Lantern Theater Company to Present QED by Peter Parnell, 11/20-12/14

Lantern Theater Company continues its 21st season with a remount of QED by Peter Parnell in a limited engagement that runs November 20 - December 14, 2014. Originally produced as part of the Lantern's 2006/07 season, QED went on to become one of the company's most acclaimed and best-selling productions and helped secure the Lantern's reputation for producing intelligent and thought-provoking plays that draw on varied scientific themes. [Full schedule is below.]

One of the most curious and colorful personalities of the 20th century, Richard Feynman was a beloved professor, Nobel Prize-winning physicist, flirt, and unforgettable inspiration. Barrymore Award-winner Peter DeLaurier reprises his role from the Lantern's original 2006 production, capturing Feynman's remarkable spirit in a memorable journey through the greatest mysteries of science and human experience. To coincide with this production, the Lantern will also present The Quirks of Quarks: Richard Feyman's Legacy on Sunday, November 23 and November 30 in which Lantern artists and prominent local physicists will delve deeper into Richard Feynman's biggest discoveries, his dual careers as beloved teacher and renowned physicist, and his lasting impact on the world of science. Guest panelists will be announced shortly.

QED will be directed by Lantern affiliated artist and Artistic & Administrative Associate M. Craig Getting, a talented young director who has previously helmed Lantern mainstage productions of Heroes (2013) and A Skull in Connemara (2011). Getting says of QED, "Peter Parnell's script channels Feynman beautifully, focusing on the man himself just as much as his accomplishments. It wasn't just the science that drew people to Feynman. It was his spirit, his hunger for adventure that encompassed everything from particle physics to the tallest peaks of Tuva. I am beyond excited to encounter Feynman through Peter DeLaurier, a great friend and even greater collaborator."

"We have been looking for another opportunity to bring QED to Philadelphia audiences since its original sell-out run in 2006," says Lantern Artistic Director Charles McMahon. "Peter DeLaurier is magnificent as Richard Feynman, capturing his sense of excitement over ideas that made him one of the most beloved and transformational figures of modern science. With Feynman, you get not only the cold abstractions that are the product of scientific inquiry but the passionate and paradoxical process by which these formulas are created. He reminds us that science is a human affair where personality is part of the equation."

QED runs November 20 - December 14, 2014 (press opening: Friday, November 21, 8 p.m.). Tickets are $22 - $39 and are available online at lanterntheater.org or by calling the Lantern Box Office at (215) 829-0395. Discounts are available for seniors 65 and up, groups of 10 or more and U.S. military personnel. $10 student rush tickets are available 10 minutes before curtain with valid ID; cash only.

Barrymore Award-winner Peter DeLaurier has directed Sizwe Bansi Is Dead (2009), Vigil (2011) and The Island (2012) at the Lantern. As an actor, he has appeared on the Lantern stage many times, including roles in last season's The Train Driver and Emma, and previously in Heroes, Uncle Vanya, Skylight and Underneath the Lintel, for which he won the 2004 Barrymore Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play. DeLaurier is an artistic associate and resident company member at People's Light, where his credits include Ghosts, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Sherlock Holmes & The Case of the Jersey Lily, The Imaginary Invalid, Anne of Green Gables, Holes, A Delicate Balance, In the Blood, Once in a Lifetime, Sister Carrie and the international tour of Kabuki Achilles.

Making her Lantern debut in the role of Miriam Friend is local actress Clare Mahoney. Her local credits include productions at Walnut Street Theatre, People's Light, and Inis Nua Theatre Company, as well as the Lantern's upcoming production of Doubt: A Parable.

Husband-and-wife team Dirk Durossette and Millie Hiibel will revisit their original 2006 scenic and costume designs, respectively. Joining them will be up-and-comers Joseph Glodek (lighting design) and Patrick Lamborn (sound design), both making their Lantern debuts. Recent University of the Arts graduate, director, and Lantern Audience Services Manager Lauren Tuvell will serve as assistant director.

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