[NEohioPAL] THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES Opens at Ashland This Thursday

Tricia Applegate via NEohioPAL neohiopal at lists.neohiopal.org
Tue Apr 7 06:53:21 PDT 2015


Ashland University Theatre
presents

The House of Blue Leaves

*Part Sitcom, Part Farce, Part Tragedy...*
by *John Guare*
directed by Teresa Durbin-Ames



*April 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17 at 7:30 p.m.April 12 at 2 p.m.Studio Theatre*
*Inside the Season Pre-Show Talk:* April 17 at 6:45 p.m.

Ashland University Box Office: 419-289-5125 (Noon-6 p.m., Monday-Friday)
Online at www.ashland.edu/tickets
<https://www.vendini.com/ticket-software.html?t=tix&e=2d8022e791aa213f0294d6be74e87040&t=tix>
(additional
fees apply)
 Single Tickets
<https://www.vendini.com/ticket-software.html?t=tix&e=2d8022e791aa213f0294d6be74e87040&t=tix>
:$12 Adults $10 Senior Citizens, AU Alumni & Faculty/Staff $8 Groups of 10
or more* $5 Non-AU Students* $2 Ashland University Students w/ ID*

*For REDUCED TICKETS - AU STUDENT ($2), CHILDREN ($5) and GROUP of 10 or
more ($8)  - Call Box Office, 419.289.5125.
BE ADVISED: This production includes haze, fog, strobing lights and
pyrotechnics.

*ASHLAND.EDU/THEATRE <http://www.ashland.edu/theatre>*

Ashland University Theatre closes the eclectic 2014-2015 season of four
"Somethings" with John Guare's award-winning dark comedy *The House of Blue
Leaves* as "Something Blue." Directed by Dr. Teresa Durbin-Ames, the
performances will be staged in the intimate Studio Theatre on *April 9, 10,
11, 15, 16 and 17 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 12 at 2 p.m.* Patrons are
advised to secure their tickets early due to the limited seating in the
Studio Theatre.

Set in Queens in 1965 on the day of Pope Paul VI's visit to New York City,
the play follows nuns, a political bombing, a GI headed for Vietnam, a
zookeeper who dreams of making it big in Hollywood as a songwriter, and his
wife Bananas, a schizophrenic destined for the institution that provides
the play's title.

Originally staged in 1965, the show opened in 1971 Off-Broadway with
revivals produced Off-Broadway in 1986 and On Broadway in 2011. Throughout
its runs in New York, the productions won numerous awards including the
1971 Drama Critics' Circle and Obie Awards for Best American Play; the 1986
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival, Tony Awards for Best Direction of
a Play (Jerry Zaks), Best Featured Actor in a Play (John Mahoney), Best
Featured Actress in a Play (Swoosie Kurtz) and Best Scenic Design (Tony
Walton); and the 2011 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play (Edie
Falco).

A film adaptation was staged in 1987 specifically for a broadcast on the
PBS series American Playhouse starring Swoosie Kurtz, John Mahoney,
Christine Baranski, and Ben Stiller.

Guare's play is the result of an explosive combination of a lifetime of
dreams and realities. Blending historical and personal events, he describes
the play in his introduction as “a blur of many years that pulled together
under the umbrella of the Pope’s visit.”

Based on the playwright’s father (who referred to his Wall Street job as a
“zoo”), zookeeper Artie Shaughnessy comes home to his insane wife Bananas,
respectively played by senior theatre majors Nick Seemann (Bath, Ohio) and
Taylor Stepp (Atwater, Ohio). Artie's mistress, Bunny Flingus, who lives in
the apartment below is played by sophomore musical theatre major Andrea
Disch (East Liverpool, Ohio); while senior theatre major De'Andre Peterson
(Garfield Heights, Ohio) plays his eighteen-year-old son, Ronnie, whom is
currently a serviceman stationed at Fort Dix. In the course of the play’s
manic action, visitors arrive to see the Pope including Hollywood actress
Corrinna Stroller played by sophomore musical theatre major Eryn Reynolds
Tramel (Medina, Ohio), Hollywood director and Artie's childhood best friend
Billy Einhorn played by senior theatre major Benjamin Isaiah Black (Akron,
Ohio), and three nuns played by Tory Flemming (Plano, Texas), Natalyn
Baisden (Wooster, Ohio) and Mary Joyce Myers (St. Joseph, Missouri).
Rounding out the cast are first time actors Aaron Sensenbrenner
(Miamisburg, Ohio) and Jesse Foertch (Mansfield, Ohio).

The production's set and lighting is designed by Assistant Professor of
Theatre and Resident Scenic Designer Jason Coale with sophomore theatre
major Elizabeth Davis Newhouse (Solon, Ohio) as the assistant scene
designer, and freshman theatre major Seth Morrison (Millersburg, Ohio) as
the assistant lighting designer. Assistant Professor of Theatre and
Resident Costume Designer Sarah Russell designed the costumes while
technical director J. Michael Desper is the sound designer, and sophomore
musical theatre major Ceyanna Stasick (Sullivan, Ohio) is the show's stage
manager.
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