THE FUGITIVE KIND
PRESENTS
“G A Y   B L U E S”
BY MATTHEW CLEAVER
AT BARROW STREET THEATRE

ONE-MAN’S CANTATA ON MARRIAGE EQUALITY
THREE PERFORMANCES ONLY
JULY 2, 3, 5   

TICKETS NOW ON SALE

New York, NY – (6/7/10) The Fugitive Kind (Michael Page, Artistic Director, Laura Caufield & Susan Molloy, Producers), in association with the Barrow Street Theatre, Burton T. Frey Jr., and Heather Levine, will present a new solo show, Gay Blues, by Matthew Cleaver for three performances only: July 2nd & 3rd at 10:00 p.m. and July 5th  at 7:30 p.m. at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street) withspecial added activities, as follows:

Friday, July 2nd:           Marriage Equality Dance Party in the theatre following the performance
Saturday, July 3rd:      Duplex Night  -- all ticket holders receive $2 off your drinks at The Duplex following the performance
Monday, July 5th:         Equality Gay-la – pre-show reception beginning at 7 p.m. with local politicians and celebrity guests

Gay Blues is one man’s cantata about gay marriage.  Gay Marriage.  What the hell is gay marriage? Have you ever heard it called white people marriage? Or diabetic marriage? Or microbrew enthusiast marriage? Why the modifier? There’s something about the word gay in front of the word marriage that gets people mad.  Well, Matt Cleaver is mad too; mad that getting “gay married” is illegal.  He’s looking to change all that, nothing gives people that get up and go like wailing the blues. Gay Blues. Come get f***ing pissed.

“A brawl broke out in our constitutional congress, resulting in one of history's greatest declarations about equality and human rights,” Barrow Street Theatre producer Scott Morfee said. “This is why we celebrate the 4th of July – equal rights for all.  Gay Blues is not afraid to brawl, but through song and story, it eloquently reminds us that there is no such thing as gay rights...that was all figured out in 1776. Wasn't it?”

The new production company, The Fugitive Kind, produces and creates theatre that focuses on the narrative of people who have never felt comfortable in their own skin.  Following the ideologies of Tennessee Williams, the company is a non-profit that seeks to take socially progressive theatre to the next level by partnering with local charities and organizations to help promote the causes they are focusing on.  For Gay Blues, The Fugitive Kind will partner with Marriage Equality New York with a portion of the proceeds going to the organization to help promote equality.

Tickets are priced at $20 and can be purchased at www.smarttix.com, by phone at (212) 868-4444, or in person at the Barrow Street Theatre box office (open at 1 p.m. daily).   Barrow Street Theatre is located at 27 Barrow Street at 7th Avenue South in the heart of Greenwich Village.  Nearby subway stops are the 1 at Christopher Street (walk 1 block South on 7th Avenue to Barrow) and the A, C, E, B, D, F and V at West 4th (walk West on 4th Street, left on Barrow).

The Fugitive Kind is a sponsored artist of The Field, a not-for-profit, tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization serving the New York City performing arts community. Contributions made to The Field and earmarked for J. Chen Project are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. For more information about The Field contact: The Field, 161 6th Avenue, New York NY 10013, (212)691-6969, fax: (212)255-2053,www.thefield.org. A copy of The Field’s latest annual report may be obtained, upon request, from The Field or from the Office of the Attorney General, Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271

Bios____________________________________________________________

Matthew Cleaver (Writer/Performer) is a writer and performer, born and raised in Pleasant Plain, Ohio, and currently living in Brooklyn. He is a recent graduate of Ohio University, where he earned his BFA in Theatre Performance.

Michael Page (Director) is the founding artistic director of The Fugitive Kind and the managing director of the Barrow Street Theatre.  Recent directing credits include Sarcastic, Sentimental, Bitchy & Sweet (Beechman), The Frankophile (Under St. Marks), Merchant of Venice, The Lady of Larkspur Lotion (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey), The Gnadiges Fraulein (Provincetown Tennessee Williams Festival), Hot Flashes (NY Fringe),  Way to Go!, Pugilist (BST), Vieux Carre, The Laramie Project, and A Bright Room Called Day (Riverside Arts Center of Ann Arbor), Red Peppers, Hands Across The Sea, The Cocktail Hour (Monomoy Theatre on Cape Cod) as well as university productions of Hair, Man of La Mancha, Marat/Sade, Trojan Women, Small Craft Warnings, among others.  Michael is a Princess Grace Award nominee and holds an MFA from Ohio University School of Theatre in directing.  Upcoming projects include Stand Fast by Tom Wirtshafter and Ron Brawer at this year’s New York International Fringe Festival.

The Fugitive Kind (Michael Page, Susan Molloy, & Laura Caufield, Producers) is a new non-profit production company dedicated to telling stories of the outsider.  Founded on the ideals of the writing of Tennessee Williams The Fugitives seek to tell the stories of those who are, in the words of Williams himself, “sentenced to solitary confinement inside our own skins.” The Fugitives then go further by taking their message beyond their audiences and pair each show with and appropriate local charity or community group sharing profits and or resources to help them reach their goals.  Their kick-off event Sarcastic, Sentimental, Bitchy & Sweet, was a hybrid cabaret/theatre piece that used the words and music of Noel Coward. It was presented in May at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in mid-town.  They paired with PS 166 The Richard Rodgers School of Arts and Technology by giving a percentage of the ticket sales to their at risk instrumental music program.  www.thefugitivekind.org.

Barrow Street Theatre is operated by producers Scott Morfee and Tom Wirtshafter. Since 2003 Barrow Street Theatre has been home to the following productions:  Roadhouse: The Stage Play by Timothy Haskell, BUG by Tracy Letts, Eat the Taste by Greg Kotis, Orson’s Shadow by Austin Pendleton, TJ & Dave, Red Light Winter by Adam Rapp, Nilaja Sun’s No Child, an oak tree by Tim Crouch, Floating by Hoi Polloi, Gone Missing created by The Civilians. In 2008: BST Fortnight, What’s My Line?-Live on Stage, Two Men Talking, Mike Daisy’s How Theater Failed America, Theater Oobleck’s The Strangerer, Baby Wants Candy. BST was a host venue for the 2008 New York International Fringe Festival and the FringeNYC Encore Series. www.BarrowStreetTheatre.com

Heather Levine (Associate Producer) is assistant producer at the Barrow Street Theatre and most recently co-produced the Fortnight Series, TJ and Dave, both at BST and the Summer Solo Series at Soho Playhouse.

Burton T. Frey Jr. (Associate Producer) has worked at the Barrow Street Theatre for over two years as House Manager, Company Manager, Administrative Assistant and as an Associate Producer for the theatre’s Fortnight Festival. He has produced Lies Becker’s What on Earth?: Tales of Benjamin and Julie Rush and co-produced a sold out run of Kenneth Molloy’s Ghost of Dracula, both at the Wings Theatre of Manhattan. Ghost of Dracula will be presented in the 14th annual New York International Fringe Festival.

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