Ellen Burstyn to Star in Guirgis' The Little Flower of East Orange at the Public

Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn has signed on to star in the world premiere of Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Little Flower of East Orange, a joint production of LAByrinth Theater Company and the Public Theater. Directed by longtime Guirgis collaborator Philip Seymour Hoffman, the play will begin previews on March 18 and open on April 6 at the Public. The limited engagement will continue through April 20.

The Little Flower of East Orange is described as an inter-generational ghost story set in an upper Manhattan charity hospital. In addition to Burstyn, the cast will include Elizabeth Canavan, Liza Colón-Zayas, Arthur French, Gillian Jacobs, Ajay Naidu, Michael Shannon, Sidney Williams and David Zayas.

Burstyn, an Oscar winner for Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, most recently starred on Broadway in Oldest Confederate Widow Tells All. She won a Tony Award for Same Time, Next Year and appeared in Sacrilege, Shimada, Shirley Valentine, 84 Charing Cross Road and Fair Game.

Guirgis and Hoffman have worked together on LAByrinth's productions of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot and Jesus Hopped the ‘A' Train. Hoffman's production of The Little Flower of East Orange will feature sets by Narelle Sissons, costumes by Mimi O'Donnell, lighting by Japhy Weideman and sound design by David Van Tieghem.