[NEohioPAL]PRESS RELEASE: CPT presents the killler comedy THE SECRETARIES May 12 - June 4, 2005

[Dan Kilbane]

For Immediate Release

Contact: Dan Kilbane, Director of Marketing & Public Relations

216/631-2727 ext. 203

dkilbane at cptonline.org

promotional photos available by request

April 21, 2005



Cleveland Public Theatre Presents a Killer of a Comedy:  The Secretaries
The Secretaries

Produced by Cleveland Public Theatre

Written by The Five Lesbian Brothers

Directed by Executive/Artistic Director Randy Rollison

Previews May 12 & 13; Running May 14 – June 4, 2005

Gordon Square Theatre



PLEASE NOTE:  these are revised running dates for The Secretaries.  The show
schedule has been moved from April to the May-June dates.



CLEVELAND, OH – Cleveland Public Theatre’s Executive/Artistic Director Randy
Rollison is proud to announce the third Featured Production of the 2004 –
2005 season, The Secretaries, by The Five Lesbian Brothers.  This collective
of five funny female playwrights gives the audience a slapstick Texas
Chainsaw Massacre-inspired gore-fest of SlimFast drinking murderesses.
Directed by Rollison, the cast includes CPT favorites Denise Astorino, Meg
Chamberlain, Liz Conway, Alison Hernan and Sheffia Randall.  Running in the
historic Gordon Square Theatre, the Obie-award winning The Secretaries
previews May 12 and 13, and opens Saturday, May 14, 2005.



The Five Lesbian Brothers take the audience to Big Bone, Oregon, where being
a secretary at the Cooney Lumber Mill is a girl’s dream come true.  New in
the office, innocent Patty Johnson notices the conversations around the
water cooler have taken an odd turn.  And the peer pressure is getting to
her.  How much Slim Fast can one drink in a day?  Also, the lumberjacks have
had a number of fatal “accidents” lately.  Her boss, Susan Curtis, keeps
getting a little too close for comfort—not to mention the girls’ nights out
with Susan, Dawn, Ashley, and Peaches!   Gossip around the watercooler will
never be the same.



Trad A Burns, the set and lighting designer for the CPT production, worked
on the original NYC production as the associate lighting designer.  The
piece was developed and first produced at WOW Café Theatre, and then
received further development and production at the off-Broadway New York
Theatre Workshop.  Working with the Brothers (who write and act in all the
initial productions of their work together), Burns describes them as
“focused.  Incredibly funny.  A true team.  They’re equals when it comes to
decision-making.”  About the CPT production design, Burns “worked at not
duplicating the NY design.”  Indeed, the audience is in for another one of
CPT’s resident designer Burns’ imaginative creations.  It could be described
as film-noir on stage.



Indeed, The Secretaries is a comedy ode to film noir filled with blood,
violence, crude and sexual humor, language, Slim Fast consumption, and
lingerie.  Not for the faint of heart, it's for those who want to laugh
their butts off.  CPT recommends the show for ages 18 and up.



Join CPT for Opening Night (Saturday, May 14)!  New this year: performance
at 7pm, then a party catered by some of Cleveland’s best restaurants.  With
the Opening Night moved to an earlier time, CPT strengthens its commitment
to make theatre a social event, and not with the same old kind of party.
Tickets for Opening Night are $35 (includes performance and party).  Tickets
are available for the performance only as well.



