Tony winner Greg Kotis is set to star in a February 10 NYC industry reading of The Red Wool by The Lifespan of a Fact playwright Jeremy Kareken. The staging is presented by the Phoenix-based Theatre Upstairs, Tyler Boettcher, and Lauren Rohs.
Kotis, who co-wrote the Tony-winning score to Urinetown, will star as King Ashurnasirpal II, with Theatre Upstairs company members co-starring. The Red Wool is a comedy set during the 3rd Assyrian Empire under the reign of Ashurnasirpal II. It follows the king’s campaign to expand his empire and exact tribute from the nations he conquers, despite being illiterate. The play explores the fight for survival, dignity, rebellion, resistance amidst an oppressive regime, and the affect of art on the will and means to power among civilizations.
Theatre Upstairs and Kareken have worked together before, having premiered two of Jeremy Kareken’s earlier plays from his volume Rochester Nights.