Tucson: Live Theatre Workshop presents THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG

 

From: Christopher Johnson [mailto:rumspringaandcoke@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 9:25 AM
Subject: Live Theatre Workshop presents THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Live Theatre Workshop Proudly Presents
THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG
By Wendy Wasserstein
Winner of the 1993 Outer Critics Circle award for Best Play

Directed by Sabian Trout
Featuring Allegra Breedlove, Carlisle Ellis, Gabriel Gudenkauf, Missie Scheffman, Holli Thenhaus, Brian Wees, Keith Wick and Michael Woodson

January 6, 2010 - February 13, 2011
Preview Performances: January 6 and 7 at 7:30 PM
Opening Night Performance: Saturday, January 8 at 7:30 PM
Performances: Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 PM with Sunday Matinees at 3:00 PM
Preview Tickets: $12 | Regular Tickets: $18 with discounts available
To make your reservation call (520) 327-4242
For more information go to www.LiveTheatreWorkshop.org
LIVE THEATRE WORKSHOP - 5317 E. Speedway | Tucson, AZ 85712
Located on the North side of Speedway between Rosemont and Craycroft
Produced by Special Arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

Wasserstein's hit comedy (nominated for 5 Tony Awards in its Broadway run) reunites three Jewish-American sisters: Sara, the head of an international bank who is “assimilated beyond her wildest dreams;” Pfeni, a globetrotting journalist; and Gorgeous, a housewife, mother and Massachusetts radio personality. Offering sharp truths on what divides relatives and what draws them together, the play explores how women define themselves through romances, careers and family.

“The laughter is all but continuous.”
-The New Yorker

“Funny. Observant. A play with wit as well as acumen…In dealing with social and cultural paradoxes, Ms. Wasserstein is, as always, the most astute of commentators.”
-The New York Times

“This is a simply lovely, funny play, and such family values benefit from small revelations.”
-The New York Post

PRODUCTION HISTORY
THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG first opened in April 1992 at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. It premiered off-Broadway in a Lincoln Center Theater production at the Mitzi Newhouse Theater on October 22, 1992 and closed on February 28, 1993 after 149 performances. Directed by Daniel J. Sullivan, the cast included Jane Alexander and Madeline Kahn. It transferred to Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on March 18, 1993 and closed on July 16, 1994 after 556 performances. Again directed by Sullivan, the Broadway cast remained the same as off-Broadway, except that Christine Estabrook took the role of Pfeni for Frances McDormand. Notable replacements include Linda Lavin as Gorgeous Teitelbaum and Michael Learned as Sara Goode. The New York Times review of the original production wrote that the play is: “...[a] captivating look at three uncommon women and their quest for love, self-definition and fulfillment. But underlying the comedy is an empathetic concern for the characters and for the prospects of women today.”

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Wendy Wasserstein (October 18, 1950 - January 30, 2006) is the author of THE HEIDI CHRONICLES, which won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award and Susan Smith Blackburn Prize; the New York Drama Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards; and earned her a grant from the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays. For THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG she received the 1993 Outer Critics Circle Award, a Tony Award nomination and the William Inge Award for Distinguished Achievement in American Theatre. Other plays include OLD MONEY, AN AMERICAN DAUGHTER and THIRD (Lincoln Center); UNCOMMON WOMEN AND OTHERS (Phoenix Theater); ISN’T IT ROMANTIC (Playwrights Horizon); a musical, MIAMI (with Jack Feldman and Bruce Sussman); WAITING FOR PHILIP GLASS, included in LOVE’S FIRE (The Acting Company). Her other books include the essay collections “Shiksa Goddess” and “Bachelor Girls.” She has contributed to The New Yorker, The New York Times, New York Woman and Harper’s Bazaar, among many other publications. She has been the recipient of an NEA Grant, Guggenheim Fellowship and a Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. She served on the Council of the Dramatist’s Guild, on the Board of the British American Arts Association, School of American Ballet, WNET/Thirteen and The Educational Foundation of America. She has taught at Columbia University, New York University, Juilliard School, and Princeton University, and held an Honorary Doctorate from Mount Holyoke College. Wasserstein was born in Brooklyn and raised in Manhattan. She was a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and the Yale School of Drama.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
Allegra Breedlove - Tess - is proud to return for her fifth show on the Mainstage at LTW. A senior at University High School, Allegra has eleven years of stage and vocal performance experience. Some of her favorite roles include Vicki in CAUGHT IN THE NET, Carol in LEMON SKY (2009 Arizona Daily Star MAC Award nomination for Best Play) and Sister Sarah Brown in GUYS AND DOLLS. Allegra also works extensively with Arizona Theater Company’s Summer On Stage program where she appeared this past summer in THE DINING ROOM. Allegra served as a Teen Critic for ATC and has been recognized with awards in voice, theater, Shakespeare performance and poetry recitation.