The Five Lesbian Brothers (Playwrights) are Maureen Angelos, Babs Davy,
Dominique Dibbell, Peg Healey and Lisa Kron. The Brothers came together as a
theater company in 1989 after performing together in various other
combinations at the Obie award winning WOW Cafe Theatre.  Their repertoire
includes four full-length plays, Voyage to Lesbos, Brave Smiles, The
Secretaries and Brides of the Moon, as well as numerous event-specific
showstopping acts. The Brothers’ plays have been produced Off-Broadway and
Off-Off Broadway and beyond by New York Theatre Workshop, The Joseph Papp
Public Theatre, the WOW Cafe Theatre, Downtown Art Company, Performance
Space 122, Dixon Place, La Mama, the Kitchen and the Whitney Museum of
American Art at Phillip Morris. They have toured to London, Los Angeles, San
Francisco, San Diego, Houston, Columbus, Seattle, Philadelphia, Boston and
the deep woods of Michigan. Their plays have also been produced by other
companies throughout the United States and, believe it or not, in Zagreb,
Croatia.  The Brothers are currently at work on a new play, Oedipus at Palm
Springs, which will premiere at the New York Theater Workshop in summer
2005, and will tour to Theater Offensive in Boston and Out North in
Anchorage, Alaska (dates to be announced).  In addition to their theatrical
work, the Brothers have also written a book of lesbian humor for Simon and
Schuster and three short films for HBO. They were selected, along with Kiki
and Herb and Tammy Faye Starlight, to host episodes of "Late Night Out" on
the Showtime Network. Their work is taught in theater and queer/feminist
studies courses in universities throughout the U.S.  The Brothers are the
recipients of a Village Voice Obie Award, a New York Dance and Performance
Award ("Bessie"), and a New York Press Award as Best Performance Group.  An
anthology of their plays entitled Five Lesbian Brothers/Four Plays was
published in 2000 by Theatre Communications Group.



Executive/Artistic Director Randy Rollison directs The Secretaries.
Rollison joined CPT in 1998 as producing director, in early 2002 became the
organization’s artistic director, and in 2004 became the Executive/Artistic
Director .  Directing credits at CPT include 4 Minutes to Happy by Sarah
Morton, Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge, by Christopher Durang; One
Flea Spare, by Naomi Wallace; Gross Indecency:  The Three Trials of Oscar
Wilde, by Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project; and Bringing the
Fisherman Home by Deb Margolin.  Acting credits at CPT include critically
acclaimed roles in A Bright Room Called Day, Summer and Smoke, The Skin of
Our Teeth, and in the  CPT/ TITLEWave theatre co-production Wait!.  Prior to
his work at CPT, Obie-Award winner Rollison was a co-founder of HERE Arts
Center in New York City.



The cast is a mix of familiar faces to CPT audiences:  Denise Astorino
(Touched:  Bodies of Work, a co-production with Wild Plum Productions, where
she is the artistic director; The Vagina Monologues); Meg Chamberlain (Mrs.
Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge; Wait!, a co-production with TITLEWave
theatre; education director at The Beck Center for the Arts); Liz Conway
(Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge); Alison Hernan (A Bright Room
Called Day, Hedwig and the Angry Inch; Hernan is also a costume designer and
director); and Sheffia Randall (Nickel and Dimed; teacher in CPT’s education
department).  These five performers have performed with theatres all over
Cleveland, namely Great Lakes Theatre Festival, The Beck Center for the
Arts, Dobama Theatre, Bad Epitaph Theatre Company, Lakeland College, and Red
Hen Productions.



Trad A Burns (Scenic and Lighting Designer) Burns worked on the original
production of The Secretaries at WOW Café Theatre and New York Theatre
Workshop as the associate lighting designer.  His career has spanned
theatre, dance, amusement parks, as well as architectural and retail
lighting. Designing over three hundred productions during the last decade,
his varied work has been seen around the world. His extensive credits
include designs for New York City Ballet, ABT, Cincinnati Ballet, Alvin
Ailey, New York Theatre Workshop (NYC), La Mama ETC (NYC), HERE (NYC),
Classic Stage Company (NYC), The Public Theatre (NYC), CPT, Indiana
Repertory Theatre, MorrisonDance, Verb Ballets, Cedar Point, ValleyFair,
Knott’s Berry Farm, Kings Island, Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disneyland
Japan, Disney Sea, Disney Cruise Lines, Carnival Cruise Lines, Universal
Studios Florida & Japan, Woodstock Ice Productions, and The Family of
Charles M. Schulz. Trad has designed numerous productions at CPT, including
4 Minutes to Happy, Venus, A Bright Room Called Day, Nickel & Dimed, Dojoji,
Uncle Tom's Cabin, Discordia, Blue Sky Transmission, Summer and Smoke, One
Flea Spare, and Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde. He will
also design both scenery and lighting for the TITLEWave theatre/CPT
co-production Stone Cold Dead Serious.



The production staff also includes Bill Amato (sound design), Esther
Montgomery (costume design), Eileen Arnold (production stage management),
Sharon Epstein (props design), and Elizabeth R. Wood (assistant director).



