Eric Bogosian’s “Drinking in America” Returns to the Stage

Audible is pleased to announce Drinking in America, written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Eric Bogosian and starring Andre Royo (“The Wire”), as the next production opening at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre, Audible’s creative home for live performances in New York. The show will also be recorded and released on Audible at a later date, extending its reach to millions of listeners around the world.

Performances of this four-week limited engagement will begin Friday, March 10, with opening night set for Sunday, March 19.

Along with the world premiere four-week engagement of Lucy, which opens tonight – written and directed by BAFTA Award nominee Erica Schmidt (Cyrano, MacBeth) and starring Drama Desk Award nominee Brooke Bloom (Cloud Nine, Everybody, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) and Lynn Collins (“The Walking Dead,” X-Men Origins: Wolverine, John Carter), along with Charlotte Surak (Waitress) – Drinking in America continues Audible Theater’s fifth season of shows at the Minetta Lane Theatre.

Praised as “a breakneck, hair-raising comic tour of the contemporary American male psyche” by The New York Times, Drinking in America is a gritty, muscular restaging with star Andre Royo (The Wire) bringing to vivid life over a dozen colorful characters, each in the throes of intoxication. Written and originated by three-time Obie Award winner Eric Bogosian, this critically acclaimed work takes on a new persona in our present day, with terms like toxic masculinity and male fragility at the forefront of the zeitgeist. In this new interpretation, Drinking in America continues to challenge society’s ideal of what exactly makes a man, and just how easy it can be to break that same man down.

Bogosian returns to the Minetta Lane for the first time since his 1994 Obie Award-winning play, Pounding Nails in the Floor.

The creative team for Drinking in America includes Mark Armstrong (director), Kristen Robinson (scenic design), Sarita Fellows (costume design), Jeff Croiter (lighting design), John Gromada (sound design), Kate Wilson (dialect and vocal coach), and Bess Marie Glorioso (production stage manager). Technical supervision is by Hudson Theatrical Associates with general management by Baseline Theatrical’s Andy Jones & Jonathan Whitton. Drinking in America is produced in association with Andrew D. Hamingson and William Russo (ADH Theatricals).

ANDRE ROYO (Actor) can most recently be seen as “Royal” in To Leslie, which had its premiere at the SXSW 2022 Film Festival. Andre is a recurring character “Laz Zayas” in Gloria Calderon Kellett’s romantic comedy series “With Love” for Amazon. Additional recent credits include “Demetrius” in the Apple TV+ series “Truth Be Told” and “Charlie Shannon” on “Interrogation” for CBS All Access. Furthermore, Andre can be seen as series regular “Thirsty Rawlings” on Fox’s “Empire,” “Mayor Bobo” on Amazon's “Hand of God,” and “Barry” on Showtime’s comedy “Happyish.” Royo has also appeared on a diverse range of shows, including Fox's “Fringe” as “Henry Arliss Higgins,” NBC's “Heroes” as “Stephen Canfield,” “How To Make It In America,” “Party Down,” “Criminal Minds,” and “Kingdom.” Royo is best known for the legendary role of “Bubbles” in HBO’s “The Wire.” On the big screen in Hunter Gatherer, Royo won the 2016 Best Actor Award at the SXSW Film Festival. He starred in and produced the indie darling Calloused Hands. Andre has appeared in an eclectic array of features such as George's Lucas's Red Tails, James Gunn's Super, Hellbenders, Amazon's Beautiful Boy, the independent sci-fi feature Prospect, The Spectacular Now, and Lilia & Eve, which was released by Lionsgate. His first big screen appearance was in John Singleton’s Shaft. Royo’s last stage performance was in Bob Glaudini’s critically acclaimed A View From 151st Street in 2007 presented by the LAByrinth Theater Company.

ERIC BOGOSIAN (Playwright) has a notable career both on and off Broadway and on screen while establishing himself as a prolific author. For Drinking in America he received the Drama Desk Award as well as an Obie. His play Talk Radio (in which he starred and which was produced on Broadway with Liev Schreiber in 2007) was adapted to film by director Oliver Stone. For writing and starring in the film Talk Radio, Bogosian received the Berlin Silver Bear for achievement in 1989. He is the author of numerous plays, including subUrbia (Lincoln Center Theater, 1994), film adaptations of his work and three novels: Mall, Wasted Beauty, and Perforated Heart. In 2015 Little, Brown published Bogosian's Operation Nemesis, a non-fiction account of the death squad that avenged the Armenian Genocide. More recently, Bogosian has been featured in the television series "Billions," "Succession," and in 2022, AMC's "Interview with the Vampire." In 2019 he starred in the Safdie brothers' celebrated Uncut Gems alongside Adam Sandler. His website 100monologues.com features notable actors performing his monologues. Bogosian lives in New York City with his wife, director Jo Bonney.

MARK ARMSTRONG (Director) is the Artistic Director of The 24 Hour Plays, where highlights from his tenure include annual productions of The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway, the Broadway and Los Angeles debuts of The 24 Hour Musicals and more. As a director, his collaborators include Emily Mann (Execution of Justice, Playhouse Creatures and NYU/Tisch), Christopher Shinn (Falling Away, Ensemble Studio Theatre; The Coming World; Williamstown), Dan O’Brien (From Kandahar to Canada, Ensemble Studio Theatre; The Angel in the Trees, Production Company) and many more. He spent four years as the Director of New Work for off-Broadway’s Keen Company, where he created the Keen Playwrights Lab for mid-career playwrights and directed Old Folks by Max Posner and 30 Million by Jason Kim and Max Vernon. Recently, he developed and directed The Accident with drummer Kid Millions at Roulette. Proud member SDC and Ensemble Studio Theatre; alum, Lincoln Center Directors Lab, Williamstown Directing Corps. Instructor, The New School for Drama.

Tickets for Drinking in America are on sale now at www.Audible.com/MinettaLane.