Jesus Hopped the �A� Train at the Town Hall

LAByrinth Theater Company will reunite the original cast of the international hit, Jesus Hopped the �A� Train by Stephen Adly Guirgis for a one-night only benefit reading at the Town Hall on 22 Jun 2008.

Philip Seymour Hoffman will direct the reading with LAByrinth�s original cast that features Elizabeth Canavan, Salvatore Inzerillo, Ron Cephas Jones, John Ortiz and David Zayas.

Jesus Hopped the �A� Train: Angel Cruz, is a young bike messenger who lost his best friend to a religious cult, and awaits trial for shooting the cult leader in the buttocks. On his knees, alone and terrified on Riker�s Island, he says a prayer he no longer remembers to a God he's all but forgotten. Angel's disillusioned young lawyer, Mary Jane Hanrahan, mistakes his case for another, and walks out on their first interview � but a crisis of conscience brings her back to champion his cause. No grey areas are permitted in the black and white world of his prison guards, the brutal Valdez, and D'Amico. Angel's only human contact is Lucius Jenkins, a serial killer who works out furiously in the next cage, pausing only to chain smoke and "save" Angel. Lucius Jenkins has found God, and Angel's life and the course of his trial will be changed forever.

The New York Times declared that the play was 'Written in flame,' when Jesus Hopped the �A� Train premiered in 2000, adding that there was a 'Fire-breathing, visceral energy,' heralding the arrival of �The most exciting troupe in the city.' The original extended run at East 13th Street Theater received Drama Desk Award nominations for Philip Seymour Hoffman (Best Director), and John Ortiz (Best Actor).

Jesus Hopped the �A� Train received its international debut in 2001 at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, winning a prestigious Fringe First Award. The production then moved to London's Donmar Warehouse in 2002, before transferring to The Arts Theatre in the West End, where it was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best New Play. Again the critics raved, 'Stunningly well-written � It is impossible to praise the electrifying performances in Philip Seymour Hoffman's remorselessly intense production too highly,' said The Daily Telegraph, London, calling it 'The theatrical event of the year.'