Sag Harbor - The Workshops at Bay Street Theatre present "Raindogs," directed by Andrew MacBean, a new rock musical, based on "Balm in Gilead" by Lanford Wilson, on Saturday, October 16 at 8 p.m. The book is by Wilson, Rose Martula, and Andrew MacBean. Music by MacBean, Paul Chant, and Boko Suzuki, who also serves as Music Director. Lyrics by MacBean.

"Balm in Gilead" was Wilson's first full length play. As a new arrival to the early 1960s counter-culture scene in downtown Manhattan, Wilson decided to write what he saw. Living above (and spending many nights in) an all-night coffee shop under his hotel, at 76th and Broadway, he wrote down the actual words, lives and conversations of the drug addicts, hookers, pimps, and hustlers who inhabited the cafe nightly. This became the basis of an astonishing ground-breaking piece of theatre.

The hard-hitting and overwhelming "Balm in Gilead" premiered in 1965 to rave reviews at NYC's famed La Mama and eventually transferred to the stage of the Circle in the Square Company that Wilson and his cohort, director Marshall Mason had founded.

Gradually centering around a young prostitute who meets a somewhat inept drug-pusher, "Balm in Gilead" is a graphic and gritty look at the junkies, pushers, prostitutes and others that inhabit an upper West Side greasy spoon.

The play was revived in 1984 by Steppenwolf (Director John Malkovich) in a hugely successful production with Gary Sinise, John Mahoney, Laurie Metcalf, and interestingly enough, Michael Moore (of 9/11 fame). It transferred to the new Minetta Lane theatre, with new raves and awards.

The cast of "Raindogs" includes Alyssa Fox, Martina R. Sykes, Jo Lampert, Kelly Felthous, Anthony Lee Medina, John Jeffords, Gabreille Garza, Jimmy Kilduff, Mike Wartella, Patrick Oliver Jones, Nick Blaemire, Lucas A. Wells.

The Workshops at Bay Street Theatre, sponsored in part by the Lucille Lortel Foundation, allow writers, producers and actors to come together for a short period of time to develop theatrical pieces that may one day appear on the Broadway stage. Tickets are $15. A Q & A with the creators will follow.

Bay Street Theatre is a not-for-profit institution, dedicated to presenting new, classic and contemporary works of the highest quality, which challenge as well as entertain, speak to the diversity of the community and champion the human spirit. Bay Street's commitment extends to educational programs for all ages to foster the continued value of theatre as a vital art form for future generations.

Tickets available by calling the box office at 631-725-9500 or online at www.baystreet.org.