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For
more information:
Jenni
Benzaquen
Press
Director
Geffen
Playhouse
(310)
208-6500 x126
jenni@geffenplayhouse.com
GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE
PRODUCING DIRECTOR GILBERT CATES HELMS
WORLD PREMIERE
ADAPTATION OF
PAINT YOUR WAGON
“Our journey through the American
Experience continues with the world premiere revival of Paint Your Wagon, a truly American play about a uniquely American
time in history,” said Cates. “The story of Ben Rumson and his miners reminds
us that as Americans, we are dreamers, and if we are willing to roll up our
sleeves and dig in the dirt, we can achieve anything.”
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Geffen Playhouse Presents
World Premiere Adaptation of Paint Your Wagon
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Paint Your Wagon premiered at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway in 1951, starring James Barton, Olga San Juan and James Mitchell, and ran for 289 performances. The New York Times lauded the original Broadway production of Paint Your Wagon as “a bountiful and exultant musical jamboree…mixing gold dust with show vitality.” The collaborative team of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe dominated the Broadway stage and American musical theater from 1947 through to the 1960s. Having created some of the most famous American musicals, including Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, and Camelot, the works of this playwright and lyricist duo continue to premiere on stages all over the world.
Director Gilbert Cates last
helmed David Eldridge’s Under the Blue Sky at
the Geffen Playhouse. He received the Jimmy Dolittle Award for Outstanding
Contribution to Los Angeles Theater in 1996, and in 1999, was awarded the
Ovation Award for Best Play for his direction of Collected Stories. Cates produced the 75th Annual
Academy Awards in 2003, marking his 11th
occasion producing the show. As the Producing Director of the Geffen Playhouse,
Cates is dedicated to enriching the Los Angeles theatrical spectrum by
presenting the finest in contemporary and classical theater.
The cast of Paint Your Wagon features Erika Amato (The Bungler at West Coast Ensemble; Buffy), Robert Alan Clink (Chester in BARK!), Janelle Dote (Memoirs of a Geisha), Joe Garcia (Ovation Award for Best Actor, The Puppetmaster of Lodz), Steven Hack (Broadway productions of Cats and A Chorus Line), David Jennings (Ovation Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, Sideshow), Rob Kahn (Chicago and National Tour of Picasso at the Lapin Agile), Sharon Lawrence (SAG Award and three Emmy nominations, NYPD Blue), Daniel Lujan (OLLANTAY, Warrior of the Sun), Alex Mendoza (Our Town, SCR; Hunter), Harry S. Murphy (Reefer Madness, Hudson Theatre; Desperate Housewives), Tracy Powell (Sheila in A Chorus Line tours; Mame, Hollywood Bowl), Morgan Rusler (A Servant to Two Masters, ICT; It’s A Stevie Wonderful Life, Troubadour Theatre Co.), Jessica Rush (Mamma Mia National Tour; Houdini: The Musical), Ian Shen (The Little Shop of Horrors, East West Players), Andy Umberger (Time and Again, Old Globe Theatre; Buffy), and Tom Wilson (110 In the Shade, Pasadena Playhouse; Ed).
The creative team for Paint Your Wagon includes Kay Cole (Choreography),
Steve Orich (Musical Direction, Arrangements and Orchestrations), Daniel Ionazzi (Scenic Design and Lighting Design), David
Kay Mickeleson (Costume Design), Phil Allen (Sound
Design), Grayson Meritt (Production Stage Manager),
and Kim Crabtree (Assistant Stage Manager). The musical team includes Orich
(Conductor/Keyboard/Concertina), Ed Smith (Percussion),
Randy Landas (Bass), Jay Leach (Guitar/Banjo), Jon Kip and Bob Carr
(Woodwinds), and John Krivoza (Cello/Violin).
