Photo Flash: THE CLEARING Celebrates Opening Night Off-Broadway

Theatre at St. Clement's hosts the World Premiere of The Clearing, written by Jake Jeppson (Jerome Fellowship recipient) and directed by Josh Hecht (Drama Desk Award winner for Christine Jorgensen Reveals). The Clearing runs Off-Broadway now through February 9, 2014. Previews began January 15 for a January 19 opening. Theatre at St. Clement's is located at 423 West 46th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues in New York City. BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening night festivities below!

Jake Jeppson's The Clearing is the story of two brothers bound together by a terrible secret they've guarded for 18 years. The Ellis's are a typical American family. But the intense and all-consuming love they share for each other has kept them locked in their tight-knit world for almost two decades. When a handsome stranger inserts himself into their circle, mother and sons must decide whether they are willing to break the bonds that have forced them together for so long. The Clearing is an exploration of the difference between loving someone and living for them by an exciting new theatrical voice.

The cast includes Allison Daugherty (Sir Peter Hall's An Ideal Husband on Broadway, Holiday on Broadway, As Bees in Honey Drown Off-Broadway), Gene Gallerano (Ivanov at Classic Stage Company, Sheila Callaghan's Kate Crackernuts at The Flea), Brian McManamon (Bodega Bay at Abingdon, It or Her at P.S. 122, upcoming World Premiere of Rolin Jones and Billie Joe Armstrong's These Paper Bullets at Yale Rep), and Brian P. Murphy (Stephen King's A Good Marriage, upcoming film Back in the Day, two-time Golden Gloves boxing tournament competitor).

The creative team includes Daniel Zimmerman (Set Design), Gertjan Houben (Lighting Design), Tilly Grimes (Costume Design), Sam Kusnetz (Original Music & Sound Design) and Choreographic Movement by Lorin Latarro (Broadway's Waiting For Godot). Emily Paige Ballou is the Production Stage Manager and Robert Levinstein (22Q Entertainment) is the General Manager.

Josh Hecht is a Drama Desk Award-winning director of new plays. His productions have been seen in New York at The Duke on 42nd (Wearing Lorca's Bowtie), New World Stages (Bradford Louryk's Christine Jorgensen Reveals - Drama Desk Award, GLAAD Media nomination), Culture Project (Drew Larimore's Out Of Iceland), MCC Theater (Bob Morris's Assisted Loving), The Cherry Lane (Megan Mostyn-Brown's (girl), 13P (Winter Miller's The Penetration Play), the DR2 (Anna Ziegler's BFF), PS 122 (Joseph Keckler's JOBZ), Ars Nova (The Gay Agenda), Partial Comfort (Ross Maxwell's Open House), Joe's Pub, the Ontological and others. He's directed regionally at the Humana Festival (Allison Moore's Slasher), The Guthrie Theater (Megan Mostyn-Brown's Lizards...), No Rules / Signature Theatre D.C. (Brian Sutow's The Personal(s)) and The Berkshire Theatre Festival (Rachel Schroeder's Heliantha). Christine Jorgensen Reveals also played internationally at the Dublin Arts Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Fringe First Award). He is a NYTW Usual Suspect.

Jake Jeppson's plays include Fox Play, The Clearing, and Turtle. His work has been developed and seen at the Orchard Project, American Theater Company, Ars Nova, the University of Minnesota, Axial Theater, the New Riga Theater (Latvia), and the Playwrights Center, where he is a 2013-2014 Jerome Fellow. Jake graduated from the MFA Playwriting Program at the Yale School of Drama, where he studied under Paula Vogel and won the ASCAP Cole Porter Prize.

Lorin Latarro (Choreographic Movement) choreographed Broadway's Waiting For Godot, Broadway's American Idiot, Encore's Fanny (City Center), Queen Of The Night (Diamond Horseshoe Theatre), Scandalous The Musical (Broadway), Cy Coleman's The Best Is Yet To Come (Drama Desk Award), Sendak's Hansel and Gretel for PBS (Live From Lincoln Center), among others.

The Clearing is produced by 22Q Entertainment and Jennifer Kranz. Performances are Tuesdays - Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets are $49.50 and can be purchased online at www.TheClearingPlayNYC.com or by calling 1-866-811-4111. A limited amount of $15 student rush tickets will be available at the box office before each performance. The running time is approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes with no intermission. The space is accessible from the 1,2,3,7,A,C,E,N,Q,R or S train to 42 Street.

Photo Credit: Hunter Canning