A Battle of Wills: Internal and External: Frances Sternhagen joins rotating cast


Part-Time Productions inaugural presentation, A Battle of Wills: Internal and External has announced that Frances Sternhagen has joined the productions rotating cast.

A Battle of Wills: Internal and External, presented in association with The New Group, is an evening of three one-act plays at Theatre Row's Acorn Theatre from 31 May - 21 Jun 2009.

A Battle of Wills: Internal and External has a rotating cast featuring Delphi Harrington (B�way: Les Liaisons Dangereuses, The Seagull), Tasha Lawrence (B�way: Wilder, Wilder, Wilder. TV: �Third Watch�), Lizbeth Mackay (B�way: The Price, All My Sons. TV: �One Life to Live�), Carolyn McCormick (B�way: Equus. TV: �Law & Order�), Larry Pine (B�way: Bus Stop. Film: "Melinda and Melinda"), Marian Seldes (B�way: Deuce, Dinner at Eight � Tony nomination. Film: "The Visitor," "Mona Lisa Smile."), John Shea (B�way: Yentl. TV: �Gossip Girl.� Film: "A Broken Sole," "Missing."), Kevin Stapleton (B�way: Salome. TV: �One Life to Live�) and Frances Sternhagen (B�way: Steel Magnolias. TV: �Sex and the City�).

The evening leads with This is On Me, written by Tom Fontana based on the work of Dorothy Parker and directed by Antony Marsellis. Renowned author, screenwriter and critic Dorothy Parker drew inspiration from the time in which she lived, the dazzling and daring Roaring Twenties. Her work, which earned her an O'Henry Award and two Academy Award nominations, was fueled by her endless battle with men, alcohol and herself. Tom Fontana, who has explored the dark side of human nature in his television programmes 'Oz,' 'Homicide' and 'St. Elsewhere,' is the ideal writer to adapt Parker's thought-provoking and poignant work.

The evening continues with Ashes to Ashes, written by Nobel-prize winning playwright Harold Pinter and directed by Christopher Hart. In this play, a wife�s torment has a profound impact upon her husband, as reality and the inner-workings of her mind become indistinguishable. Regardless of their origin, the wife�s troubled thoughts and images are very real � to her.

Love Divided By, written by Susan Charlotte and directed by Emmy winner John Shea, concludes the evening. During this drama the audience watches as a sister gives in to her brother's desperate pleas to meet, only to discover why she has pushed him away.

Part Time Productions connects theater to causes by opening a dialogue within the context of a theater event, raising awareness about a specific cause and offering proceeds from ticket sales to an organization connected to the cause. A Battle of Wills: Internal and External explores issues related to mental health via three one-act plays.

The honoree for this program is The Lieber Recovery and Rehabilitation Clinic for Psychotic Disorders at Columbia University. The Lieber Clinic provides comprehensive psychiatric rehabilitation for individuals with persistent mental illness. It is particularly suited to patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, though people with other forms of mental illness may also benefit from its rehabilitation focus. For more information, please visit The Lieber Recovery and Rehabilitation Clinic for Psychotic Disorders.

(For tickets and more information visit here)

Originally published on

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