Timon Of Athens: Richard Thomas to star

The Public Theater will present Timon Of Athens as the inaugural production of Public LAB SHAKESPEARE, a new platform for The Public's ongoing exploration of the Shakespeare canon.

Directed by Shakespeare Initiative Director Barry Edelstein, Timon Of Athens will feature Richard Thomas as Timon and will open at The Public's Anspacher Theater on 1 Mar 2011, following previews from 15 Feb, and play theough to 6 Mar 2011.

Timon Of Athens tells the story of Menelaus, King of Sparta and husband of Helen, who is returning home seven years after the Trojan War. His boat is shipwrecked on the coast og Egypt, and while there he believes he sees his wife. But if this is Helen, who was the woman Paris abducted? And why did Troy fall?

Press notes for Timon Of Athens describe it as "Shakespeare's play for the post-Bailout Age. Its central concern--money's dark potential to corrupt every human interaction--couldn't be more timely or fascinating. As one of Shakespeare's least-familiar works, it is also one of his most unique: a comedy written with an acid pen, a morality tale told in a fury."

Timon Of Athens will feature set design by Neil Patel, costume design by Katherine Roth and lighting design by Russell Champa.

The Public LAB season will continue this spring with 'Urge for Going' by Mona Mansour, directed by Hal Brooks (25 Mar - 17 Apr 2011) and 'Knickerbocker' by Jonathan Marc Sherman, directed by Pippin Parker (6 - 29 May 2011).

Barry Edelstein (Director) credits for The Public Theater include 'Julius Caesar,' 'Merchant of Venice' (1995), and 'WASP and Other Plays' (director). Edelstein is in charge of The Public's Shakespeare Initiative, which oversees all Shakespeare production in Central Park and downtown--including the newly launched Mobile Unit tour to prisons, shelters, etc.--and which runs the Shakespeare Lab professional training program and The Public's Shakespeare-related education and outreach programs. For The Shakespeare Initiative, Edelstein has shepherded 'The Merchant of Venice' (also Associate Producer of the Broadway transfer), 'The Winter's Tale,' 'Hamlet,' 'Twelfth Night' and 'Othello'. Edelstein was the Artistic Director of Classic Stage Company from 1998-2003.

Richard Thomas (Timon) was last seen by Public Theater audiences in 'As You Like It' at The Delacorte Theater. His Broadway credits include David Mamet's 'Race,' 'Sunrise at Campobello,' 'Strange Interlude,' 'The Playroom,' 'Everything in the Garden,' 'Fifth of July,' 'The Front Page,' 'Democracy' and 'A Naked Girl On The Appian Way. He has atarred in over 50 films for television including "The Red Badge of Courage," "Roots: The Next Generations," "All Quiet on the Western Front," "Living Proof: The Hank Williams Jr. Story," "Common Ground" and "Andre's Mother." His TV series include "It's a Miracle," "Just Cause" and "The Waltons," for which he received an Emmy Award.