Carlisle Ellis - Sara - is thrilled to be making her eighth appearance at LTW having previously performed in CLOUD 9, LOVE LETTERS, THE CLEAN HOUSE, SHIRLEY VALENTINE (2009 AZ Daily Star MAC Award for Best Actress), MOON OVER BUFFALO, STEEL MAGNOLIAS and A PERFECT GANESH. Carlisle received a B.A. in Speech and Drama from Stanford University and has appeared with many other local theatre companies including Borderlands Theatre, The Invisible Theatre and Arizona Repertory Theatre. Favorite roles outside of LTW include Melissa (LOVE LETTERS), Mary (ON THE VERGE), Marjorie (THE TALE OF THE ALLERGISTS WIFE), Lillian (THAT SLUT!) Susan (EL DESEO/DESIRE), April (SAVAGE IN LIMBO), Juba (HEATHEN VALLEY), Kate (BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS and BROADWAY BOUND), Grace (FAITH HEALER) and Titania (A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM).

Gabriel Gudenkauf - Tom - is making his Live Theatre Workshop debut and is delighted to be a part of this production. Gabriel is currently enrolled at Pima Community College where he has performed in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, CINDERELLA and RAMONA QUIMBY.

Lucille Petty - Assistant Stage Manager - is a regular technician and artist at Live Theatre Workshop where she has served as production stage manager for THE EATING DISORDER TALENT SHOW, DANNY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST and KITTY KITTY KITTY with Etcetera, the late night series at LTW. She has also appeared on stage in the Etcetera productions of ROBOTS VS. FAKE ROBOTS, MR. MARMALADE and Richard O’Brien’s THE ROCKY HORROR. Lucille recently appeared in the Winding Road Theater Ensemble production of ARMOR and can be seen this spring in their upcoming production of Lanford Wilson’s FIFTH OF JULY.

Carley Preston - Production Stage Manager - has previously worked behind the scenes at Live Theatre Workshop on projects such as THE SANTALAND DIARIES and THE GIN GAME. A regular performer with LTW’s late-night series Etcetera, Carley has been seen in OLEANNA, Richard O’Brien’s THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, KITTY KITTY KITTY as well as the staged readings of RAG AND BONE and THE ALTRUISTS. Miss Preston graduated with a BFA in Theatre Production from the University of Arizona where you may have caught her in THE CIDER HOUSE RULES, DANCING AT LUGHNASA, CAROUSEL and MIDWIVES.

Missie Scheffman - Gorgeous - has been performing with Live Theatre Workshop regularly for the past 10 years where you may have seen her on the Mainstage in productions such as INSPECTING CAROL, THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH, SPIDER’S WEB, THE LAST OF THE RED HOT LOVERS, THE MISS FIRECRACKER CONTEST, DESIGN FOR LIVING and COME BACK TO THE FIVE AND DIME JIMMY DEAN JIMMY DEAN. Missie recently directed the LTW productions of A THOUSAND CLOWNS and I DO! I DO! and serves proudly as a member of the LTW Board of Directors. Missie has a BFA in Acting from the University of Arizona.

