Contacts:         Larry Aldrich/Sandy Smith                 Michael Seel/Cheryl Rizzo

                        Aldrich & Associates                          Boston Court

                        larry@aldrichpr.com                           michaels@bostoncourt.com

                        Tel: (562) 436-5156                            Tel: (626) 683-6883

 

LOS ANGELES PREMIERE OF "THE AMERICA PLAY" BY SUZAN-LORI PARKS VISITS THE GREAT HOLE OF HISTORY

 

PASADENA, Calif., September 14, 2006 – The Theatre @ Boston Court presents the Los Angeles premiere of Pulitzer-prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks' "The America Play," directed by Nancy Keystone, October 14 on the Main Stage at Boston Court, 70 North Mentor.

 

In "The America Play," an African-American man leaves his family to pursue his dream of impersonating Lincoln, and spends his life "being shot" by people who wish to reenact Lincoln's death. Years later, his wife and son, who have inherited the family grave-digging business, dig for his truth and his story. Searingly intelligent, painfully funny, chock-full of (out)rage, this seminal work by Parks deftly deflates received ideas about race and our national story. The play premiered at the Public Theatre in New York.

 

The production stars J. Nicole Brooks, Harold Suratt and Darius Truly, supported by Alexa Alexander and Lorne Green. The design team includes Jeannique Prospere, costume design, Justin Townsend, lighting design, Randy Tico, original music and sound design, Nancy Keystone, scenic design, Robyn Taylor, properties design, Michael Donovan, CSA, casting, and John Freeland, Jr., production stage manager.

Parks is a playwright, screenwriter and novelist whose plays include "Topdog/Underdog" (2002 Tony nomination for Best Play), "Fucking A," "Imperceptible Mutabilities in the Third Kingdom" (1990 Obie Award for Best New American Play), "Venus" (1996 Obie Award), "The Death Of The Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World," and "In The Blood" (2002 Pulitzer Prize finalist), among others. Her work is the subject of the PBS Film "The Topdog/Underdog Diaries." She is an alumna of New Dramatists, and has been awarded grants by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the New York Foundation for the Arts. She was also the recipient of a Lila-Wallace Reader's Digest Award, a CalArts/Alpert Award in the Arts (Drama) for 1996 and a Guggenheim Foundation Grant. A recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Award, Parks received the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for "Topdog/Underdog. "

 

Keystone, named in 2005 by The Los Angeles Times as one of the "Faces To Watch," is a theatre director, playwright, designer and visual artist who works regionally and around the country. She is the 2003 recipient of TCG's prestigious Alan Schneider Director Award and is the founder and artistic director of Critical Mass Performance Group whose latest piece, "Apollo (Part 1): Lebensraum," created by Keystone, premiered at the Kirk Douglas Theatre.

 

Boston Court will also host four nights of Parks' "365 Days/365 Plays" in January. In November 2002, Parks committed to writing a play a day for the next 365 days. The world premiere of this play cycle will be performed as a yearlong national festival simultaneously in major cities and communities around the country. From November 13, 2006 to November 12, 2007, over 600 theaters in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, Austin, Washington D.C., Chicago, Minneapolis, the Carolinas, Mississippi River towns, and university campuses will create the largest theater collaboration in U.S. History.

 

The Theatre @ Boston Court is the non-profit company that programs for the Main Stage in the performing arts complex in Pasadena. "The America Play" is the last play in the award-winning company's third season. The 2007 season will be announced in early October. Z. Clark Branson is the developer and founding director, Eileen T'Kaye is executive director, Michael Seel is producing director, Cheryl Rizzo is managing director, and Michael Michetti and Jessica Kubzansky are co-artistic directors.

 

"The America Play" previews for six performances beginning October 5, opens October 14 and runs Thursdays to Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. through November 19. Preview tickets are priced at $15 and regular performances cost $30. Senior and student discounts are also available. Tickets can be purchased online at www.bostoncourt.org or by calling (626) 683-6883.

 

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For reservations to Press Night, Saturday, October 14, contact: sandy@aldrichpr.com

 

 

 

 

CALENDAR

 

The Theatre @ Boston Court presents the Los Angeles premiere of Pulitzer-prize winner Suzan-Lori Park's "The America Play," directed by Nancy Keystone. Searingly intelligent, painfully funny, chock full of (out)rage, this seminal work by Parks deftly deflates received ideas about race and our national story. Previews October 5 - 8 and 12 - 13, opens October 14, and runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m. through November 19 at Boston Court, 70 North Mentor, Pasadena. Tickets: $15 previews, $30 regular, available online at www.bostoncourt.org or the box office at 626-683-6883.