Tickets
for Paint Your Wagon are currently on sale and can be
purchased in person at the Geffen Playhouse box office at the Brentwood
Theatre; by phone at (310) 208-5454; or online at www.geffenplayhouse.com. Single
ticket prices for Paint Your Wagon range
from $39 to $43 for preview performances (November 23-30, 2004), and $42 to $64
during the regular run (December 2, 2004—January 9, 2005). Tickets prices
for children 12 and under are half price for all performances. The Geffen
Playhouse is located at the Brentwood Theatre at 11301 Wilshire Boulevard,
building 211 on the campus of the Veterans Administration in Brentwood. 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. For more information, log on
to www.geffenplayhouse.com.
Paint
Your Wagon Biographies
ALAN
JAY LERNER (Book & Lyrics) is
responsible for some of Broadway’s most famous shows, including Brigadoon;
Paint Your Wagon; My Fair Lady; Camelot; On A Clear Day You Can See Forever; and others. He won Drama Critics’ Awards for Brigadoon
in 1947 and for My Fair Lady in 1956. He also won the Antoinette Perry Award twice
for My Fair Lady in 1956 and
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World Premiere Adaptation of Paint Your Wagon
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for
Gigi, which was presented on
Broadway in 1973. Lerner won three Academy Awards for Motion Pictures: Best Original Screenplay for An
American in Paris in 1951; Best
Screenplay for Gigi in 1958; and
Best Song, Gigi, in 1958. Three of his films, An American in
Paris; Gigi; and My Fair Lady have won Academy Awards for best film of the year. It
is the largest number of Academy Awards for films written by one man. Of the
seven musical films to have won the Academy Award in motion picture history,
three were written by him. Six of Lerner’s cast albums have received gold
records and the cast album of My Fair Lady has sold over seven million albums. Lerner was among
the first ten songwriters to be elected into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and
he is one of the most performed lyric writers in the world. He is a former
president of the Dramatists’ Guild and was on President Kennedy’s original
advisory committee in the planning of the Kennedy Center in Washington.
FREDERICK
LOEWE (Composer) made his concert
debut as a pianist at 14 with the Berlin Philharmonic. In 1923 he came to the
US with his parents but his father died soon after arrival, so ‘Fritz,’ as he
was familiarly known, had to earn his living. He became at various times, a
cowboy, boxer, pianist and composer. In 1942 he and Alan Jay Lerner started to
work together, first on writing songs for revisions of old plays, then writing What’s
Up, not too successful for them or
for George Balanchine, its director. They then wrote The Day Before Spring, followed by Brigadoon in 1947, their first hit. The collaboration continued
with Paint Your Wagon; My Fair Lady; and
Camelot. They also wrote the
movies Gigi (later adapted for the
stage) and The Little Prince. Loewe
died in 1988.
GILBERT CATES (Director) is the Producing
Director of the Geffen Playhouse. He is dedicated to enriching the Los Angeles
theatrical spectrum by presenting the finest in contemporary and classical
theater. As a non-profit
professional theater company, the Geffen’s priority is its audience and its
community, which it reaches with extensive education and outreach programs.
Cates served two terms as President of the Directors Guild of America from 1983
to 1987. In 1989, he received the
Guild’s Robert B. Aldrich Award for extraordinary service and in 1991, he
received the DGA’s Honorary Life Membership. He held the position of Dean of
the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television (which he founded) from
1990-1998. Most recently, he produced CBS at 75, a live television event celebrating the 75 years of
CBS. He produced and directed the 1970 film version of the Broadway hit I
Never Sang for My Father, starring
Melvyn Douglas, Gene Hackman and Estelle Parsons. The movie earned three Academy Award nominations. Cates also
directed Joanne Woodward and Sylvia Sidney in the 1973 film Summer Wishes,
Winter Dreams, which received two
Oscar nominations. Cates further
distinguished himself as director and/or producer of a number of television
dramatic specials. These include
NBC’s 1972 Emmy Award winning To all My Friends on Shore, starring Bill Cosby; ABC’s 1974 The Affair starring Nathalie Wood and Robert Wagner; NBC’s 1975 After
the Fall starring Faye Dunaway and
Christopher Plummer. Other credits
include: Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye, The Kid from Nowhere, Country Gold, Faerie Tale Theatre’s Rapunzel and Goldilocks and the Three Bears; Hobson’s
Choice, Burning Rage, Consenting Adults, Fatal Judgment, Do You Know the Muffin
Man, Call Me Anna, Absolute Strangers, In My Daughter’s Name, and Tom Clancy’s Netforce. He
directed James Agee’s A Death in the Family, for Masterpiece Theatre’s American Collection on PBS.
