ALTER EGO PRODUCTIONS BRINGS TO THE STAGE THE WORLD PREMIERE OF TARIQ ALI’S THE LEOPARD AND THE FOX — THE GRIPPING STORY OF THE LAST DAYS OF ZULFIQAR ALI BHUTTO, THE FIRST POPULARLY ELECTED PRIME MINISTER OF PAKISTAN AND BENAZIR BHUTTO’S FATHER

SHOW DETAILS:

The Leopard and the Fox opens Wednesday, October 17th at TBG Theater, 312 W. 36th St between 8th and 9th Avenue with performances until Saturday, November 3rd.

Cast: Ramiz Monsef*, Andrew Guilarte, Gita Reddy, Sanjiv Jhaveri*, Rock Kohli*, Michael Crane*, David Sajadi*
(* appearing courtesy the Actors Equity Association. Equity approved Showcase)

Performances: October 17 to November 3: Wednesday through Saturday at 8 pm (Saturday and Sunday matinees) at 2 pm.
Tickets: www.smarttix.com ; or call 212-868-4444*

Alter Ego Productions brings together people from many different professional backgrounds sharing a common passion for theater. The company was founded in April 2002 by a group of individuals whose professional focus is not theater but who have a strong interest in theater and significant past experience in directing, acting, or set design.

Rajiv Joseph’s adaptation of Tariq Ali’s acclaimed book The Leopard and the Fox is a Machiavellian political drama which follows the last days of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan’s first popularly elected Prime Minister, betrayed by his closest confidante the army chief General Zia ul Haq, who then imprisoned and then executed Bhutto in 1979, installing himself as the President with the blessings of the USA. The Leopard and the Fox was originally written as a BBC screenplay in 1985 at a politically sensitive time, with the US exerting pressure on Zia ul Haq, to arm and train the mujahideens waging war against the Soviets in Afghanistan. Due to the controversial nature of the screenplay which implicated the CIA in the plot to overthrow Bhutto, the BBC came under legal pressure to censor The Leopard and The Fox and it was never produced. The adaptation has interwoven the current political situation with the return from exile of Benazir Bhutto, the daughter of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, and inheritor of his political legacy with the historical event of Bhutto's execution to turn the play into a powerful contemporary drama replete with its sense of betrayal, broken promises, and the scepter of the US hanging over the country's political fortunes.

This stage adaptation is written by NY based playwright Rajiv Joseph whose previous work includes the well received Huck and Holden and All that Intimacy. Director Giovanna Sardelli is a graduate of NYU’s prestigious Tisch School. Her recent work includes Rajiv Joseph’s Huck and Holden, All that Intimacy, and Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo.

Previously, Alter Ego Productions produced A First Class Man, Who’s Afraid of Vijay Tendulkar?, Fatwa, Indian Ink, Chaos Theory, and Hayavadana. Our most successful productions to date — the world premiere of David Freeman’s A First Class Man and the NY premiere of Tom Stoppard’s Indian Ink — ran to full houses. Our 2006 production A First Class Man was a critical and popular success and garnered rave reviews. The NYT called it “a play that entertains quite efficiently” and Indian Ink was listed by TheaterMania as “Shows You Should Have Seen But Probably Didn’t” in 2003.

*For additional information or to schedule an interview, please contact Alter Ego’s press representative: Amrita Rajagopal (amrita.rajagopal@gs.com) Photos available upon request. To download our press kit, please visit our website www.alteregoproductions.org or contact Amrita Rajagopal at 520-548-0402.