The Secretaries is the third of three Featured Productions in CPT’s 2004-05
season.  Along with the other two plays in this series, last fall’s A Bright
Room Called Day, written by Tony Kushner, and Suzan-Lori Parks’ Venus, The
Secretaries will be staged in Cleveland’s oldest theatre, the Gordon Square
Theatre.  Each of these three productions continues CPT’s commitment to
adventurous theatre.



The best way to see The Secretaries is the same way many people saw CPT
favorites Varla Jean Merman, Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge, and
Hedwig and The Angry Inch:  with a group.  This subversive comedy is perfect
for office outings.   Group rates begin at 10 people.  The price per ticket
is $5 off the regular ticket price.  Call the box office to purchase your
tickets for the funniest show this spring!



A post-performance talkback with the artists will take place Sunday, May 15,
immediately following the 3:00 p.m. performance.



Production support for The Secretaries comes from angle magazine and
CoolCleveland.com.



CPT and its artistic and education programs are supported in part by The
Cleveland Foundation, The George Gund Foundation, Ohio Arts Council,
Cuyahoga County Board of Commissioners, Greater Cleveland Community Shares,
Jakprints, The Free Times, D.H. Ellison Architects, Forest City Enterprises,
Theatre Communications Group, CoolCleveland.com, National Endowment for the
Arts, The Nord Family Foundation, The Woodruff Foundation, The Margaret
Clark Morgan Foundation, John P. Murphy Foundation, Kulas Foundation,
Bruening Foundation, Codrington Foundation, Giant Eagle Foundation, Thomas
White Foundation, Saint Ann Foundation, Key Corp, The Nordson Foundation,
Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, Wolf Family Foundation, Meisel Family
Foundation, Raymond John Wean Foundation, Ellie Fund, Cyrus Eaton
Foundation, Greater Cleveland Community Shares, Capezio/Ballet Makers
Foundation, Nathan and Regina Herman Foundation, Hankins Foundation, Stocker
Foundation,  Billie Howland Steffee Family Fund, The Cleveland Plain Dealer,
City Architecture, Ron and Deborah Ratner, Joan Horvitz, Roe Green
Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, National City Bank, Marous Brothers
Construction, RPM, SBC, Medical Mutual, Convention & Visitors Bureau of
Greater Cleveland, Stewart and Donna Kohl, and other corporate and
individual contributors.



CPT is a member of Greater Cleveland Community Shares.  Community Shares
supports 35 local non-profit organizations working for long-term,
sustainable solutions to build a stronger Cleveland.  Learn more about
Community Shares and support social justice through workplace giving at
www.communityshares.org.



The mission of Cleveland Public Theatre is to promote a more conscious and
compassionate community through the arts.



Please note that all programming, times and locations are subject to change.











Cleveland Public Theatre Fact Sheet



Production
The Secretaries, written by The Five Lesbian Brothers



Artistic Staff
Director, Randy Rollison

Scenic and Lighting Design, Trad A Burns

Sound Design, Bill Amato

Costume Design, Esther Montgomery

Production Stage Manager, Eileen Arnold



Cast
Peaches:  Denise Astorino

Dawn:  Meg Chamberlain

Patty:  Liz Conway

Susan Curtis:  Alison Hernan

Ashley:  Sheffia Randall



Performance Dates and Times
Previews                       Thursday, May 12 , 2005
7:30 p.m.

                                    Friday, May 13, 2005
8:00 p.m.

Opening                        Saturday, May 14, 2005
7:00 p.m.

Closing                         Saturday, June 4, 2005
8:00 p.m.

Run                              May 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28,
June 2, 3, and 4

Times                           Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.

Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. (except Opening Night, Saturday, May 14
at 7:00 p.m.)

                                    Sundays at 3:00 p.m.

NOTE:  no performance, Sunday, May 29.



Ticket Prices
Fridays and Saturdays $24

Thursdays and Sundays $19

Previews $14

Group rates available

Under age 25 $10

Pay What You Can Thursdays performances:  up to two people in a party pay at
least $1 each; tickets subject to availability beginning one hour before the
performance



Reservations and Information

216/631-2727



Location
CPT’s Gordon Square Theatre



www.cptonline.org