comes from Rochester NY via SUNY Purchase Conservatory. Film/TV: 'Winter Rye' (winner Garden State Film Festival, dir. Victoria DeMartin), 'A Crime to Remember' (Investigative Discovery). Theater: 'On the Head of a Pin' (Strangemen & Co), 'Twelfth Night' (Libra Theater Co), 'Henry V' & 'School for Husbands' (NY Classical Theater), 'Associations of Hip' (Overturn Theater Ensemble), 'Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo' (LABrynth Theater Co at SUNY Purchase).

ALEX J. GOULD is thrilled to be back with these strange people! Alex is an actor/fight director in NYC. Off Broadway: The Woodsman (59E59), Other credits Include Student Body, The Mysteries, a cautionary tail, Thomas Bradshaw's JOB, #serials@theflea (Flea Theater). Regional/International: Whaddabloodclot by Katori Hall (Williamstown), Edinburgh Fringe 2015. Readings/workshops: McCarter Theater, Guild Hall, Jewish Plays Project. Edu. AMDA.

AMANDA A. LEDERER Off-Broadway: The Woodsman (59E59, Ars Nova) Shlemiel the First (TFANA). NY: St. Anne's, NYMF, Gallery Players. Regional: Divine Sister (Stageworks-Hudson) Make Sure It’s Me (BTF) Streetcar; Uncle Vanya; Guys & Dolls (NHT-Indiana). Film: That Awkward Moment (Treehouse). BA-Theatre, Catawba College. Proud Strangemen & Co. board member. Continuously inspired by the magic of Oz.

AARON McDANIEL has worked with Strangemen & Co. for years and is exhilarated to be in such a wonderful growing company. Credits include Love's Labour's Lost at Shakespeare Theater of NJ, multiple national tours with Aquila Theatre Company, and fight choreographer positions including Newsies! The Musical and Aladdin. Education: SUNY Purchase BFA.

LAUREN NORDVIG is so grateful to return to Oz with her Strangemen family... there really is no place like home. Off-Bway: The Woodsman (59E59), The Rivals, The Misanthrope (u/s Pearl Theatre), Passion Play (Epic Theatre Ensemble), School for Husbands (NYClassical). Regional favorites: Venus in Fur, A Behanding in Spokane, Viola in Twelfth Night. Hippodrome State Theatre Company Member, Shakespeare Society Ambassador. BFA, University of Florida.

JAMES ORTIZ is a NYC based actor, director, writer, puppet designer, and co-artistic director of Strangemen & Co. Design/directorial credits (puppet or otherwise) include: The Tempest (DC Shakespeare), SeaWife (Naked Angels), Mercury Fur (The New Group), King Lear (Delacorte Theatre in the Park), Ludic Proxy (Soho Rep.), King Lear (Theatre for a New Audience), A Midsummer Night's Dream (New Place Players), Miss Lilly Gets Boned (Studio 42), My Base and Scurvy Heart (Studio 42), An Intimate Evening with Typhoid Mary (Glass Bandits), and The Woodsman (Ars Nova, 59e59). (www.strangemencompany.com)

ELIZA SIMPSON Off-Broadway: The Woodsman (59E59 Theaters). NY: The Mysteries (The Flea), Kapowi GoGo (The PIT, Time Out NY Critics Pick). Regional: The Christmas Carol (Indiana Repertory Theater). Film: Ricki and The Flash, Rachel Getting Married, The Manchurian Candidate. Artistic Associate of Strangemen and Co. and founder of www.MotherLineStoryProject.com. www.elizasimpson.com

MEGHAN ST. THOMAS A proud upstate New Yorker, Meghan has performed in several Off Broadway venues such as 59E59 Theatre's, Playwrights Horizons, Theater Row and The New Ohio Theatre. She received her BFA from SUNY Purchase Acting Conservatory and is the recipient of the Most Outstanding Actor Award. Much love to her mother. www.meghanstthomas.com

SOPHIA ZUKOSKI Off Broadway: The Woodsman (59E59/Strangemen & Co.) NYC Theater: Home in Motion (WOW Cafe Theater/Electric Eye Ensemble). She would like to thank the cast and crew for their magic. Love to Mom, Dad, Zak, Maureen, and Del. Sophia is a recent graduate of the BFA Acting Program at SUNY Purchase. www.sophiazukoski.comrts

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