Photo Flash: First Look at Guerrilla Shakespeare Project's THE TRAGEDY OF KING ARTHUR

The Guerrilla Shakespeare Project (GSP) - under the direction of Executive Director, Tom Schwans and Artistic Director, Jordan Reeves - will present the world premiere of THE TRAGEDY OF KING ARTHUR BY W. SHAKESPEARE a play by Arthur Phillips, adapted from his critically acclaimed book "The Tragedy of Arthur." Preview performances of THE TRAGEDY OF ARTHUR will begin tonight, March 22 prior to an official press opening of March 24 at TBG Theatre (312 West 36th Street, 3rd Floor) in Manhattan. Jordan Reeves will direct. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

THE TRAGEDY OF ARTHUR, centers on the discovery of a lost Shakespeare play and the doubts surrounding its origins. It is an evening of fraud, forgery and illegitimacy, centering on the complicated relationship between a father and son. This lost text is the true story of the famous King Arthur from the Bard's point of view. It is a tale of epic war, love and the search for one man's true calling. THE TRAGEDY OF ARTHUR is a play full of Shakespeare's language, poetry, insight, drama, beauty, and history; however the mystery of its true origins, begs us to blend and blur what we know and what we choose to believe.

Does our birth decide our destiny? Can a bastard be a king? Can a modern man write Shakespeare?

Having always approached Shakespeare's texts as if they were new plays, The Guerrilla Shakespeare Project is ecstatic to hold the exclusive rights to the first "Shakespeare" premier in over 400 years. GSP originally hosted a sold out reading of THE TRAGEDY OF ARTHUR at The Public Theater during the summer of 2011 that American Theater Magazine called a "full-throttle reading" of a "swashbuckling, blood-and-guts five-act history play."

Directed by Jordan Reeves (Guerrilla Shakespeare Project Artistic Director), the cast of THE TRAGEDY OF ARTHUR will include Jacques Roy, Eric Emil Oleson, Sarah Hankins, Madeleine Maby, Tom Schwans, Jordan Kaplan, and Geordie Broadwater.

Design team for THE TRAGEDY OF ARTHUR is Lynne Porter (scenic design), Melissa Mizell (lighting design), Lea Reeves (costume design), David Are (sound design), and Polina Minchuck (props design).

Arthur Phillips is the best-selling author of five novels: "Prague," (named a New York Times Notable Book, received The Los Angeles Times/Art Seidenbaum Award for best first novel), "The Egyptologist," (international bestseller, listed on more than a dozen "Best of 2004" lists), "Angelica," (The Washington Post best fiction of 2007 and led that paper to call him "One of the best writers in America"), "The Song Is You," (a New York Times Notable Book, on the Post's best of 2009 list), and "The Tragedy of Arthur," (critical acclaim, including being named a New York Times Notable Book). Mr Phillips has written for TV's "Damages" with Glenn Close and Rose Byrne. He is currently developing a series for HBO/Pretty Matches Productions, in addition to two other television pilots.

Founded in 2005, the Guerrilla Shakespeare Project (GSP) fosters a vibrant, passionate, visceral connection between actor and audience to make inventive and immediate American theatre from classical works. Struggling always for simplicity and precision, GSP promises to make the entertainment and beauty of Shakespeare accessible to all. Prizing skillful use of language and athletic storytelling, the ensemble of professional actors, directors and designers aims to blow apart the audience's conceptions of what Shakespeare has been by creating something new.

Scheduled March 22 through April 7 THE TRAGEDY OF ARTHUR will have a performance schedule of Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:00pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm, and 2:00pm matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at TBG Theatre (312 West 36th Street, 3rd Floor) in Manhattan. Tickets are $18 and can be purchased through SmartTix by calling 212-868-4444 or online at www.SmartTix.com.

For more information about THE TRAGEDY OF ARTHUR or The Guerrilla Shakespeare Project, visit www.guerrillashakespeare.org

Photo Credit: Jacob J. Goldberg