Rachel Reiner Productions presents the World Premiere of VILLAINOUS COMPANY

Directed by Eric Parness

At Theatre Row’s Clurman Theatre
Beginning Performances January 9; Opening January 12, 2015

New York: Rachel Reiner Productions will present the World Premiere of Victor L. Cahn’s Villainous Company, directed by Eric Parness. The show will begin performances on January 9, and open on Monday, January 12 running through January 31, 2015 at Theatre Row’s Clurman Theatre (410 West 42 Street). Tickets are $19.25 (including a $1.25 theatre restoration charge) and can be purchased at www.Telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200.

Claire returns from an afternoon of shopping and discovers that one of her packages is missing. In an effort to retrieve it, she calls the store and a series of events unravels that draw the three women of Victor L. Cahn’s Villainous Company, into a scintillating and suspenseful game of cat and mouse with unexpected results.

Cast includes: Alice Bahlke (Resonance Ensemble’s H4), Julia Campanelli (Sleep No More, “One Life to Live”) and Corey Tazmania (Resonance Ensemble’s R.U.R., Housewives of Mannheim). Creative team: Jennifer Varbalow (Set Designer), Brooke Cohen (Costume Designer), Pamela Kupper (Lighting Designer), Nick Simone (Sound Designer). Casting Consultant is Stephanie Klapper and Sean McCain is the Stage Manager.

Villainous Company

Written by Victor L. Cahn; Directed by Eric Parness
Begins performances on January 9; opens January 12 and runs through January 31, 2015
Performance Schedule: Thursday-Saturday at 8PM; Sunday Matinee at 3PM
Added performances Monday, January 12 at 7PM (opening); Wednesday, January 28 at 8PM
Running Time is 90 Minutes With an intermission
The Clurman Theatre is located at 410 West 42nd Street

Tickets are $19.25 and can be purchased by visiting www.Telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200.
www.villainouscompanytheplay.com

Who’s Who:

VICTOR L. CAHN (Playwright) has written numerous plays produced Off-Broadway and regionally, including Roses in December, Embraceable Me, Fit to Kill (all published by Samuel French), Dally with the Devil (Steele Spring Stage Rights), A Dish for the Gods, Getting the Business, Sheepskin/Bottom of the Ninth, and Sherlock Solo, a one-man show that he performed. He has appeared onstage throughout the Capital Region of New York, taking leading roles in works by Shakespeare, Shaw, Pinter, Coward, Ayckbourn, Simon, Gurney, Christie, and Knott. He is Professor Emeritus of English at Skidmore College, and author of more than a dozen non-fiction books, including Walking Distance: Remembering Classic Episodes from Classic Television. He has also published two novels, and his articles and reviews have appeared in such varied publications as Modern Drama, The Literary Review, The New York Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Variety. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, Inc.

ERIC PARNESS (Director) is the Artistic Director of Resonance Ensemble, where he has directed The Lower Depths, The Mail Order Bride, The Cherry Orchard, 23 Knives, The Master Builder, Shakespeare’s Slave, and The Truth Quotient, among others. Previous collaborations with Mr. Cahn include Dally With The Devil, Sherlock Solo, Fit to Kill, and Embraceable Me. Other credits include Going Once, Laughing Twice at St. Luke’s Theatre, Jean Cocteau Repertory’s Crazy for the Dog, Oberon Theatre Ensemble’s Of Mice and Men and Starship Astrov, Hypothetical Theatre’s Kryptonite City, and new work with adobe theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and Vital Theatre. Eric is an adjunct professor in the Theater Department at Marymount Manhattan College. He has a M.F.A. in Directing from Brooklyn College, is a graduate of Brandeis University, and is a member of Lincoln Center Theater’s Directors Lab.

Bios for Villainous Company

ALICE BAHLKE (Tracy): Trained at the O’Neill National Theater Institute with a BA from Emory University, Alice has been performing in New York for just over five years. Having appeared on Hell House LLC, Americano, As the World Turns, and several national commercials, Alice is excited to return to the stage with Rachel Reiner Productions. Favorite theater credits include H4 (Lady Percy/Poins – Theatre Row), The Magical History Tour (Tour Guide – Floating Theater aboard the Clipper City), Shape of Things (Evelyn – Access Theater), and most recently in The Past is Still Ahead, Alice was honored to play the late Russian cult poet Marina Tsvetaiva (Jewel Box Theater). Thanks and love to my family and John.

JULIA CAMPANELLI* (Joanna) NY/Regional: Sleep No More with Punchdrunk NYC (Obie & Drama Desk Award); The Wonder, and As You Like It with Queen’s Company (Lucille Lortel Award); Cornbury with Theatre Askew; Red Bull Theatre, NYTW; Phoenix Theatre; NY Fringe, Samuel French OOBway, & Estrogenius Festivals; Folger Shakespeare. Film/TV: Pamanhikan (Vale Film Festival winner); L’Accordatore (Las Vegas Film Festival winner); Pink Moon; Marcus’s Sweater; The Year I Grew An Inch; Walking Away; Virgin Territory; It Could Happen To You; A Bronx Tale; A Day with Conrad Greene; Prizzi’s Honor; “Law & Order;” “One Life To Live” (ABC); “Tattinger’s,” “The Equalizer.” Julia is the Artistic Director of Shelter Theatre Group NYC. Many thanks to Rachel, Eric and my villainous ladies! www.juliacampanelli.com

COREY TAZMANIA* (Claire): This is her second production with Rachel and Eric after appearing in Resonance Ensemble’s 2013 production of R.U.R. adapted by Lee Eric Shackleford. Recent credits include: The Parable Conference (Next Wave Festival/BAM); The Tempest (Hampton Independent Theatre Festival); Medea (Gallery Players); On the Future of Art (Guggenheim). Other credits include: Seven seasons with The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, 59E59, SoHo REP, The Magic, Burning Coal, Mill Mountain, Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara, and is a company member of NJREP. Later this year, Corey will be working with Camel Collective (REDCAT gallery) and NJREP (world premiere of Richard Strand’s The Realization of Emily Linder).