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

 

The Geffen Playhouse in Association with Christopher Allen, D. Constantine Conte

and Larry Spellman Present Paint Your Wagon

 

Featuring Erika Amato, Robert Alan Clink, Janelle Dote, Joe Garcia, Steven Hack, David Jennings, Rob Kahn,Sharon Lawrence, Daniel Lujan, Alex Mendoza, Harry S. Murphy, Tracy Powell,

Morgan Rusler, Jessica Rush, Ian Shen, Andy Umberger, and Tom Wilson

 

November 23, 2004—January 9, 2005

 

LOS ANGELES, CA – November 2, 2004 – Geffen Playhouse Producing Director Gilbert Cates proudly announces the world premiere adaptation of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s classic American musical, Paint Your Wagon. The play, which debuted on Broadway in 1951, has been adapted by American playwright David Rambo and will light up the Geffen Playhouse stage at the Brentwood Theatre under the direction of Cates. Set in the midst of the California Gold Rush, Paint Your Wagon is the story of a widowed prospector, his 16-year-old daughter, and the boomtown that is created when they find gold. The Geffen Playhouse production of Paint Your Wagon is the first revival of the musical and is being presented in association with Christopher Allen, D. Constantine Conte and Larry Spellman. The play features Erika Amato, Robert Alan Clink, Janelle Dote, Joe Garcia, Steven Hack, David Jennings, Rob Kahn, Sharon Lawrence, Daniel Lujan, Alex Mendoza, Harry S. Murphy, Tracy Powell, Morgan Rusler, Jessica Rush, Ian Shen, Andy Umberger, and Tom Wilson. Paint Your Wagon begins in previews at the Brentwood Theatre on November 23, 2004 and runs through January 9, 2005, with an official press opening on Wednesday, December 1, 2004.

 

“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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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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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.

 

DAVID RAMBO (Adapter) returns to the Geffen Playhouse where his God’s Man in Texas was directed by Randall Arney.  With ASK Theatre Projects, the Geffen has co-commissioned his next play, The Ice-Breaker which was workshopped in May at Denver Center Theatre.  Rambo’s plays have been staged at dozens of other major theatres across the country, including the Old Globe, Huntington Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, the Alliance Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Northlight Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and the Florida Stage. God’s Man in Texas was broadcast on NPR by L.A. TheatreWorks.  Also for L.A. TheatreWorks, Anne Heche and Adam Arkin starred in his adaptation of the screenplay Adam’s Rib. For the Actors Fund in Los Angeles, he is proud to have created the annual “Screenplays On Stage” performances, for which he has adapted the classic films All About Eve and Sunset Boulevard, with all-star casts that included Stockard Channing, Calista Flockhart, Tim Curry, Angela Lansbury, Kirk Douglas, Anjelica Huston, Sir Ben Kingsley, Steve Guttenberg and Charles Durning.  Currently, he is at work on a one-woman show based on the letters and life of Ann Landers for a 2005 premiere at the Old Globe Theatre.  This season he joined the writing staff writer of the most-watched drama on television, C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation.  He is a member of the Dramatists Guild and lives in Los Angeles.

 

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.

 

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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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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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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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Geffen’s 2004-2005 Season at the Brentwood Theatre Continues…

 

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

February 1-20, 2005

 

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.

 

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You Can’t Take It With You

Winner, 1937 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

By George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart

April 12-May 22, 2005

 

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.

 

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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.

 

Season Subscriptions to the Geffen Playhouse at the Brentwood 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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