From: David M [mailto:dinsea@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, March 05, 2009 4:41 PM
Subject: The Rogue Theatre's IMMORTAL LONGINGS
For more information: David Morden, 520-245-2456
Shakespeare's Women Share their Immortal Longings
The Rogue Theatre presents a world premiere in which An Argument Erupts Among Shakespeare's Greatest Women
What happens when Shakespeare's strongest women step out of the pages of their plays and match wits in discussing their lives, their loves and how to change the ending of their story? Joseph McGrath, Artistic Director of The Rogue Theatre, has imagined such a colloquy and created Immortal Longings, an entrancing dialogue between some of the most fascinating characters in English drama. Using a combination of Shakespeare's words and his own blank verse, Mr. McGrath has given ten of Shakespeare's women a voice beyond their own story and the opportunity to comment on each other's plots and predicaments. This debate, between such unlikely partners as Lady Macbeth, Ophelia, Cleopatra and Juliet (among others), is a symphony of Shakespeare's words in a unique setting, independent of the pages of his brilliant works.
Immortal Longings: An Argument Erupts Among Shakespeare's Greatest Women will play March 19 – April 5, 2009 at Zuzi's Dance Theatre in the Historic YWCA, 738 North Fifth Avenue (at University Blvd. ). Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 PM and Sunday at 2:00 PM. Preshow music begins 15 minutes before curtain. Preview night is Thursday March 19 at 7:30 PM. Pay-What-You-Will Thursdays are March 26 & April 2 at 7:30 PM.
Juliet has become disenchanted with the powerful, yet tragic conclusion to her story and longs for a happy ending and the chance to live on with her Romeo. Alarmed at this attempt to alter the great works of the Bard, nine of his strongest women appear to debate the merits and drawbacks of life as one of the greatest tragic figures of English literature. The debate heats up as some of the women support Juliet's survival and others argue the inevitability of her fate. Each woman takes the spotlight in turn and performs a key scene from her own story to underline and justify her argument in support of, or in rejection of Juliet's desires. A banquet of some of the most beautiful and moving scenes from Shakespeare, Immortal Longings is an amusing and fascinating evening with the most powerful, beautiful and impressive women ever written.
Joseph McGrath (Author and Director) is the Artistic Director for The Rogue Theatre for which he has performed in most of the productions, and has directed The Balcony, Endymion, The Maids (winner of the Arizona Daily Star 2007 Mac Award for Best Play) and Red Noses. Joe is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Drama and has toured with John Houseman's Acting Company and performed with the Utah Shakespearean Festival. In Tucson , he is a frequent performer with Ballet Tucson, Arizona Theatre Company, Arizona Opera, Arizona OnStage, Green Thursday, and Damesrocket Theatre.
The cast of Immortal Longings includes:
· Lesley Abrams (Portia), co-founder of the LaughingStock Comedy Company, who has appeared in productions of Doubt, New House New Dog, Steel Magnolias, Noises Off, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You, The Trojan Women and Frozen, for which she won the Arizona Daily Star "Mac" award.
· Susan Arnold (Cleopatra), who hasappeared with The Rogue Theatre as Claire in The Maids and Circe in Endymion. Other local credits include Polina in The Seagull with Tucson Art Theatre , FS in Anger Box with Green Thursday Theatre Project, April in Hot l Baltimore with Nathalia Stage Ensemble and Vita Sackville-West in the world premiere of White Garden. She currently serves as Artistic Director for C.A.S.T., Clean and Sober Theatre, a prevention and education program of Compass Behavioral Health Care.
· Chelsea Bowdren (Rosalind) is a Junior at the University of Arizona and a member of the Arizona Repertory Theatre where she has performed in Love's Labour's Lost, Medea, and Titus Andronicus. Chelsea recently directed Edward Albee's The Zoo Story with The Now Theatre.
· Holly-Marie Carlson (Viola) appeared as Joyce in the University of Arizona's production of Top Girls, as well as Maria in Summertime, Anne Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Helena Oatecake in Much Ado About Nothing with Tucson's Shakespeare Under the Stars. She was most recently seen as Sophie in the premiere of Crossing Elliot at Beowulf Alley Theatre. She is a senior in School of Theatre Arts at University of Arizona .
· Maxine Gillespie (Desdemona) trained the the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington , DC , where she appeared in The Merchant of Venice with Kelly McGillis and Marcia Cross. She has twice traveled to the United Kingdom to study Shakespeare—attending the Midsummer in Oxford program, co-administered by Yale University . In New York City , Maxine trained at the Circle in the Square Theatre and upstate at the Powerhouse Theatre at Vassar College during its inaugural summer season.
· Alida Holguin Gunn (Kate) has performed in numerous productions with Borderlands Theater including Esmeralda in Earthquake Chica, Pichuka in Conjunto and Cristina in Electricidad, among others. She also directed Borderlands' Folktales Youth Project's Javalino Ballerino and Coyote y Culebra. Other acting credits include Liliana in Something Rare and Wonderful (Alley Theatre); Frida Kahlo in Still Life (Chamber Music Plus); Abby in Fiction (Beowulf Alley Theatre Company); Killer in Killer in Love (Camilla's Theater, NY); and her one-woman show Vein (NY).
· Avis Judd (Beatrice) has previously performed with The Rogue Theatre in The Good Woman of Setzuan, as Dunyasha in The Cherry Orchard and as Sasha in Orlando . Avis received her theatre degree from Northwestern University . Other credits include Olga in The Three Sisters, Fury in the English language premier of Héléne Cixious' The Perjured City, or the Awakening of the Furies; Faith in Invisible Theatre's production of Kindertransport, Emilia in Othello; and the title role in a one woman show, which she adapted and directed, about Bahá'í heroine Martha Root.
· Cynthia Meier (Lady Macbeth) is the Managing and Associate Artistic Director for The Rogue Theatre for which she has adapted and directed James Joyce's The Dead, directed Orlando, Happy Days, The Good Woman of Setzuan, The Fever and The Cherry Orchard, and performed in Six Characters in Search of an Author, Red Noses, The Goat (Best Actress, Arizona Daily Star 2008 Mac Award), The Maids, Endymion and The Balcony. In 2000, Cynthia was awarded the Tucson YWCA Woman on the Move Award.
· Laine Peterson (Ophelia) is a student at the University of Arizona . She was seen earlier this season as the Stepdaughter in Six Characters in Search of an Author with The Rogue Theatre. Previous credits include The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, Cigarettes and Chocolate, Tartuffe, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Romeo & Juliet, The Philadelphia Story, and Henry IV, Parts I & II.
· Dallas Thomas (Juliet) appeared recently as Rita in Prelude to a Kiss (Live Theatre Workshop,) Susy in Wait until Dark (Beowulf Alley Theatre) and Joanna in Natives (The Invisible Theatre.) Dallas will appear this May in Don't Talk to the Actors with The Invisible Theatre.
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