Joanne de Simone's LINOLEUM'S HARD Set for Roy Arias Stage II, Now thru 2/17

Vicki & Emily dream of love and fame... but that might not be the hand they're dealt in Joanne de Simone's LINOLEUM'S HARD: Two Lives, 40 years, 60 minutes.

The show will be presented tonight, February 13 at 6:00 p.m., Friday, February 15, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, February 17 at 2:00 p.m. at Roy Arias Stage II, 300 West 43rd Street (off Eighth Avenue), fourth floor. Tickets: www.smarttix.com (212) 868-4444.

Life's suffering and occasional happy moments are delivered by Sara Minisquero & Laura Aristovulos as Emily and Vicki, two "neighborhood chicks" whose 40-year friendship is put on display in less than an hour. We meet them as innocent children (Gaby Mook & Abigail Formas play the BFFs as pre-teens) before Minisquero & Aristovulos take us on a journey from their teen years to midlife. From their kitchen table, we follow them into their 20s, 30s, and late 40s as they suffer the slings and arrows of living - love & loss, marriage & children, aging parents and decaying dreams - and all the things that ease the pain.

The opening of this dark piece starts a triumphant year for Brooklyn native, playwright/novelist Joanne de Simone. Her book, The Metro Cats: Life in the Core of The Big Apple, will be the subject of a short documentary, and her play, Earthmen will be committed to film. It's scheduled to begin shooting later this year. Earthmen enjoyed a successful run at the Manhattan Rep last year while another of her works, Norma Jeanne, Enlightened, was presented at the Drama Book Store as part of a Marilyn Monroe Commemoration.

Taking time from pre-production of Earthmen, film director Jay Michaels will spearhead the premiere of Linoleum's Hard.

Pictured: Ms. de Simone with the star of Norma Jeanne, Enlightened. Photo Credit: Andrew Liebowitz/WrightGroupNY.

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