I GOT SICK THEN I GOT BETTER

A SPECIAL ADD ON FOR NYTW MEMBERS

I GOT SICK THEN I GOT BETTER
Written and performed by Jenny Allen
Directed by James Lapine & Darren Katz

Facility address:
4th Street Theatre, located in the administration building of NYTW at 83 East 4th Street next door to the 79 theatre.
The 4th Street Theatre is not wheel chair accessible.

Prices:
Single tickets, $45.00 each. Purchase Tickets

Tickets for groups of 10 or more are $35 each. Please contact Rebekah Paine at Rebekahp@nytw.org or call 212-780-9037 ext. 114 to purchase tickets or for more information.

I GOT SICK THEN I GOT BETTER is not a part of the NYTW 4 Play or SmartPass Memberships.

Performance schedule:
Monday September 14, 2009 at 7:00pm Special benefit performance for the
OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH FUND
Monday September 21, 2009 at 8:00pm
Monday September 28, 2009 at 8:00pm
Monday October 5, 2009 at 8:00pm
EXTENDED:
Monday October 12, 2009 at 8:00pm
Monday October 19, 2009 at 8:00pm

MOVES TO NYTW'S 4TH STREET THEATRE
OCTOBER 23rd THRU NOVEMBER 15, 2009
Thursday, Friday at 8:00pm
Saturday at 2:00pm and 8:00pm
Sunday at 3:00pm and 7:00pm
Monday at 7:00pm

EXCEPTIONS:
Saturday, October 24 at 2:00 (no matinee)
Sunday, October 25 (no shows)
Monday, October 26 (no shows)

Running time: 80 minutes, with no intermission

Description:
I Got Sick Then I Got Better is a comic riff on one woman's adventures after falling down the medical rabbit hole. Diagnosed with and treated for ovarian cancer in 2005, writer and performer Jenny Allen (The New Yorker, The New York Times) tells her story of the harrowing tailspin she took following her diagnosis, combining biting humor with searing emotion in a witty, bittersweet monologue that limns the personal and family collateral damage a life-threatening illness brings.

About the artists:
Jenny Allen is a writer and performer. Her profiles, essays and reviews have appeared for years in many magazines, including the New Yorker, The New York Times, New York, Vogue, Esquire, More, Huffington Post and Good Housekeeping. Recent essays appear in “Disquiet, Please!” a new anthology of humor pieces from the New Yorker, and in “Feed Me,” a collection of essays about women and food. She is the author of a book of fables for grown-ups called “The Long Chalkboard”, illustrated by her husband, Jules Feiffer. She helped originate the ’80’s comedy group Serious Bizness and has performed in productions of Jules’ Blues and in readings of Spalding Grey: Stories Left to Tell. She pro duces and performs stand-up comedy evenings in Manhattan. I GOT SICK THEN I GOT BETTER was first performed on Martha’s Vineyard in the summer of 2007; since then James Lapine has been collaborating with Allen and with Darren Katz on shaping and expanding the material, under the aegis of New York Theatre Workshop, which will produce the show this fall in New York. She has two children, Halley, 24, an actress, and Julie, 14, a ninth grader, as well as a stepdaughter, Kate. Her website is jennyallenwrites.com.

James Lapine is both a playwright and a director. Mr. Lapine is perhaps best known for his collaborations as librettist and director with Stephen Sondheim: SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, INTO THE WOODS, and PASSION. With William Finn he collaborated on MARCH OF THE FALSETTOS and FALSETTOLAND, later presented on Broadway as FALSETTOS. Other Broadway credits include THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE Michel Legrand’s AMOUR, the revival of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK starring Natalie Portman, David Henry Hwang’s GOLDEN CHILD, and his collaboration with Claudia Shear, DIRTY BLONDE. He wrote the book and directed Disney’s THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, which premiered in Berlin in 1999 and ran for three years. He has written the plays TABLE SETTINGS; TWELVE DREAMS; LUCK, PLUCK, AND VIRTUE; THE MOMENT WHEN; and FRAN’S BED which starred Mia Farrow. For the NY Shakespeare Festival, Mr. Lapine directed A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, THE WINTER’S TALE, and KING LEAR starring Kevin Kline. Lapine has been nominated for eleven Tony Awards, winning on three occasions. His work has also been recognized with six Drama Desk Awards, an Obie Award, the British Evening Standard Award, an Olivier Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. He has directed the films Impromptu (with Hugh Grant and Judy Davis), Life With Mikey (with Michael J. Fox) and Earthly Possessions (with Susan Sarandon), as well as the television productions of INTO THE WOODS and PASSION.

Darren Katz most recently directed THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE (National Tour) and HAPPY SUNSHINE KUNG FU FLOWER (Zipper Factory). Other directing projects include workshops of THE WASP WOMAN by Blake Hackler and Phillip Chernyak, FALLING by Hyeyoung Kim and Dina Gregory, and A DAY WITH A THOUSAND FACES by Tarik Davis; also, readings of GRAND DELUSION by David Rock (produced by Red Dog Squadron) and HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS AND THEN KILL THEM by Halley Feiffer (Second Stage). Darren has been directing NYU students at the Strasberg Institute in the creation of an original piece inspired by the life and work of Henry Darger. Also, along with Tom Wilson Weinberg and Peggy Stafford, Darren has been developing a music-theater piece based on the correspondence between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok entitled SUNRISE AT HYDE PARK. Darren was the Resident Director for James Lapine on the Broadway production of SPELLING BEE; Associate Director for the San Francisco/Boston and the 1st national touring productions; Associate Director for Kathy Najimy on BACK TO BACHARACH AND DAVID in Los Angeles; and as Assistant Director he worked with Michael Blakemore, Scott Ellis, Lois Weaver and Holly Hughes.



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