FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE

For more information, contact:

Jenni Benzaquen

Press Director

Geffen Playhouse

(310) 208-6500, ext. 126

jenni@geffenplayhouse.com

GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE’S ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

RANDALL ARNEY DIRECTS

REBECCA GILMAN’S “BOY GETS GIRL”

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NANCY TRAVIS HEADS A STELLAR ENSEMBLE

April 1 – May 11, 2003

LOS ANGELES, CA – March 11, 2003 – Geffen Playhouse announces the cast for the fourth production of its 2002-2003 season, Rebecca Gilman’s Boy Gets Girl, directed by Geffen Artistic Director Randall Arney. Hailed by Time Magazine as the #1 theatrical event of 2000, Boy Gets Girl offers a chilling look at a woman whose life is irrevocably changed because of one blind date. Theresa (Nancy Travis), a Manhattan journalist, becomes the object of Tony’s (Mark Deakins) obsession when he won’t take “no” for an answer. The Boy Gets Girl cast also includes Julie Ann Emery, James Farentino, Charles Janasz, Monnae Michaell and Taylor Nichols. Performances begin on Tuesday, April 1 and run through Sunday, May 11, with an official press opening on Wednesday, April 9, 2003.

Randall Arney directed God’s Man in Texas and The Weir for Geffen Playhouse. He is an ensemble member and former artistic director of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre (1987-1995), where he directed numerous plays including I Just Stopped By to See the Man, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Death and the Maiden and Curse of the Starving Class. He directed the world premiere of Picasso at the Lapin Agile at Steppenwolf, as well as the subsequent Los Angeles, off-Broadway, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Tokyo productions. Playwright Rebecca Gilman’s work includes the acclaimed Spinning Into Butter, The Glory of Living, Blue Surge, Crime of the Century and Speech Therapy. She is a resident playwright at Chicago Dramatists.

Nancy Travis, a founding member of off-Broadway’s Naked Angels, appeared on Broadway in I’m Not Rappaport and is currently starring on CBS’s hit comedy Becker. Mark Deakins has appeared at Ahmanson Theatre in Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Measure for Measure, directed by Sir Peter Hall. Emmy Award-nominee James Farentino’s career spans theater, film and television, with roles on Broadway in Death of a Salesman, A Streetcar Named Desire and Night of the Iguana. Biographies for the Boy Gets Girl cast and creative team follow at the end of the release.

The Boy Gets Girl creative team includes Andrew Jackness (Scenic Design), Christina Haatainen Jones (Costume Design), Daniel Ionazzi (Lighting Design), Richard Woodbury (Sound Design/Composition), Amy Levinson Millán (Dramaturg) and Elizabeth A. Brohm (Production Stage Manager).

Geffen Playhouse is headed by Producing Director Gilbert Cates, Artistic Director Randall Arney and Managing Director Stephen Eich.

Boy Gets Girl plays at Geffen Playhouse, located at 10886 Le Conte Avenue in Westwood. Tickets can be purchased directly at the Geffen box office, by calling the box office at (310) 208-5454 or by visiting the Geffen’s website at www.geffenplayhouse.com. Single ticket prices range from $28 to $46. The performance schedule is Tuesdays - Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays at 8:00 p.m.; Saturdays at 4:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.; and Sundays at 2:00 and 7:00 p.m.

BOY GETS GIRL BIOGRAPHIES

REBECCA GILMAN (Playwright) Rebecca Gilman’s plays include Spinning Into Butter, Boy Gets Girl, Blue Surge and The Glory of Living. Her plays have been produced at the Goodman Theatre, Lincoln Center Theatre, Royal Court Theatre, The Public Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, Manhattan Class Company, as well as other theaters around the country and abroad. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Prince Prize for Commissioning New Work, the Roger L. Stevens Award from the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays, the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright and the George Devine Award. Ms. Gilman was named a finalist for the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for her play The Glory of Living.

RANDALL ARNEY (Director/Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director) is most recently known to Geffen audiences for his direction of David Rambo’s God’s Man in Texas and Conor McPherson’s The Weir. He is an ensemble member and former artistic director of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre, where he directed I Just Stopped By To See The Man; The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Death and the Maiden, Curse of the Starving Class, Bang, A Walk in the Woods, Killers, and The Geography of Luck. In addition, he directed the world premiere of Picasso at the Lapin Agile at Steppenwolf, as well as the subsequent Los Angeles (Westwood Playhouse, Drama-Logue Critics' Award), Off-Broadway, San Francisco, Washington D.C. and Tokyo productions. Under Mr. Arney's artistic leadership (1987-1995), Steppenwolf grew from a grass roots theater into an internationally recognized ensemble. On film he has appeared in Normal (HBO), Weapons of Mass Distraction (HBO), Mystery, Alaska, The Out-of-Towners, Chain Reaction, The Color of Money and Miles From Home.

