by: Brian Scott Lipton
A group of outsiders gather in the parking lot of a now-closed seedy New Orleans hotel to give a “living funeral” to the woman they revere. That’s the plot of Lisa D’Amour’s “Airline Highway,” which arrives on April 1 at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (in advance of an April 23 opening), after a successful run at Chicago’s famed Steppenwolf Theatre, which commissioned the work.
The show, which is directed by Tony Award winner Joe Mantello, features an ensemble cast of 16, led by Julie White, K. Todd Freeman, Judith Roberts, Carolyn Braver, Scott Jaeck, Ken Marks, Caroline Neff, Tim Edward Rhoze, and Joe Tippett.
D’Amour, a Pulitzer Prize finalist for “Detroit,” told us at a recent press event at MTC’s rehearsal studio that she knows the show’s territory well, being a New Orleans resident and native, and wanted to show us a different side of “The Big Easy.” So, get ready to take a ride on this very special “Highway”.
*Photos/Video: Miriam Spritzer