From: Jessica Paroz [mailto:jparoz@eblane.com]
Sent: Friday, August 30, 2013 11:17 AM
Subject: Star Studded Cast- Arizona Theatre Company Open's 47th Season
Media Contact:
Jessica Paroz
Tel: 602.416.3609
Email: jparoz@eblane.com
A FRESH NEW LOOK TO OSCAR WILDE’S COMIC MASTERPIECE
“THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST”
OPENS THE ARIZONA THEATRE COMPANY’S 47th SEASON
TUCSON, Ariz. August 30, 2013 – Arizona Theatre Company (ATC) opens its 47th season with a fresh new production of Oscar Wilde’s sparkling comic masterpiece, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” which will premiere in Tucson at the Temple of Music and Art, and runs from September 14, 2013 through October 5, 2013. “The Importance of Being Earnest” is supported by ATC season sponsors I. Michael and Beth Kasser. Opening night will be sponsored by Dr. Mary Jo Ghory and Janos Wilder of Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails.
After starring as Emma Woodhouse in the bestselling production “Jane Austen’s Emma,” Anneliese van der Pol from Disney’s “That’s So Raven” and Broadway’s “Beauty and the Beast,” returns to the ATC stage to star as Gwendolen Fairfax, with Allyce Beasley of TV’s “Moonlighting” and “Bored to Death”, as well as the Tony Award Winning “La Cage au Follies” on Broadway making her ATC debut as the indomitable Lady Bracknell. “The Importance of Being Earnest” will be directed by ATC’s Associate Artistic Director Stephen Wrentmore.
“Wilde is a master of the English language and artistry,” says director, Stephen Wrentmore. “He said we should treat serious things with triviality and trivial things with the utmost importance. Thus, this play is a celebration of the importance of triviality. It is a masterpiece and a delight to bring to life, and to dress it in a creative vision that celebrates the artistry that Wilde sought.”
In Oscar Wilde’s most beloved and endlessly delightful comedy, Jack is in love with Gwendolen; and Algernon is in love with Cecily. But Gwendolen and Cecily are both in love with Ernest, who in fact does not exist. In a tangle of mistaken identity and delicious wordplay, the lovers also face the indomitable force of Lady Bracknell. Full of sparkling wit, provocative observations and with satirical humor at every turn, this truly is one the most beloved and enduringly popular plays of all time. Set in London during the 19th century, “The Importance of Being Earnest” is a whimsical romantic comedy of mistaken identity as well as a sharp-witted satire of Victorian society. Last produced by ATC in 1989, “The Importance of Being Earnest” has been called a “rare work of art that achieves perfection on its own terms,” by The New York Times.
“Oscar Wilde’s plays were commercial pieces written for the fashionable West End theaters, but they have never left the world’s stages since they premiered,” said ATC Artistic Director David Ira Goldstein. “Under Stephen Wrentmore’s inspired direction in an all new production which will take a fresh new approach to Wilde’s masterpiece, I couldn’t be more pleased to open our season with such joyful delight. “
Biographies:
Oscar Wilde (Playwright) was born in Dublin in 1854, and excelled in school, graduating from Oxford in 1878. He began his career as a poet and lecturer. He married Constance Lloyd in 1884, and they had two sons, Cyril and Vyvyan. Wilde's novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” was published in 1891, and he wrote several plays in the following years, culminating in “The Importance of Being Earnest” in 1895. That year, he was convicted of "gross indecency" for his history of homosexual relationships, and spent the next two years in prison. After his release, he wrote very little; Wilde died, alone and penniless, of meningitis in 1900 while in Paris.
Stephen Wrentmore (Director) is Associate Artistic Director at ATC, where he also has directed “Freud’s Last Session,” “The Great Gatsby,” “Macbeth,” “Copenhagen,” several performances for ATC’s Café Bohemia, and co-directed “Jane Austen’s Emma.” He was raised in London and first came to Arizona Theatre Company as an Associate Director with the National Theatre’s production of “Hamlet.” Highlights of Mr. Wrentmore’s directing career in the United Kingdom include, Howard Barker’s “Wounds to the Face” and “Picasso’s Women” by Brian McAvera for Ambassadors Theatre Group, “Bedevilled” by Richard Hurford and “Loveplay” by Moira Buffini. He was Artistic Director of the Byre Theatre in Scotland from 2004 to 2007. Other projects include directing, teaching, directing studio readings and master classes in Russia, Kosovo, Norway, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Sweden, Denmark, Serbia, Ireland, and Cyprus.