Holli Thenhaus - Pfeni - is a graduate of the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts. She is elated to be performing in her tenth season on the Mainstage at Live Theatre Workshop. Notable roles at LTW include Carnelle (THE MISS FIRECRACKER CONTEST), Lucille/Veda (DEARLY DEPARTED), Lizzie (THE RAINMAKER), Fifi (THE BIG FUNK), Sylvia (SYLVIA), Shelby (STEEL MAGNOLIAS), Sunny (THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO), Maggie (DANCING AT LUGHNASA), Rosalind (MOON OVER BUFFALO) and Bella (LOST IN YONKERS). Holli’s turns in FUNNY MONEY and DANCING AT LUGHNASA earned her Arizona Daily Star MAC Award nominations for Best Actress, she won the prize for her performance as the title role in SYLVIA.

Sabian Trout - Direction - is thoroughly enjoying her fifth season as LTW’s Artistic Director. Previous LTW directing credits include THE GIN GAME, WHAT THE BUTLER SAW, WIFE BEGINS AT FORTY, SHIRLEY VALENTINE, LOST IN YONKERS, FUNNY MONEY, DANCING AT LUGHNASA, THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO, THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH, BELL BOOK AND CANDLE, STEEL MAGNOLIAS, ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, BROADWAY BOUND and BABY WITH THE BATHWATER. Professional credits include productions at the Stratford Festival of Canada, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Missouri Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Phoenix, The Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis, Austin’s State Theatre, LA Theatre Works and Arizona Theatre Company. Other Tucson directing credits include LOVE LETTERS, EXTREMITIES, THE TALE OF THE ALLERGIST’S WIFE and ON THE VERGE. Some favorite directing projects include HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE, SPIKE HEELS, BEIRUT and KORCZAK AND THE CHILDREN. Sabian earned her MFA in Directing from the University of Texas in 1995.

Brian Wees - Nick - is happy to be back at LTW. He spent his early years on stage in Washington, D.C. and New York City, most notably as an original cast member in Joseph Papp’s Off-Broadway production of HAGAR’S CHILDREN. Tucson credits include Quintessential Stage’s A SKULL IN CONNEMARA and THE WEIR, Beowulf Alley’s OF MICE AND MEN, Live Theatre Workshop’s CHAPTER TWO and PICNIC, Brachiate Theatre Project’s MACBETH, Borderlands Theatre’s GUANTANAMO, The Rogue Theatre’s THE DEAD, Invisible Theatre’s THE EXONERATED, Arizona Repertory Theatre’s RUM & COKE and E+A’s THE PILLOWMAN.

Keith Wick - Geoffrey - is happy to once again appear in another Live Theatre Workshop Mainstage production. Previous LTW acting credits include DANCING AT LUGHNASA, SPIDER’S WEB, FUNNY MONEY, LOST IN YONKERS, A TUNA CHRISTMAS, WIFE BEGINS AT FORTY, WHAT THE BUTLER SAW and DON’T DRESS FOR DINNER. Keith has also appeared in several All Together Theatre productions at LTW. He is a graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Some of his favorite roles include Fluellen in HENRY V, Second Man in AND THEY DANCE REAL SLOW IN JACKSON, Clive Champion-Cheney in THE CIRCLE and Nathan Detroit in GUYS AND DOLLS. Keith is a recipient of an AriZoni award for his portrayal of Dromio of Syracuse in the Southwest Shakespeare Production of A COMEDY OF ERRORS.

Michael Woodson - Merv - has previously appeared with Live Theatre Workshop in A THOUSAND CLOWNS, KILLER JOE, WHAT THE BUTLER SAW, THE CLEAN HOUSE, THE HOUSEKEEPER, FUNNY MONEY, MOON OVER BUFFALO, THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH, BELL BOOK AND CANDLE and MURDER ON THE NILE. Michael has also perfomed with Arizona Theatre Company, The Invisible Theatre, The Wilde Playhouse and Stray Theatre. A member of the Screen Actor’s Guild, he was seen in the television series ‘Legend and The Young Riders,’ as well as the television movie ‘Gunsmoke III,’ ‘To the Last Man,’ and ‘Geronimo.’ Commercial work includes Rawlings Radar Ball, The Arizona Lottery and Bulls Eye BBQ Sauce. In 2008, Michael received the LTW Ovation Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of George Hay in MOON OVER BUFFALO.

 

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