It's way past closing time in a dirty, rundown bar owned by Daisy, an irritable, middle-aged woman whose only amusement that evening has been insulting a stone drunk man--her husband--who has passed out at a table. Outside, it's pouring rain. A glamorous woman enters in a distracted state of mind. She turns out to be the celebrated actress Veronica Lopez, famous for her roles as the femme fatale, especially Salome in Oscar Wilde's play of the same name. By force of her star's personality, plus some cocaine and a shared bottle of booze, Veronica slyly insinuates herself into Daisy's confidence. The two women bond over their shared disappointment with their deadbeat husbands--Daisy's is an alcoholic barkeep; Veronica's is a famous film director. It is all brazenly played out within earshot of Daisy's semi-conscious mate, and we get a fiery picture of the contrasting temperaments of two women who've been wronged. Daisy, who was never able to pursue her dream of being an actress, re-enacts a monologue she once performed at her Dad's lodge. Veronica enacts bits of her recent performance as Salome . Ultimately, we learn that life imitates art in this actress.

The piece stars Lydia Biondi as the tavern owner and Carla Cassola as the actress. Ms. Biondi has been seen in NY as a performer with Mummenschanz Mime and Masks Company. Ms. Cassola is a leading practitioner of the Grotowsky method in Italy, where she has worked with the country's major directors in film, theater and TV. Italian critics have praised the play as an excellent interpretation by two diverse performers who find perfect harmony and complicity in their acting. Messagero called it "an enjoyable piece that mixes truth and fiction, the ridiculous and the surreal, making the audience laugh through clenched teeth." Il Tempo praised its "irresistible fascination," noting that "the tight rhythm of the dialog, two full-bodied protagonists (the hilarious Lydia Biondi and the unsettling Carla Cassola) and the light touch of the playwright convince the audience."

Istituto di Studi dello Spettacolo-Teatro Studio (www.teatrostudio.org) was founded in 1960 by the Swiss mime Roy Bosier. Led by Lydia Biondi since 1985, the group conducts classes and workshops in theater and movement techniques and has worked with many noted artists, including Lindsay Kemp, Giancarlo Cobelli, Mummenschanz, Teatro Nazionale di Riga, Jean Claude Penchenet, Carlo Boso of the Piccolo Teatro di Milano, and the Wuppertal Theater. Since 1996, Teatro Studio has presented FontanonEstate (www.fontanone.it), an annual festival of theater, music, and dance on the Gianicolo hill in Rome. The festival is part of the prestigious EstateRomana, a series of summer events sponsored by the City of Rome.

Lydia Biondi (Daisy) has been an established actor in theater, film, and television in Rome since the 1960s. In 1981, she joined Mummenschanz and toured with them until 1985, when she returned with them to Rome. In the U.S. she can currently be seen in the film "Casanova" and as Merula in the HBO series "Rome." She also works as stage director and choreographer and as an assistant director and casting director in film and opera. She teaches commedia dell'arte workshops around the world.

Born in Tuscany, Ms. Biondi moved to Rome in the late-1960s and acquired a master's degree in acting at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. In 1978, she founded the non-profit MTM (mimoteatromovimento), a theater school and company that became one of the most important private theater schools in Rome. In 1985, MTM became part of Teatro Studio and moved into a prestigious space on the Gianicolo hill, the 17th-century baroque fountain called Fontanone.

Carla Cassola (Veronica) studied acting with Jerzy Grotowsky in Poland and has taught the Grotowsky method at La bottega dell'attore (an acting school founded by Vittorio Gassman), at the National Acting Academy Silvio D'Amico, and at Istituto Addestramento Lavoratori dello Spettacolo ( the most prestigious performing arts center in Rome). She won the Nastro d'argento for her dubbing work in the film "Orlando" by Sally Potter, in which she voiced the film's lead role.

Ms. Cassola has worked with some of the major directors in cinema, theater and television in Europe and the U.S., including Gian Carlo Corbelli, Giorgio Albertazzi, Dino Risi, Giancarlo Calderone, Renny Rye, Giorgio Capitani, Albert Pyhum, Luciano Fulci, Tinto Brass, Franco Brusati Liliana Cavani, James Frankenheimer, Franco Laudario, Marco Bellocchio, Dino Risi, Luciano Salce, Mark Herskovitz, Ricky Tognazzi, and Pat Murphy.

Avner Kam (Buffalo Bill) is a performer, writer and director of theater and video; his work has been seen on MTV, The Pulse Theater, The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and the legendary Surf Reality. He wrote and composed the one-person musical "The Singing Cowboy and his Invisible Backup Singers" and is currently at work on a three-person musical. He is an accomplished story-teller at the Moth. Avner Kam serves as the International Ambasador for FringeNYC, the largest multi-arts festival in North America.

Maria Luisa Bigai (Director) has directed many plays, including "Clitemnestra" by Margaret Yourcenar (for which she won the Alessio di Giovanni prize), "Misdirected" by Joe Borini, "La favola del figlio cambiato" by Luigi Pirandello, "Erzbeth Bathory" by Dacia Maraini (Fondi Prize), "Il Topo rode le Sillabe" by Andrea Camilleri, "In-chiostro," which she co-wrote with Emanuele Vacchetto, and "Notturno-Lettera d'Amore" (Fiuggi-Europa-alle-Fonti Prize). She created and directed three versions of "Pax-ione," a theatrical event in support of Amref that involved more than 40 performers, and "Everything's Gonna Be Allright," a revue of contemporary plays by American women. Both were produced at the FontanonEstate festival in Rome. She teaches at the Conservatory of Music in Cosenza and the Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica Silvio d'Amico, the national theater school in Rome, ; .

Emanuele Vacchetto (Playwright) is best known for his work as a screenwriter for television and cinema. He is a long-time collaborator of famed Italian director Gianni Amelio. In 2003, Corriere della Sera called him "An extremely versatile and witty author, under whose lively and ironic writing is hidden a sharp and merciless denouncement of our times. Along with Copi, whom he worked with in Paris in the 1970's, Vacchetto is one of the most original voices in contemporary theater." For RAI television, Vacchetto has written "Casa Cecilia," which won the Giardini-Naxos prize; an adaptation/translation of "Hedda Gabler" with Gianni Amelio; and "Il Segreto di Eva," among others. His play "Sorelle" was produced at FontanonEstate.

Set decoration and costumes are by Natacha Tanzilli. Original music is by Alessandro Molinari. Lighting design is by Marco Catalucci. Assistant Directors are Benedetta Baglioni and Ramiro Sandoval.

The production of "L'ultima notte di Salome" is the result of the collaborative efforts of Teatro Studio's Artistic Directors, Enzo Aronica, Lydia Biondi and Maria Luisa Bigai, with Producing Director Elizabeth Inserra. The La MaMa production is part of a project of Teatro Studio that presents the work of contemporary Italian playwrights in the United States and American playwrights in Italy. Previous productions in this series include "Maleindirizzata" (Misdirected) by American Joe Borini at FontanonEstate in 2001 and "Bread" by Margaret Hunt at Teatro dell'Orologio in Rome in 2005.

Elizabeth Inserra, Producing Director, has worked with Teatro Studio since 2001, leading a spirited effort to exchange contemporary dramatic works between Italy and the U.S, particularly work from previously unheard voices. She lives and works in New York City, but she "will always return to Rome."