Durang's Miss Witherspoon Recieves Seattle Premiere at ACT

ACT Theatre continues its 42nd season with Christopher Durang's Miss Witherspoon, directed by M. Burke Walker, opens May 4 and runs through May 28. Previews begin April 28.  

The fiendishly funny author of Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All for You, The Marriage of Bette and Boo (produced at ACT in 1987) , and Laughing Wild takes on the afterlife in this free-wheeling comedy about a persnickety dead woman named Veronica who just wants to be left alone in limbo. And who can blame her, when her previous incarnations have included an up-close encounter with the Salem/>/> witch trials and repeated associations with Rex Harrison? But her pushy Hindu spirit guide insists she's still got miles to go on the rocky road to enlightenment. Can Jesus, Gandalf and a happy-go-lucky dog help Veronica find her place in the universe?

The cast for Miss Witherspoon includes Anne Allgood as Veronica; Christine Calfas as Maryamma; Demene E. Hall as Teacher/Women in a Hat; Terry Edward Moore as Fathers #1 and #2/Man in the Playground/Dog Owner/Wise Man; and Mari Nelson as Mothers #1 and #2.

The design team includes Bill Forrester (set), Frances Forrester (costumes), Rick Paulsen (lighting), and Jim Ragland (sound).

Playwright Christopher Durang has had plays both on and off Broadway, including The Nature and Purpose of the Universe, Titanic, A History of the American Film, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You, Beyond Therapy, Baby with the Bathwater, The Marriage of Bette and Boo, Laughing Wild, and Betty's Summer Vacation. He won Obie Awards for Sister Mary Ignatius and The Marriage of Bette and Boo, received a Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical for A History of the American Film, and received a Drama Desk nomination for Betty's Summer Vacation. He has also written several screenplays including Beyond Therapy, The Nun Who Shot Liberty/> Valence/>/>, The House of Husbands (which he co-authored with Wendy Wasserstein), and The Adventures of Lola. Durang has been awarded numerous fellowships and grants including a Guggenheim, a Rockefeller, the CBS Playwriting Fellowship, the Lecompte du Nouy Foundation Grant, the Kenyon Festival Theatre Playwriting Prize, and the Lila Wallace Readers Digest Writers Award. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild Council and is co-chair of the playwriting program at Juilliard. Durang was educated at Harvard/> College/>/> and the Yale School of Drama.

Miss Witherspoon runs from April 28^th to May 28^th at ACT Theatre downtown. Fort tickets call (206) 292-7676 or visit www.actheatre.org

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