The cast includes Allyce Beasley (Lady Bracknell), who was last seen on Broadway in 2011’s Tony Award-winning production of “La Cage aux Folles” with Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge. Ms. Beasley also has starred as Agnes Gooch in “Mame” (Hollywood Bowl); Mrs. Tottendale in “The Drowsy Chaperone” (Gateway Playhouse); Mrs. Harcourt in “Anything Goes” (Carpenter Center) and Vera in the national tour “The Odd Couple” with Barbara Eden. Best known for her role as Agnes DiPesto on “Moonlighting,” for which she received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, Ms. Beasley also played Jason Schwartzman’s onscreen mom, Florence Ames, on HBO’s “Bored to Death.” A twenty-year veteran of radio and voiceover work, Ms. Beasley can be heard as Miss Grotke on “Recess,” and was heard every morning for seven years as the voice of Playhouse Disney. Anneliese van der Pol (Gwendolen Fairfax) returns to ATC having played Emma Woodhouse in last season’s “Jane Austen’s Emma.” She made her Broadway debut in 2007 as the final Belle in “Beauty and the Beast” and starred for six years and in 100 episodes of the highly successful Disney show “That's So Raven” as Chelsea Daniels.
Regional theatre credits include “Vanities” (Pasadena Playhouse) and “The Heiress” (Pasadena Playhouse). Ms. van der Pol has recorded numerous songs for Disney Records and most recently finished shooting the movie “Vampires Suck” in Shreveport, LA. Jodie Lynne McClintock (Miss Prism) has appeared on Broadway & Off, in London's West End, and in film and television. Broadway and international credits include “Long Day's Journey into Night” with Jack Lemmon. She also has appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Off-Broadway credits include “The Daughter-in-Law” (Mint Theatre); “The Art of Success” (Manhattan Theatre Club); “Belle Epoque” (Lincoln Center); “Shanghai Moon” (Theatre for the New City); and “Timeslips”(HERE Center). Film credits include “United 93” and “Mighty Macs.”
Loren Dunn (John Worthing) recently appeared in “You Can’t Take It With You” (Geva Theatre) starring Robert Vaughn. New York credits include Tennessee Williams’s “The Pretty Trap,” “Night of the Iguana,” “Women of Manhattan” and “Cassiopeia.” Matt Leisy (Algernon Moncrieff) is making his ATC premiere. His previous regional theatre credits include Ken in John Logan’s “Red” (Clarence Brown Theatre); “The History Boys” (The Repertory Theatre and Arden Theatre Company) and “The Fantasticks” (Off-Broadway). He also made appearances at Signature Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival and at Lincoln Center with the New York Philharmonic, on PBS. Mike Lawler (Rev. Canon Chasuble / Lane) returns to ATC, having previously appeared as Heck Tate in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Tuesdays with Morrie,” “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Other Arizona credits include Phoenix Theatre’s “Our Town,” “Noises Off,” “Company,” “Will Rogers Follies,” “Cabaret” (ariZoni Award), “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Gypsy.” He also starred in Theater Works’ “A Christmas Carol” and “Burning in the Night - A Hobo’s Song.” Additional appearances were made at Actors Theatre, Theatre in My Basement, Canyon Moon Theatre, and Arizona Jewish Theatre. Television credits include a co-leading role in the BBC mini-series “Spies, Lies, and the Superbomb” as well as the Lifetime mini-series, “Maneater.”
Also appearing are Marie Cox (Cecily Cardew), a junior in the BFA Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Arizona, where her credits include “Julius Caesar,” “Voice of the Prairie,” and “As You Like It.” Kate Emma Nienhauser (Merriman), a student at the University of Arizona where her previous credits include “Love Song,” “How I Learned to Drive,” “Julius Caesar,” and “The Voice of the Prairie.” Other credits include “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Our Town” (Scottsdale Community College).
The creative team of “The Importance of Being Earnest” includes Yoon Bae (Scenic and Costume Designer) who recently designed the costumes for ATC’s “Jane Austen’s Emma” as well as the sets for “The Great Gatsby” and “The Sunshine Boys.” Other work includes the costume designs for “Don Giovanni” (Welsh National Opera), directed by John Caird; sets for Bernstein’s “Candide” (Imperial Theatre, Tokyo); as well as work for the Seoul Arts and “Picasso’s Women” (London's West End). She worked closely with John Napier over the last seven years. Ms. Bae was Associate Designer on Trevor Nunn’s “Gone with the Wind” (New London Theatre, West End); Assistant Designer on the West End productions of “Birdsong” directed by Trevor Nunn; “Equus” starring Daniel Radcliffe; “Skellig” and “Disconnect” (Royal Court Theatre).
