Oscar, Tony and Emmy winner Ellen Burstyn will star in LAByrinth Theater Company's world premiere production of David Bar Katz’s The Atmosphere of Memory, directed by Pam MacKinnon. The play will begin previews on October 15 ahead of an October 30 opening at the Bank Street Theater, the company’s new venue. Additional casting will be announced shortly.
The Atmosphere of Memory tells the story of playwright Jon Stone, who has recently found the courage to write his masterpiece: a play about his upbringing. But when his actual mother (Burstyn) is cast to play his mother on stage and his estranged father remembers the family history differently, Jon is forced to rewrite not only his play, but his past as well.
Burstyn is an Academy Award winner for Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and an Emmy Award winner for Law & Order. She has received six Oscar nominations for her work in Requiem for a Dream, Resurrection, Same Time, Next Year, The Exorcist and The Last Picture Show. She won a Tony Award for Same Time, Next Year and has also appeared on Broadway in Fair Game, 84 Charing Cross Road, Shirley Valentine, Shirmada, Sacrilege and Oldest Living Confederate Tells All. She recently appeared in the West End revival of The Children's Hour opposite Elisabeth Moss and Keira Knightley, and has previously worked with LAByrinth in the 2008 production of Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Little Flower of East Orange.
The Atmosphere of Memory will feature scenic design by David Gallo, costume design by Emily Rebholz, lighting design by Dans Sheehan, and sound design by Brendan Connelly. The limited engagement will run through November 13.