The Castle—the hit Off-Broadway play that offers a first-hand account of life in and after prison—will play a special one-night-only engagement on Sunday, August 30 at 3PM at Theatre 555 (555 West 42nd Street, NYC). Tickets are $25 and are now available at donate.fortunesociety.org/thecastle. All proceeds benefit The Fortune Society, the organization that supports successful reentry from incarceration and promotes alternatives to incarceration.
The August 30 benefit presentation will be hosted by New York State Senator Erik Bottcher, two-time Tony Award-winner Christine Ebersole, activist and journalist Felipe Luciano and former NJ Governor James McGreevey.
Inspired by the supportive housing residence run by The Fortune Society in upper Manhattan, The Castle offers a searing, first-hand look at the lives of four formerly incarcerated New Yorkers and their re-entry into society. Conceived and directed by David Rothenberg, Founder of The Fortune Society, the cast for The Castle includes Vilma Ortiz Donovan, Philip Hall, Ervin Hunt and Casimiro Torres—all of whom tell real-life stories, some personal—of their re-entry experience.
The Castle originally opened at Manhattan’s New World Stages in April, 2008, after a long development process, and went on to run successfully Off-Broadway for over a year. Beyond New York theaters, Rothenberg and rotating casts of Fortune Society community members have taken the production on tour to prisons, universities, churches, and community organizations across the country.
Founded in 1967, The Fortune Society has advocated on criminal justice issues for more than five decades and is nationally recognized for developing model programs that help people with criminal justice histories become assets to their communities. Fortune offers a holistic and integrated “one-stop-shopping” model of service provision, including discharge planning, licensed outpatient substance use and mental health treatment, alternatives to incarceration, HIV/AIDS services, career development and job retention, education, family services, drop-in services, and supportive housing, as well as lifetime access to aftercare. For more information, visit fortunesociety.org.