David Lee Cuthbert (Lighting Designer) returns to ATC where he designed lights for “God of Carnage,” “Lost in Yonkers,” “To Kill a Mockingbird” as well as lights and projections for “Next to Normal,” “The Kite Runner” and “Enchanted April.” David also has designed lights and media for the San Jose Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, South Coast Repertory and The Intiman. This fall Goldstein will recreate his original lighting for Billy Crystal’s “700 Sundays” (Broadway). Brian Jerome Peterson (Sound Designer) celebrates his 28th season at ATC, where he has designed 74 productions, most recently “The Sunshine Boys,” “Jane Austen’s Emma,” “The Great Gatsby,” “God of Carnage” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” His productions have been heard in many theatres including Berkeley Repertory Theatre; Seattle Repertory Theatre, The Cleveland Play House, Northlight Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Actors Theatre of Louisville and San Jose Repertory Theatre. Kevin Black is the Dialect Coach. Casting was done by J&R Creative. Glenn Bruner is the Production Stage Manager and Timothy Toothman is the Stage Manager. Emma Devore is the Assistant to the stage manager and Natasha Smith is the Assistant to the director.
Arizona Theatre Company offers accessibility services for patrons with disabilities for select performances. Audio Description provides patrons with vision loss a running audio description of the movement and activities onstage through an infrared broadcast system. An Audio-Described performance is offered on October 3 at 2 p.m. Interested patrons with vision loss may request a tactile tour one hour prior to curtain. American Sign Language Interpretation is presented by professional, theatrically-trained ASL interpreters for the deaf or hearing impaired. An ASL-interpreted performance is offered on October 3 at 7:30 p.m. Open-captioning allows patrons to read the play's dialogue on an LED screen as the play progresses. An open-captioned performance is offered on October 3 at 2 p.m. For open-captioned or ASL-interpreted performances, patrons should request seats best suited to ASL interpretation or captioning when purchasing tickets. Large print, Braille playbills and infrared listening amplification devices are also available at every ATC performance with reservation. TTY access for the box office is available in Tucson at (520) 884-9723 or via Arizona Relay at (800) 367-8939 (TTY/ASCII).
Tickets for “The Importance of Being Earnest” start at $36, are subject to change depending on time, date or section, and are available at www.arizonatheatre.org or by calling the box office at (520) 622-2823. Discounts are available for seniors and active military. $10 student ticket pricing is now available for all performances. Half-price rush tickets are available for balcony seating for all performances one hour prior to curtain at the ATC box office (subject to availability). Pay What You Can is Sunday, September 22 at 7 p.m. Balcony seats for this performance are available for a suggested $10 donation. (Tickets must be purchased at the Temple of Music and Art starting one hour prior to curtain on September 22. Seating is first-come first served and is not guaranteed. Cash only. Two tickets maximum per person.) For discounts for groups of 10 or more, call (520) 622-2823.
Fact Sheet:
“The Importance of Being Earnest”
Written by Oscar Wilde
Directed by Stephen Wrentmore
Venue:
The Temple of Music and Art
330 S. Scott Avenue
Tucson AZ, 85701
TUCSON:
Previews Begin: Saturday, September 14, 2013
Opening Night: Friday, September 20, 2013
Closing Performance: Saturday, October 5, 2013 at 1 p.m.
Cast (in alphabetical order):
Allyce Beasley as Lady Bracknell
Anneliese van der Pol as Gwendolen Fairfax
Heather Marie Cox as Cecily Cardew
Jodie Lynne McClintock as Miss Prism
Kate Emma Nienhauser as Merriman
Loren Dunn as John Worthing
Mike Lawler as Rev. Canon Chasuble / Lane
Matt Leisy as Algernon Moncrieff
Creative Team (in alphabetical order):
Brian Jerome Peterson, Sound Designer
David Lee, Lighting Designer
Glenn Bruner, Production Stage Manager
J&R Creative, Casting Director
Kevin Black, Dialect Coach
Stephen Wrentmore, Director
Timothy Toothman, Stage Manager
Yoon Bae, Scenic & Costume Designer
Ticket Info:
Ticket prices currently range from $36 to $77. Tickets are available in-person at the Temple of Music and Art box office, via phone at (520) 622-2823 or online at www.arizonatheatre.org.
About Arizona Theatre Company:
Touching lives through the power of theatre, Arizona Theatre Company (ATC), is the preeminent fully professional theatre in the state of Arizona. Boasting the largest seasonal subscriber base in the performing arts in Arizona, ATC is the only resident company in the US that is fully based in two cities providing its wide array of programming and community outreach across the region. Now in its 47th season, more than 130,000 people a year attend our performances at the historic Temple of Music and Art in Tucson, and the elegant Herberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix. Each season of home-grown productions reflect the rich variety of world drama—from classics to contemporary plays, from musicals to new works—along with a wide array of outreach programs, educational opportunities, access initiatives and new play programs. Designated The State Theatre of Arizona, ATC is led by Artistic Director David Ira Goldstein, Interim Managing Director Jessica L. Andrews and a dedicated Board of Trustees.
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