Father Comes Home From The Wars (parts 1, 8 & 9) at the Public's Shiva Theatre

The Public Theater will present the world premiere of Father Comes Home From The Wars (Parts 1, 8 & 9), the fifth and final play of the 2008-2009 Public LAB season.

Written by Public Theater Master Writer Chair Suzan-Lori Parks and directed by Jo Bonney, Father Comes Home From The Wars (Parts 1, 8 & 9) will begin performances on 5 Jun and run through to 28 June 2009.

Suzan-Lori Parks will play the guide in this Public LAB production with additional casting to be announced shortly.

Father Comes Home From The Wars (Parts 1, 8 & 9), Suzan-Lori Parks takes the stage to play the role of our guide leading through a multimedia epic tale about slavery, war, freedom, and the difficulty of family ties. Part I tells the story of Penny, a slave, awaiting her husband�s return from the Civil War while resisting her own desire to flee with a band of runaway slaves. Parts 8 & 9, set in present day, follow a Poet-General struggling with the reality of his impending death while he plans his annual celebration for the army troops.

Currently, Suzan-Lori Parks is the Master Writer Chair at The Public Theater, where she premiered 'The America Play,' 'Venus,' 'In the Blood,' 'Fucking A,' '365 Days/365 Plays,' and the Pulitzer Prize-winning 'Topdog/Underdog.' The play shares a title with a series of short plays in Parks� 365 Days / 365 Plays cycle, but is related in title only.

Public LAB is an annual series of new plays that lets New Yorkers see more work from The Public and LAByrinth Theater Company in stripped-down productions. Public LAB allows The Public Theater to support more artists, and gives audiences immediate access to new plays. The Public LAB season will conclude with a world premiere by The Public Theater�s Master Writer Chair Suzan-Lori Parks.

Suzan-lori Parks (Playwright) is a playwright, screenwriter and novelist whose plays include '365 Days/365 Plays' (produced simultaneously in over 700 theatres worldwide, creating one of the largest collaborations in theatre history), 'Topdog/Underdog' (2002 Pulitzer Prize; Public Theater), 'Fucking A' (Public Theater), 'Imperceptible Mutabilities in the Third Kingdom '(1990 Obie Award for Best New American Play), 'The America Play' (Public Theater), 'Venus' (Public Theater, 1996 Obie Award), 'The Death Of The Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World,' and 'In The Blood' (Public Theater, 2002 Pulitzer Prize finalist), among others. Her work is the subject of the PBS Film �The Topdog/Underdog Diaries.�

Jo Bonney (Director) returns to Public LAB after directing Naomi Wallace�s 'The Fever Chart' last spring. Her other recent New York theater credits include Michael Weller�s 'Beast' and Alan Ball�s 'All That I Will Ever Be' (New York Theater Workshop); Eric Bogosian�s 'subUrbia' (Second Stage); Neil LaBute�s 'Some Girl(s)' (MCC); Charles Fuller�s 'A Soldier�s Play' (Second Stage); and 'The Seven' (New York Theater Workshop), which she conceived and directed. At The Public, she has directed Jose Rivera�s 'References To Salvador Dali Make Me Hot,' Diana Son�s 'Stop Kiss,' Anna Deveare Smith�s 'House Arrest,' and Danny Hoch�s 'Some People.' Also in New York, she won a Lucille Lortel award for the Signature Theatre Company�s revival of 'Fifth of July.'