MARK DEAKINS (Tony) performed on Broadway in Frank Galati’s production of The Grapes of Wrath. His other theater credits include Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Measure for Measure at Ahmanson Theatre, all directed by Sir Peter Hall, Suddenly Last Summer at The Guthrie, The Triumph of Love at McCarter Theatre, Burning Blue at Court Theatre, All’s Well That Ends Well at New York Shakespeare Festival and Henry IV, Part 1 & II at The Public Theatre. His film work includes Judgment Day, Devil’s Advocate and Star Trek IX: Insurrection.

JULIE ANN EMERY (Harriet) Ms. Emery’s New York theater credits include the role of Olivia in Twelfth Night, Cleopatra in Caesar and Cleopatra and Philia in the national tour of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. In Chicago, she appeared in Gypsy and Play it Again, Sam. Ms. Emery played the role of Amelia Keys in the Steven Spielberg miniseries Taken and has appeared on television’s Providence, The Drew Carey Show, E.R. and First Monday.

JAMES FARENTINO (Les Kennkat) Mr. Farentino’s works spans theater, film and television. He is an Emmy nominee for his work on the television miniseries Jesus of Nazareth and a Golden Globe winner for The Pad and How to Use It. On Broadway, he performed the role of Randall P. McMurphy in One Flew Over a Cuckoo’s Nest, Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire and Biff Loman in Death of a Salesman. His work in film has ranged from Ensign Pulver, with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, to Bulletproof, alongside Damon Wayans and Adam Sandler. He was a series regular on Mary, Dynasty, Julie, Cool Million and Blue Thunder, has had recurring roles on E.R., Melrose Place and Police Story and appeared in over 40 movies of the week. His additional theater work includes the off-Broadway productions In the Summer and The Days and Nights of Bebe Fenstermaker, Love Letters at the Canon Theatre and The Best Man and The Big Knife in Chicago.

CHARLES JANASZ (Howard Siegel) appeared on Broadway in Amadeus, directed by Sir Peter Hall. A former resident company member of Guthrie Theater and Arena Stage, Mr. Janasz appeared in Amadeus, Measure for Measure and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, all directed by Sir Peter Hall, at the Ahmanson Theater. His additional theater credits include work with New York Shakespeare Festival, The Globe Theatres, La Jolla Playhouse, Playwrights Horizons and Seattle Repertory Theater. He has appeared on the television shows Philly, Crossing Jordan, Frasier and Dharma & Greg.

MONNAE MICHAELL (Madeleine Beck) Ms. Michaell’s theater credits include Mudtracks at Ensemble Studio Theater, King Hedley II at Mark Taper Forum (NAACP Theatre nomination for Best Leading Actress), Seven Guitars at Denver Center Theatre and Much Ado About Nothing and Henry IV at Alabama Shakespeare Festival. She can currently been seen playing the role of Vanessa on the Emmy Award-winning series The Shield. Her other television credits include Providence, C.S.I., N.Y.P.D. Blue, The Practice, E.R. and X-Files.

TAYLOR NICHOLS (Mercer Stevens) appeared as Doug Nelson on HBO’s The Mind of the Married Man. His film work includes Jurassic Park III, Boiler Room, The Last Days of Disco, The American President and Barcelona. He appeared in Plunge at Playwrights Horizons, Lonely Babies at Matrix Theatre, Crimes of the Heart at Colorado Repertory Theatre and Much Ado About Nothing at Hope Repertory Theatre. He has played recurring roles on television’s Judging Amy and Chicago Hope and appeared on Becker, Strong Medicine, E.R., Wings and The Larry Sanders Show.

NANCY TRAVIS (Theresa Bedell) was in the national touring company of Neil Simon's hit play, Brighton Beach Memoirs. Her additional theater credits include Broadway's I'm Not Rappaport and Athol Fugard's My Children, My Africa, which the author directed at La Jolla Playhouse. She is a founding member of the off-Broadway theater company, Naked Angels. Ms. Travis made her feature film debut in the comedy Three Men and A Baby. Her additional film credits include Internal Affairs, Air America, Three Men and a Little Lady, So I Married An Axe Murderer, The Vanishing, Greedy, Fluke, Destiny Turns on the Radio and Bogie. Her television credits include starring roles in the series Almost Perfect for CBS and the television movies My Last Love and Fallen Angels. She can currently be seen starring in the CBS hit comedy Becker.

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