Heresy
“Clever new satire…sharp comedy…The smart and fun production features an excellent cast directed with precision by Jim Simpson.”
-The Huffington Post
“Heresy hits the funny bone…the cast and Jim Simpson’s brisk direction make it fun.”
-The Daily News
“The arguments made are compelling — as well as highly critical of the status quo. And Gurney includes just enough humor to make this information easily digestible while not diluting its bite.”
-Theatermania
“Solid direction, engaging performances, clever dialogue, well-articulated ideas and an abundance of jokes.”
-Stage and Cinema
“A consistently amusing and well-played take on the state of the union.”
-Blog Critics
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A.R. Gurney’s 7th World Premiere with The Flea
In a parade of government imprisonment, immaculate conception, religion, politics, cocktails and one articulate working girl, Heresy views the not-so-distant-future through the satiric and hilarious lens of A.R. Gurney. Just in time for the 2012 elections. Only at The Flea.
About the Playwright
A.R. Gurney has been writing plays for over fifty years. Among them are: The Grand Manner, Scenes from American Life, The Dining Room, The Middle Ages, The Cocktail Hour, Love Letters, Sylvia, Far East, Ancestral Voices, Big Bill Indian Blood, Crazy Mary, and Buffalo Gal. At The Flea he has premiered Post Mortem, O Jerusalem, Screenplay, Mrs. Farnsworth, A Light Lunch and Office Hours. He has also written three novels, a few television scripts, several unproduced movies, and the librettos of two operas. Gurney is a member of the Theatre Hall of Fame and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has honorary degrees from Williams College and Buffalo State University, and taught literature at M.I.T. for many years.
About the Director
Jim Simpson is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Flea Theater (2004 Drama Desk cited for Downtown Adventurous Theater). Two-time OBIE-award winner, 2002 National Board of Review Excellence in Filmmaking, and cited for artistic leadership in Downtown New York by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council in 2002. Jim has directed over 70 works for the theater and has also directed for film and television. Venues include nine seasons at the Williamstown Theater Festival, Alley Theater, Hartford Stage, Yale Rep, Actor’s Theater of Louisville, Eisenhower Theater at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Playwrights Horizons, EST, CSC, MCC, the London International Theater Festival and the Melbourne Fringe Festival. Jim was a child actor in his hometown of Honolulu, as a teenager worked with Jerzy Grotowski in Poland, and holds degrees from Boston University School for the Arts and the Yale Drama School. Most recently, Jim directed A. R. Gurney’s Crazy Mary at Playwrights Horizons, Will Eno’s Oh, The Humanity…, the revival of Peter Handke’s Offending The Audience, Addison’s CATO, Thomas Bradshaw’s Dawn, Gurney’s A Light Lunch and Office Hours, Will Eno’s UNUM as part of The Flea’s The Great Recession, Jonathan Reynolds’ Girls in Trouble, Bathsheba Doran’s Parents’ Evening, and Steven Banks’ Looking at Christmas.
The Cast
Reg E. Cathey (The Wire)
Tommy Crawford
Steve Mellor
Annette O’Toole (Smallville)
Danny Rivera
Ariel Woodiwiss
Karen Ziemba (Contact, Steel Pier, Curtains)
The Design Team
Set Design Kate Foster
Lighting Design Brian Aldous
Costume Design Claudia Brown
Sound Design Jeremy S. Bloom
Stage Manager Michelle Kelleher
Asst. Stage Manager Edward Herman
