FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ryan Jimenez
310.208.6500 x126
323.204.8800 mobile (DO NOT PUBLISH)
323.662.5050 after hours (DO NOT
PUBLISH)
ryan@geffenplayhouse.com
GEFFEN
PLAYHOUSE PRESENTS WORLD PREMIERE OF
PLAYWRIGHT
RICK CLEVELANDÕS MY BUDDY BILL
Emmy-Winning Playwright and Writer
of TelevisionÕs ÒSix Feet UnderÓ and
ÒThe West WingÓ Lampoons His
Friendship with Former President Bill Clinton
in One Man Show
Production Inaugurates New 117-Seat Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater
at the Geffen Playhouse
Limited
Engagement; Five Weeks Only
November 12
through December 18; Press Opening is November 18
LOS ANGELES—The new Audrey Skirball-Kenis
Theater at the Geffen Playhouse opens for the first time with the world
premiere of My Buddy Bill, written and performed by Emmy Award-winning
playwright and screenwriter Rick Cleveland.
In this one man show, Cleveland spills the dirt on his
relationship with former President Bill Clinton, and the chance encounter with
the First Dog Buddy that cemented their fantastic—if
unlikely—friendship. My Buddy Bill opens in previews on
Saturday, November 12, with an official press opening on Friday, November 18.
Throughout the course of the play, Cleveland bounces from touring the White House to playing catch with
the First Dog Buddy and flying in George HarrisonÕs jet to Amsterdam. Cleveland
tells us what itÕs like to be buddies with one of the countryÕs most
charismatic former Presidents, meeting up with
Clinton in Los Angeles, Little Rock, London and Amsterdam, discovering that he
and the former President have much in common.
My Buddy Bill is the GeffenÕs first production in
the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse, the GeffenÕs new
117-seat second stage addition. In addition to inaugurating the new performance
space, the production of My Buddy Bill also features new, later
curtain times for select performances, as part of a new series called Late
Nights at the Geffen. These
performances are scheduled with 10:00 p.m. Friday and 9:00 p.m. Saturday
curtain times allowing LAÕs late night culture to enjoy the same productions
running on the GeffenÕs second stage, only later in the evening.
Cleveland is the former Executive Producer and
writer for all five seasons of HBOÕs ÒSix Feet UnderÓ and won an Emmy and a
WriterÕs Guild Award in 2000 for his writing on ÒThe West Wing.Ó Cleveland and several other
writer-producers were invited to tour the Clinton White House during
ClevelandÕs tenure on ÒThe West WingÓ and it was his visit to the Capitol that
inspired Cleveland to write My Buddy Bill.
As a playwright, Cleveland attended the National
PlaywrightsÕ Conference at the Eugene OÕNeill Theatre Center in 1991 and 1993,
Midwest PlayLabs in 1994, and has received playwriting grants and fellowships
from the Kennedy CenterÕs Fund for New American Plays, the National Endowment
for the Arts and the Rockefeller Foundation. His play ÒJerry and TomÓ was adapted as a
screenplay and was an official selection at both the Sundance and Toronto Film
Festivals in 1998. Cleveland was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery
Writers of America for his screen adaptation of John GrishamÕs ÒRunaway
Jury.Ó
As a freelance journalist he has written for the
ÒDestinationsÓ
column of Outside Magazine and for the Chicago TribuneÕs Sunday Magazine. He received his MFA from the University
of IowaÕs PlaywrightÕs Workshop in 1995. Cleveland is also a commentator for
NPRÕs ÒAll Things Considered,Ó is currently developing television series for
NBC/Universal Studios, and working on a new monologue play, ÒThe Nauseated
Traveler.Ó
_________________________________________
EDITORS
PLEASE NOTE:
MY
BUDDY BILL
(World Premiere)
Written
and performed by Rick Cleveland
November
12—December 18, 2005
Press
Opening November 18, 2005
Audrey
Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse
10886
Le Conte Avenue in Westwood, across from UCLA
Tickets ($49 all seats)
are on sale now at the Geffen Playhouse box office, online at
GeffenPlayhouse.com, via credit card phone order at 310.208.5454, at all
Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons May, Tower Records, and Ritmo Latino
locations), or by calling Ticketmaster at 213.365.3500. Performance times
and dates vary for the GeffenÕs new second stage, the Audrey Skirball Kenis
Theater at the Geffen Playhouse. Please call the box office for more information
or visit GeffenPlayhouse.com.
The Geffen Playhouse is
located at 10886 Le Conte Avenue in Westwood, across from UCLA. For general
information or to request a brochure, call 310.208.5454 or log on to GeffenPlayhouse.com.
_________________________________________
Now in its 10th Anniversary Season, the Geffen
Playhouse is celebrated for its eclectic mix of classic plays, provocative new
works, musicals, and contemporary plays, and continues to present a body of
work that has garnered national recognition. Launched in 1994 at the Westwood
Playhouse, the Geffen Playhouse was named in 1995 in honor of entertainment
mogul and philanthropist David Geffen, who donated $5 million to the
organization, one of the largest gifts ever made to an already-constructed
theater. Headed by Producing Director Gilbert (Gil) Cates, Artistic Director
Randall Arney and Managing Director Stephen Eich, the Geffen has produced eight
world premieres, four Tony, four Pulitzer, and seven Obie-award winning shows
in the companyÕs celebrated 10 seasons and maintains an extensive education and
outreach program, designed to engage young people and the community at large in
the arts. Enjoying its stature as a vital performing arts institution in Los
Angeles with an annual attendance of more than 130,000 patrons, the Geffen
Playhouse prepares for the grand opening of its newly renovated playhouse,
making its debut in November, 2005. For more information, please visit GeffenPlayhouse.com.
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