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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

OBIE AWARD WINNING ACTOR/PLAYWRIGHT DAVID DRAKE DIRECTS INTERNATIONAL RECORDING ARTIST/ACTOR PAUL LEKAKIS IN "TWO BOYS IN A BED ON A COLD WINTER'S NIGHT" AT THE TIDES PLAYHOUSE IN CHERRY GROVE, FIRE ISLAND.

Scott Douglas Cunningham (l.) and international recording artist/actor Paul Lekakis in The Island Repertory Theatre Company's production of James Edwin Parker's erotic play "Two Boys In A Bed On A Cold Winter's Night"," directed by Obie-Award winning actor/writer/director David Drake, which is slated to play The Tides Playhouse in Cherry Grove, Fire Island, September 1 thru 17. (Photo credit: Holly McDade.)

(September 1 thru 17) "TWO BOYS IN A BED ON A COLD WINTER'S NIGHT" by James Edwin Parker was the first production ever produced at The Rattlestick Theatre Company is New York City (1995). After Rattlestick, it went on to enjoy a five-month Off-Broadway run and has subsequently been produced at theatres around the world.

"Two Boys In A Bed On A Cold Winter's Night" will be directed by Obie Award-winning actor/playwright David Drake and star international recording artist/actor Paul LeKakis. Actor Scott Douglas Cunningham will co-star.

"Two Boys In A Bed On A Cold Winter's Night" is rated adults only for nudity and sexual situations.

Performances: September 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 15, 16 at 8 p.m. September 10 & 17 at 7 p.m. Tides Playhouse, Ocean Walk, Cherry Grove, Fire Island, N.Y. Tickets: $25. Master Charge and Visa credit card sales at TheaterMania.com, Island Rep.org or 631 597-9439.

Obie-Award winning actor/writer/director David Drake (above) directs Scott Douglas Cunningham and international recording artist/actor Paul Lekakis in The Island Repertory Theatre Company's production of James Edwin Parker's erotic play "Two Boys In A Bed On A Cold Winter's Night"," which is slated to play The Tides Playhouse in Cherry Grove, Fire Island, September 1 thru 17. (Photo credit: Holly McDade.)

David Drake is probably best-known as the Obie Award-winning playwright/performer of The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me, which he performed for a year Off Broadway before touring it to LA, SF, Sydney, Melbourne, Edinburgh, Manchester and London. The Anchor Books publication of The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me received a Lambda Literary Award nomination. To date, the play has received nearly 100 independent productions worldwide, including translations into Greek, Spanish, Portuguese and French. In 2000 David starred in Tim Kirkman's feature film version of the play (available on TLA Video/DVD).

In New York, David was in the original Off Broadway companies of Pageant, End of the World Party, starred in the major New York revival of The Boys in the Band at the Lucille Lortel Theater and succeeded Charles Busch in Vampire Lesbians of Sodom.

His most recent autobiographical stage show, Son of Drakula, was presented at NY's Dance Theater Workshop while David was a DTW artist-in-residence in 2002. Son of Drakula, which the New York Times praised as "a dazzling, inventive... terrific new one man show," toured to San Francisco, Baltimore and Anchorage before making its European debut in Croatia at the Queer Zagreb Festival. Other film credits include Longtime Companion, David Searching, The Trey Billings Show and Jonathan Demme's Academy Award-winning Philadelphia, as well as guest star appearances on FOX's NY Undercover and NBC's Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Paul LeKakis is an international recording artist who is best known for his top ten Dance/Pop hits "Boom, Boom, Boom Let's Go Back To My Room" and "Come On Over To My House" from the album Tattoo It.

Paul's acclaimed acting career includes independent films Circuit and Just Can't Get Enough-The Chippendale Story, Hellbent, Sex, Politics and Cocktails and Don't Tell-Don't Ask, which he also wrote and directed.

Scott Cunningham, a native of Sayville, lives in New York City, where he has appeared in several off-Broadway plays, television shows, commercials and films.

Scott is a member of Island Rep's Acting Ensemble and has appeared in productions of The End of the World Party and The Boys In The Band.

James Edwin Parker (Playwright) - Two Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter's Night (over 30 productions on 3 continents); All American Boy, The Boy Band Musical (book & lyrics); Virtual Closet; . and the Pursuit of Happiness; The White Bird Takes Wing; Drinking Games. Contributing author to "Mama's Boys: Gay Men Write About Their Mothers". Founding member of Rattlestick Productions, Inc. Member of The Dramatists' Guild, Inc. - the professional association of American playwrights, librettists, lyricists, and composers. Parker resides in Manhattan with his partner Kyle Shadix and their magical menagerie of multiple felines.

What the critics have said about "Two Boys In A Bed On A Cold Winter's Night":

"James Edwin Parker's comic tale, 2 Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter's
Night, is about how not to behave during a one-night stand, but it is
also a sharp-eyed exploration of emotional intimacy."
-The New Yorker

"Edgy.. touching.. risky... exuberant! James Edwin Parker's '2 Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter's Night' is by no means the first play to depict the driving force in New York gay life as the quest for an unattainable fantasy. But this two-character dialogue is one of the first plays to analyze the dynamics of the hunt in sexually explicit terms. In doing so, it displays a nasty, critical acuity." - Stephen Holden, The New York Times

"2 Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter's Night has the ring of honesty, some explosively funny incidents, and a lot of naked scrimmaging under the duvet." -Jeremy Kingston, The Times of London

"This guide to the sexual etiquette of one-night stands, irrespective of gender, is peppered with poignant, sly observation." -The Independent

"I'm happy to report that two of my favorite people are joining forces. For months, David Drake and Paul Lekakis have been working quietly on a theatre project, and it's just been announced that David will direct a revival of "Two Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter Night" at the Island Repertory Theatre Company on Fire Island. Yes, Mr. Lekakis will be one of the said "boys", while the other will be local actor Scott Cunningham (I guess I was out of their price range). Before you ask, yes, Paul will be naked a good amount of the time. The play runs September 1st through the 17th. More info can be gleaned at www.IslandRep.org." - Billy Masters, Syndicated Columnist

"Island Rep is a Fire Island treasure" - Dan Evans, Fire Island Tide

The Island Repertory Theatre Company is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit theatre company home-based in Cherry Grove, Fire Island. Its mission is "to encourage cultural and social interaction between Fire Island and mainland communities by presenting time-honored and new plays that chronicle the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience (GLBT)."

Press Contact: Richard LaFrance, e-mail: IslandRepCG@aol.com; 631 597-9439