RIGHTEOUS MONEY Comes To Two NYC Venues

After previewing at East to Edinburgh at 59E59 and touring to Berlin, Dublin, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Wolf 359 brings their acclaimed satire RIGHTEOUS MONEY home to New York City for its official U.S. Premiere. Written and performed by Michael Yates Crowley and directed by Michael Rau, performances January 4 - 7 at 3LD before moving to the Red Room January 13 - 21.

In RIGHTEOUS MONEY, a financial advice show hosted by a foul-mouthed, unapologetic billionaire, goes increasingly pear-shaped. What starts as a promo for his new book, "Buy The Recession," takes a downward spiral as the host comes out, loses his mind, and tries to justify his wealth to an increasingly angry public. It is a hilarious and bitter allegory for the collapse of the US economy that asks: How much money can you handle?

As an added bonus, many of the performances at 3LD will feature a double bill of RIGHTEOUS MONEY along with a GERECHTES GELD, a radically adapted German version of the play as interpreted by the company Schlosstheater Moers. Originally produced in Bielefeld, Germany as part the Voices of Change Festival of English plays in translation, GERECHTES GELD was translated by Bo Magnus Nilsson, directed by Ulrich Greb, and performed by Patrick Dollas and Matthias Hesse.

Michael Yates Crowley is a 2008-2009 Fellow in Playwriting from the New York Foundation for the Arts, and graduate of the Soho Rep Playwriting/Directing Lab. His plays have been performed in Berlin, Chicago, LA, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and at theaters in New York City. His plays include The Ted Haggard Monologues, Evanston: A Rare Comedy, RAG FUR BLOOD BONE, and Song of a Convalescent Ayn Rand…. Michael twice received the Seymour Brick Memorial Prize in Playwriting from Columbia University. Since 2005 he has curated the popular reading series Hearth Gods.

Director Michael Rau's work has been seen at PS 122, HERE, Ars Nova, Dixon Place and the Brick. His productions have toured to Germany, Greece, Ecuador and the UK. He recently made his German-language directing premiere with Thomas Bradshaw’s Was Ubrig Bleibt. His credits include The Ted Haggard Monologues (a New York Magazine Critic’s Pick), and The Great God Brown (selected for the 2011 Prague Quadrennial). He has served as an assistant for John Turturro at CSC, Les Waters at A.R.T., Anne Bogart at Glimmerglass Opera, and RoBert Woodruff at San Francisco Opera. He is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab.

Wolf 359 is a New York City based group that takes a chainsaw to language and pretension to create a new kind of American theater. Wolf 359 shows have toured to Berlin, Edinburgh, Chicago, and elsewhere; their last one-man show, The Ted Haggard Monologues, a New York Magazine Critic's Pick, was filmed by HBO. In New York City, their work has been seen at theaters including PS 122, 59E59 Theaters, Ars Nova, Dixon Place, and HERE Arts Center.

RIGHTEOUS MONEY runs January 4 - 7 at 3LD (on a double bill with GERECHTES GELD January 4-6) and January 13 - 21 at Red Room. All shows are at 8pm. 3LD Art & Technology Center is located at 80 Greenwich Street (at Rector Street -- accessible from the 1/R/W trains at Rector Street); The Red Room is located at 85 East 4th Street (between 2nd & 3rd Aves -- accessible from the F train at 2nd Ave). Tickets are $15 at the door / $10 in advance at 212-352-3101 or www.RighteousMoney.tv.

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