NYTW to Present New York Premiere of Columbine Drama Columbinus

Columbinus, a theatrical look at the Columbine high school shootings, will be the next show presented by New York Theatre Workshop. The piece, written by The United States Theatre Project and conceived and directed by PJ Paparelli, is set to begin off-Broadway performances on May 5.

A play sparked by the April 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, Columbinus probes the psychological warfare of alienation, hostility and social pressure that goes on in high schools across America. The piece weaves together excerpts from discussions with parents, survivors and community leaders in Littleton as well as diaries and home video footage to bring to light the dark recesses of American adolescence. The off-Broadway cast includes Anna Camp, Joaquin Perez Campbell, James Flanagan, Carmen M. Herlihy, Nicole Lowrance, Keith Nobbs, Will Rogers and Bobby Steggert.

Columbinus premiered at the Round House Theater last year. In his review of that mounting, Variety's Paul Harris wrote: "It's a wordy but powerful portrait of the two persecuted teenagers who exacted revenge on their fellow students and the hostile atmosphere that fueled them."

This mounting will officially open off-Broadway on May 22.