Event

Bloodletters

Joe Black and The Modern Stage present the first New York production of Tom Sime's new play Bloodletters, The play will be performed May 20-29 in The Green Room, the intimate and architecturally intriguing downstairs auditorium at Bleecker Street Theatre, 45 Bleecker Street in the East Village, on Bleecker at Lafayette, just south of the Public Theatre.

Bloodletters is an interwoven comedy and thriller; so funny it's scary, so scary it's sexy. Grace, a horror fiction writer, finds her quiet life and violent art on collision course. Modern Stage Resident Director Adam Smith directs a cast including Rene Petrofes, Don Meehan, Whit Elliott, Daniel Braver and Leah Johnston.

The five actors play at least two characters each: one in Grace's home life, where humor and neurosis dominate; and another in her unfolding story, where the supernatural holds sway, and anyone might die horrifically at any moment. Both sides of the narrative-- a comedy about a writer and her fractious family, and a thriller about ill-fated lovers-- meet in a sneaky surprise ending.

The twisting plot is scored live by musicians Josh Michael and Gene Caprioglio, whose original music for guitars and clarinet heightens the tension and beauty. Justin Smiley's lighting both showcases and transforms the space, with its deep recesses and massive iron columns.