Before Previews Begin, Shepard's Kicking a Dead Horse Extends

More than a month before previews begin, the Public Theater's forthcoming American premiere of Sam Shepard's Kicking a Dead Horse has extended its run by two weeks. The production, directed by the playwright and starring Stephen Rea, will begin previews on June 25 and open July 14, with closing scheduled for August 10.

Kicking a Dead Horse, about the wild West, a Manhattan art dealer and the title animal, marks the fifth Shepard play to make its American premiere at the Public, though it will be the first to do so since Simpatico in 1994. Commissioned by the Abbey Theatre, Kicking a Dead Horse reunited Shepard and Rea, who worked together on the play Geography of a Horse Dreamer at the Royal Court Theatre; the show was reportedly written specifically for Rea.