Tucson: ATC presents TOUCH THE NAMES: Letters from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

From: Arizona Theatre Company [mailto:aztheatreco@aztheatreco.pmailus.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 20, 2007 3:30 PM
Subject: Arizona Theatre Company Honors Sacrifice and Love with TOUCH THE NAMES: Letters from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Sent by: Arizona Theatre Company
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For Immediate Release
September 20, 2007

Bevan Brunelle Bluemer, Public Relations Manager: 520.884.8210 Ext. 8205
ARIZONA THEATRE COMPANY HONORS SACRIFICE AND LOVE WITH TOUCH THE NAMES: Letters�to the

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Randal Myler and Chic Street Man play marks the 25th anniversary of “The Wall”
Every day, hundreds of mementos are left at the base of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.� Some are souvenirs of times past, some are symbols of patriotism -- most are letters from loved ones, colleagues, comrades and strangers.� TOUCH THE NAMES is an extraordinary theatrical event in which eight actors speak the words and share the emotions from actual letters left at The Wall, accompanied by the soulful music of Chic Street Man, performed live by the composer.� Created and directed by Randal Myler, who brought ATC audiences past favorites such as Love, Janis; Hank Williams: Lost Highway and It Ain’t Nothin’ but the Blues, this play is a powerful witness to healing, understanding and love. TOUCH THE NAMES plays in Tucson at the Temple of Music and Art from October 16 through November 4. TOUCH THE NAMES continues its run in Phoenix at the Herberger Theater Center from November 8 through November 25. The Phoenix production underwriter for TOUCH THE NAMES is Boeing. Arizona Theatre Company’s season underwriters are I. Michael and Beth Kasser.

The idea for the TOUCH THE NAMES began on Memorial Day in 1996 when Randal Myler and Chic Street Man were working on a play together in Washington, D.C. They had walked down the National Mall past the Vietnam Veterans Memorial where a special event was taking place.� Myler noticed that people were leaving items at the base of the Wall and asked a security guard what happened to those mementoes.� He was told that they were gathered every day and stored in a National Archives warehouse in Maryland.� Intrigued, he gained permission to visit the storage facility and read through thousands of letters.� Chic Street Man created music to accompany the letters, as well as turning some of them into stand-alone songs.� The final result is a theatre piece composed of dozens letters, notes and poems spoken by an ensemble cast portraying soldiers, civilians, parents, children, friends and strangers who all had something powerful and urgent to say to the names on the Wall.

Variety said TOUCH THE NAMES “packs an especially potent emotional wallop” and called it “dignified and authentic; very moving.”

The Tucson Chapter 106 of Vietnam Veterans of America will present an exhibit at the Temple of Music and Art of personal memorabilia from the Vietnam War, as well as information about important issues for the veterans who served.� Patrons can view the display before and after the performance, as well as during intermission. In addition, the matinee on Sunday, October 28th will be a free performance for veterans and military personnel.� Veterans and military also receive $10 off tickets for all other performances.

RANDAL MYLER (Co-Conceiver/Director) returns to ATC where he co-wrote and directed the smash hits Love, Janis; Hank Williams: Lost Highway and It Ain’t Nothin’ but the Blues and directed The Immigrant. He was nominated for a 2003 Outer Critics Circle Award in the Outstanding Director category for the New York production of Hank Williams: Lost Highway and was a Tony Award nominee (Best Book of a Musical) for It Ain’t Nothin’ but the Blues. He has directed at theatres across the country, including The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Denver Center Theatre Company, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Arena Stage, Mark Taper Forum, Geffen Playhouse, The Old Globe, the Grand Ole Opry's Ryman Auditorium and many others. His other writing and directing projects include co-adapting and directing Fire on the Mountain and Always Heaven and directing Union City.

CHIC STREET MAN (Co-Conceiver/Composer) returns to ATC, having appeared in It Ain’t Nothing but the Blues. He was a contributing author, performer and musical arranger for It Ain't Nothin' But The Blues. He composed the music and starred in the off-Broadway hit show Spunk, adapted by George C. Wolfe, for which he received a 1990 Audelco Award and a 1992 NAACP Theater Arts Award. Chic composed the score and starred in the Berkeley Repertory Theater's production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's A Lesson Before Dying. Chic composed, arranged and was the Musical Director for McCarter Theatre Center’s premiere of Zora Neale Hurston’s Polk County, for which he won the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critic’s Circle Award. In 2002, Chic released his sixth album, Lullablues.

Vicki Smith (Scenic Designer) returns to Arizona Theatre Company where she designed� Love, Janis; Jitney; Hank Williams: Lost Highway; Dirty Blonde and many others.� Other theatres where she has worked include Denver Center Theatre Company, The Cleveland Play House, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, The Minnesota Opera and Anchorage Opera, among others.� Don Darnutzer (Lighting Designer) returns to Arizona Theatre Company, where he designed, among dozens of shows, Love, Janis; I Am My Own Wife; Molly’s Delicious; Hank Williams: Lost Highway and It Ain’t Nothin’ but the Blues.� He designed the lighting for the Tony-nominated Broadway production of It Ain't Nothin' but the Blues. Kish Finnegan (Costume Designer) has been with Arizona Theatre Company since 1989 and is the Costume Design Manager. Her ATC design credits include I Am My Own Wife, Molly’s Delicious, Tuesdays with Morrie, Drawer Boy, Copenhagen, The Origins Of Happiness in Latin, Fully Committed, 2 Pianos, 4 Hands, Art, Seamarks, Mascara, and Valley Song. Brian Jerome Peterson (Sound Designer) celebrates his 22nd season and 54th sound design for ATC, where he has designed, among others I Am My Own Wife, Molly’s Delicious, Twelfth Night, Tuesdays with Morrie, Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure, Crowns, Bad Dates, and Macbeth.� His designs have been heard in many theatres including Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre and Actors Theatre of Louisville.


Tickets range from $26-$50 depending on date and section choice and are available at arizonatheatre.org or by calling the ATC Box Office at (520) 622-2823. Veterans and military personnel receive $10 off single tickets.� Discounts are available for students and seniors on specific performance days. Half-price student rush tickets are available for balcony seating for all performances one hour prior to curtain at the ATC box office (subject to availability; must show ID). For discounts on groups of eight or more, call (520) 884-8210 x 8204.

ATC offers audio-described performances for patrons who have low vision or blindness on October 18 at 2:00 PM and October 24 at 2:00 PM. Interested patrons may request a tactile tour one hour prior to curtain. Braille and large-print playbills are available upon request from the house manager. An American Sign Language-interpreted performance is offered on October 18 at 7:30 PM. Patrons who have deafness or hearing impairment will receive a biography of the interpreters, a description of the play and name signs of each character.� An open-captioned performance is offered on October 18 at 2:00 PM. As the play progresses, those in open-captioned seating will be able to read the play’s dialogue in large green letters on an LED. The service is for patrons with mild to severe hearing loss who may not be ASL-literate. Tickets for all performances are available through the ATC box office at (520) 622-2823 or online at arizonatheatre.org. TTY access for the box office is available via Arizona Relay at (800) 367-8939 (TTY/ASCII).
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For more information about Arizona Theatre Company's 2007-2008 season visit us online at:
www.arizonatheatre.org


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