His most recent small screen project was a hi-definition adaptation of Collected
Stories, for PBS Hollywood Presents.
*
* *
ERIKA
AMATO (Cherry/Sarah) recently
performed as Hippolyte in Molière’s The
Bungler at the West Coast Ensemble,
where she also played Yvonne in Sunday in the Park with George. Amato’s other
regional theater credits include Fay Templeton in George M! (Fullerton CLO); Wallis Simpson in Madly In Love (Odyssey Theater); Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof
(Starlight Musical Theatre); Maria in The Sound of Music (Saddleback CLO); and Luisa in Nine (Chance Theater). Her television and film credits include Buffy the Vampire
Slayer; Quantum Leap; and a starring
role in the independent feature film, A Couple of Days and Nights. Her
band, Velvet Chain, is perhaps
best known for their appearances on Buffy.
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World Premiere Adaptation of Paint Your Wagon
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ROBERT
ALAN CLINK (Jake) recently performed
the role of Chester in the critically acclaimed new musical BARK!. His other regional theater credits include the role of
Father in Ragtime (Moonlight
Amphitheater and SBCLO); Mr. Livingston in 1776 (Reprise!); and Dindon in La Cage aux Folles (MTW). Clink has performed in 20 regional opera
productions; he hosted 250 live broadcasts of the CBS evening news magazine,
Inside Alaska; and has performed
hundreds of voice-overs and national commercials for Home Depot and Panasonic.
He made his television debut in Detroit as soloist on the nationally broadcast Church
of Today show, debuting in the same
year with Michigan Opera Theatre.
JANELLE
DOTE (Kwai-Fa) is a native of Los
Angeles and a graduate of UCLA. Her theatrical credits include productions of Fame, Peter Pan,
and Through a Child’s Eyes. Dote has been featured in The Young
and the Restless and can be seen in
the upcoming film, Memoirs of a Geisha. She is also a dancer,
focusing on jazz, ballet, modern dance, and hip-hop. Dote recently filmed
Centered, a guided meditation
video.
JOE
GARCIA (Ignacio) received the LA
Ovation Award for Best Actor for his role in The Puppetmaster of Lodz and is a multi-Dramalogue Award winner. Garcia’s
other regional theater credits include performances in Strindberg; A Most Secret War; Only the Dead Know Burbank; and Someone To Watch Over Me. His television and film credits include Malcolm
in the Middle; The Practice; ER; DareDevil; Point of No Return; and Dragnet. Garcia is a graduate of the American Academy of
Dramatic Arts, where he is currently a member of the directing staff.
STEVEN
HACK (Salem) was an original cast
member in the Broadway production of Cats, in which he performed for five years. Hack also performed in A
Chorus Line on Broadway and in the off-Broadway production of Counsellor-At-Law. His
other theater credits include the L.A. Theatre Works production of The Odd
Couple with Nathan Lane, and the
productions at the Our Town, Death of a Salesman, A Little Night Music,
Under Milk Wood, and Into The
Woods at Interact Theatre Company.
Hack’s one-man play, Willie’s Son,
has been nominated for a 2004 Ovation Award. Hack’s television and film credits
include Scrubs; The West Wing; NYPD Blue;
Everybody Loves Raymond; Seinfeld;
S.W.A.T.; Minority Report; Intolerable Cruelty.
DAVID JENNINGS (Ulysses) was nominated for the 2002 Ovation Award for Best
Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance as Jake in the Los Angeles
premiere of Sideshow. He
also performed in the production of On the 20th Century (Reprise!) and alongside Michael
Feinstein in Great American Songbook (Mark Taper Forum). Jennings’s theater credits also include
Curtis in Dreamgirls;
Coalhouse in Ragtime;
John in Miss Saigon;
the original StreetSinger in Brooklyn; The Civil War opposite Larry Gatlin; and Once Upon A Mattress with Sarah Jessica Parker. His television and film credits include Christmas at the Grove; The Tony Awards; The Tonight Show; The Pick-Up Artist; and Sleepless.
