Ensemble Studio Theatre Sets Stars for One-Act Marathon

Olivier Award winner Ruthie Henshall, Gilmore Girls alum Scott Cohen, The Sopranos' Karen Young, Avenue Q's Jordan Gelber, 2006 Tony nominee Jayne Houdyshell and acclaimed stage actor Brian Murray are among the actors participating in Ensemble Studio Theatre's Marathon 2006, E.S.T.'s 28th annual festival of new one-act plays.

Marathon 2006 is divided into three series. Series A runs at the company's space from May 23 through June 10. It includes Amy Fox's Breakfast and Bed with Young known for her portrayal of Agent Robyn Sanseverino on The Sopranos and Julie E. Fitzpatrick, a Walter Bobbie-helmed mounting of David Ives' The Other Woman with Henshall and Cohen who notably played teacher Max Medina in The Gilmore Girls, Anton Dudley's Davy and Stu with Travis Walters and Kelsey Kurz and Lloyd Suh's Not All Korean Girls Can Fly with Cindy Cheung, Genevieve DeVeyra, Amy Staats and Jonathan Tindle.

Series B is scheduled to run May 30 through June 19. It includes David Mamet's Bone China with Marcia Jean Kurtz and Victor Slezak, Julia Cho's 100 Most Beautiful Names of Todd with Allison Bartlett, Will Harper and Diana Ruppe, James Ryan's On the Sporadic with Gelber, Greta Muller and Ean Sheehy, Will Eno's Intermission with Houdyshell, Murray, Autumn Dornfeld and J.J. Kandel.

No casting has been confirmed for Series C, which runs June 13 through June 15. That series will include actor Andrew McCarthy directing Ann Marie Healy's The Night That Roger Went To Visit the Parents of His Old High School Girlfriend, Thomas Mizer and Curtis Moore's musical The Bus to Buenos Aires, Edward Allen Baker's Lila on the Wall and Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Sissy Letters: Numbers 14, 29, and 47 directed by Adam Rapp.

Since its inception in 1978, the Marathon has featured new short works by such noted playwrights as Leslie Ayvazian, Christopher Durang, Horton Foote, Herb Gardner, Frank Gilroy, Richard Greenberg, John Guare, Tina Howe, David Ives, Michael John LaChiusa, Craig Lucas, David Mamet, Steve Martin, Arthur Miller, Marsha Norman, Joyce Carol Oates, Paul Rudnick, John Patrick Shanley, Shel Silverstein, Wendy Wasserstein and Tennessee Williams.