ROB
KAHN (Bull) recently performed in The
Conquest of the South Pole at the Odyssey
Theater, where he was also part of the award-winning ensemble of Among the
Thugs. His regional theater credits
include Four Clowns and a Bench (Factory
Theater); The Life and Times of Tulsa Lovechild (Mad Scene Theater/company member); Blockage (Whitefire Theater); Death of a Salesman and Mourning Becomes Electra (Interact Theater/company member). Kahn played Picasso in both the Chicago
and National Tour productions of Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile, directed by the Geffen’s Randall Arney. His television and film
credits include The District; Turks;
National Lampoon’s Dorm Daze; and Perfect
Timing. Kahn recently narrated the unabridged audio novel The
Conspiracy Club by Jonathan
Kellerman.
SHARON
LAWRENCE (Lily) is perhaps best known
for her performance as Sylvia Costas on the hit series NYPD Blue, for which she earned a Screen Actor’s Guild Award and
three Emmy nominations. Lawrence most recently performed on Broadway as Velma
Kelly in the smash hit musical Chicago at the Shubert Theatre. She also performed in the Broadway productions
of Cabaret and Fiddler on the
Roof. Her regional theater credits include the acclaimed British
Play, Under The Blue Sky
(Geffen Playhouse) and The Guys
with Keith David (Berkeley Repertory Theater). Lawrence’s television and
film credits include her own comedy series, Fired Up; Ladies Man with Alfred Molino and Betty White; the feature film
The Only Thrill with Diane Keaton,
Sam Shepard and Diane Lane; and Gossip starring Kate Hudson. At the Geffen Playhouse, Lawrence most recently
performed in Under The Blue Sky.
DANIEL
LUJAN (Miwok) recently starred in OLLANTAY,
Warrior of the Sun, directed by Luis
Avalos at El Portal
Theatre. As a cast
member of the East L.A. Theatre Company, Lujan appeared Cesar and Ruben (El Portal Theatre), written and directed by Ed Begley
Jr. and played El Coco in the Sacred Fools Company’s production of Clive
Barker’s Frankenstein in Love. His film credits include
Once Upon a Time in China VI,
starring Jet Li, and the Michael Mann film Collateral, starring Tom Cruise. In 1996, Lujan represented the
United States as the first ever Mr. World United States at the inaugural Mr.
World Pageant in Istanbul, Turkey.
ALEX
MENDOZA (Julio) starred as George in Our
Town and opposite Amy Brenneman in Walking
Off the Roof, both at the South Coast
Repertory Theatre. His other regional
theatre credits include Octavio Solis’ Santos and Santos; El Paso Blue; La
Posada Magica; Mirandolina; Hamlet (San
Jose Rep); and Tony Plana’s
production of Much Ado About Nothing in
Los Angeles.
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World Premiere Adaptation of Paint Your Wagon
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Mendoza
also appeared as The Visitor in Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Theatre on the Square) under the direction of the
Geffen’s Randall Arney. Mendoza’s television and film credits include a
starring role as Detective Tony Santiago in the NBC television series Hunter;
series regular roles as Trace Miller
on TNT’s Crusade and Joe Scanlon
on ABC’s Port Charles; Charmed; Strong Medicine; Beverly Hills 90210; CBS movie Murder in the Mirror opposite Jane Seymour; The Novice, Ransom, A Little
Crazy, Land of Milk and Honey, and Ballad
of a Soldier.
HARRY
S. MURPHY (Preacher) has been a
member of Chicago’s Second City Theatre since 1984. His regional theater
credits include Reefer Madness (Hudson Theatre) in which he originated the role of The
Lecturer and The Gift (Tiffany
Theater). At the Blank Theater Company, Murphy performed in the role of Ken
Starr in Starr-Struck; John Smith in
Breaking the Code; Walter in Chess; and
Editor Daily in The Cradle Will Rock. Murphy’s recent television credits include Desperate Housewives; Arrested Development; Curb Your Enthusiasm; and Six Feet Under.
TRACY POWELL (Lupita/Elizabeth) recently performed the role of
Elvira in the critically acclaimed production of Blithe Spirit at The Globe Playhouse. Powell’s other regional
theater credits include the role of Sally Cato opposite Michele Lee in Mame (Hollywood Bowl); as a dancer in the first revival of
Leonard Bernstein's Mass; and
played a nurse opposite Ed Asner and Harold Gould in The Sunshine Boys (John Anson Ford). She has toured five times with productions of A Chorus
Line in the role of Sheila. Powell is
a member of the Interact Theater Company.
MORGAN RUSLER (Wilmer; Prospector) is
a member of the Troubadour Theater Company where he has performed in The
King of Hollywood; All’s Kool That Ends Kool; Young Ebenezer, A Christmas
Carole King; Old Man Potter; It’s a Stevie Wonderful Life; The Comedy of
Aerosmith; and
as Macbeth in Fleetwood Macbeth. Rusler’s other regional theater credits include
the Ensemble Award-winning productions of A Servant to Two Masters (ICT) and War Music (LATC), both directed
by Jessica Kubzansky. At the Laguna Playhouse, he performed in The Woman in
Black and
Room Service, and
at the Pasadena Playhouse, Rusler appeared in The Importance of Being
Earnest; On Borrowed Time; and The Foreigner.
He also performed in Long Day’s Journey Into Night (GTC) and A Man for
All Seasons
(Theater Banshee). Rusler’s television and film credits include Touched
By An Angel; The Guardian; Crossing Jordan; Judging Amy; Galaxy Quest; Solaris;
Catch Me If You Can.
JESSICA
RUSH (Jennifer) recently completed
the first national tour of Mamma Mia.
Her regional theater credits include Cinderella opposite Eartha Kitt (National Tour); Belle in Beauty
and the Beast; Eliza in Pygmalion; and Esther in Meet Me in St. Louis. Rush originated the role of Bess Houdini in the
world premiere of Houdini: The Musical. Her television credits include appearances on
Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel; The
Rosie O'Donnell Show; All That; and The
New Mickey Mouse Club.
IAN
SHEN (Ah-Wah) recently performed in
the role of the sadistic Dentist and seven other characters in the East West
Players musical production of The Little Shop of Horrors. Shen’s other regional theater credits include the role
of Sakini in the Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Teahouse of the
August Moon (The Secret Rose);
Limoges of Austria in King John
and Menenius in Coriolanus (both at the Knightsbridge Pasadena). He is an active
member of the East West Players Alliance of Creative Talent and the Antaeus
Academy. Shen’s television credits include Strong Medicine; The Andy Dick Show; The New Unsolved Mysteries and numerous commercials.
ANDY UMBERGER (Woodling) performed in the first National Tour of Guys &
Dolls. He also performed
in the Broadway productions of Passion; City of Angels; and the revival of Company with the Roundabout Theatre Company. Off-Broadway,
Umberger performed in The Gig (Manhattan Theatre Club); The Strange Life of Ivan Osokin (LaMama ETC); and the workshop production
of Marie Christine. His
regional theater credits include the role of Chick Clark in Wonderful Town (Reprise!); the world premiere of Time
and Again (Old Globe
Theatre); and many performances at Huntington Theatre Company, the American
Shaw Festival, Virginia Stage Company, Actor's Rep, Candlewood Playhouse,
Theatre IV, Gateway Playhouse and Theatre Virginia. Umberger’s television
and film credits include the role of D’Hoffryn on Buffy the Vampire Slayer;
The West Wing; ER; Boston Legal; 24; NYPD Blue; Crossing Jordan; Malcolm in the Middle; American Dreams; JAG; The
Practice; The Guardian; Ally McBeal; Friends; S.W.A.T.; The Singing Detective; First Daughter; Dragonfly; and the upcoming Nine Lives.
TOM
WILSON (Ben Rumson) recently
performed in the role of Noah Curry in the Pasadena Playhouse production of 110
In the Shade. His other regional theater credits
include Cowboy Tommy, a one-man
show that he wrote and performed nationwide; Richard III; Henry IV, Pt 1;
Frankenstein; Tartuffe; and
Oklahoma. Wilson’s television and
film credits include Ed; Freaks and Geeks; Titus; Boston Public; Zoey 101; Two and a Half Men; Rock
Me, Baby; Andersonville; Men in White; Bound By Honor; Born To Be Wild; Action
Jackson; Let’s Get Harry; The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie; and April Fool’s Day. Wilson is the recipient of the Premiere Award for his
performance in Wing Commander and
the Saturn Award for his
performance in Back to the Future.
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World Premiere Adaptation of Paint Your Wagon
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Tovah Feldshuh in Golda’s
Balcony
Winner,
2003 Lucille Lortel Award for Best Actress
Winner,
2003 Drama Desk Award for Best Solo Performance
Written
by William Gibson
Directed
by Scott Schwartz
Tovah
Feldshuh will recreate her award-winning performance as Golda Meir in Golda’s
Balcony when the show moves to
Los Angeles in a co-presentation by the Wadsworth Theatre and the Geffen
Playhouse. This new play is a portrait of the indomitable Meir, the Milwaukee
schoolteacher who became Prime Minister of Israel in 1969. From the pogroms of Russia to the halls
of the Knesset, Meir’s life, and the play, encapsulates the dramatic story of
the birth of Israel in the wake of the Holocaust, and its subsequent, seemingly
endless struggle for peace for much of the 20th Century. Golda’s Balcony will run for a limited engagement from February 1,
2005 through February 20, 2005 at the Wadsworth Theatre.
*
* *
You
Can’t Take It With You
Winner,
1937 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
By
George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart
The
Geffen Playhouse celebrates the 100th birthday of Moss Hart with a
revival of the Pulitzer Prize winning play You Can’t Take It With You. Hart co-wrote this American classic with his partner George S. Kaufman. You Can’t
Take It With You has been
credited for paving the way for the TV sitcom, featuring what may have been
Broadway’s first dysfunctional family. A paean to independence and
self-indulgence, the play is centered on an eclectic family of individualists,
who amuse with their energetic physical antics and inspire with their
wholehearted pursuit of happiness. Directed by Christopher Hart, the son of
Moss Hart, the Geffen Playhouse production of You Can’t Take It With You begins in previews at the Brentwood Theatre on April
12, 2005 and runs through May 22, with press performances beginning April 20,
2005.
* * *
Jefferson
Mays in I Am My Own Wife
Winner,
2004 Tony Award for Best Play
Winner,
2004 Tony Award for Best Actor
Winner,
2004 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Winner,
2004 Drama League Award for Best Play
Winner,
2004 Drama Desk Award for Best Play
By Doug Wright
June 14-July 10, 2005
Last
year, The New York Times praised
Doug Wright’s solo show I Am My Own Wife as “the most stirring new work to appear on Broadway
this fall.” The Geffen Playhouse
production of this 2004 Pulitzer Prize winner will feature the original
acclaimed Broadway actor/director team of Jefferson Mays and Moisés Kaufman.
Under the direction of Kaufman, The New York Times lauded Mays’s performance of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf,
a soft-spoken but tenaciously gender-bending biological male, as “thoroughly
mesmerizing.” Based on a true story, and inspired by interviews conducted by
Wright over several years, I Am My Own Wife swept the 2004 Tony Awards and is currently still one
of the hottest shows on Broadway. The Geffen Playhouse production of I Am
My Own Wife opens on June 14
through July 10, 2005 at the Wadsworth Theatre.
Subscriptions
to the 2004-2005 season are currently on sale and may be purchased online at www.geffenplayhouse.com, at the
Geffen’s box office located at the Brentwood Theatre, or by calling the box
office at (310) 208-5454.
Geffen
Playhouse is headed by Producing Director Gilbert Cates, Artistic Director
Randall Arney and Managing Director Stephen Eich.
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