Northern Stage to Present World Premiere Production by Local Playwright

Mad Love, written by award-winning local playwright Marisa Smith, runs live on stage at the new Barrette Center for the Arts in White River Junction, VT January 27 through February 13, 2016. For tickets and information, call 802-296-7000 or visit www.northernstage.org. Tickets start at $15 for students and $30 for adults.

Mad Love was first presented in a staged reading at Northern Stage's inaugural New Works Now festival in January of 2014. "Marisa Smith is an award-winning playwright based in Hanover. Northern Stage is thrilled to present the world premiere of Mad Love, a comedy that beautifully skewers twenty-somethings in New York City as they contend with the fallout from their wild college days. It is a timely look at growing up in the age of hookups and love in the age of cynicism," says Carol Dunne, Artistic Director.

Playwright Marisa Smith's recent production of Saving Kitty starring Jennifer Coolidge at Central Square Theater in Cambridge, MA enjoyed a sold-out run in the summer of 2015. Mad Love was an O'Neill Playwright's Conference semi-finalist and won Best Play (2012) from NH in Portland Stages' (Maine) Clauder Competition. Mad Love was developed and had readings at the Lark Play Development Center in NYC, The Dorset Theater Festival, The University of Delaware's professional resident theater company (one-week workshop and reading), Dartmouth College, and at Urban Stages in NYC. Marisa is an associate artist at the Lark Play Development Center and an Artist in Residence at the Hermitage Artists Retreat on Manasota Key, Florida for 2015-17. Marisa is the co-owner and Publisher of Smith and Kraus Publishers, the leading publisher in the US of theater books for the trade with over 600 titles in print. She is a graduate of Wesleyan University.

This four-person play is directed by Maggie Burrows (who also directed Northern Stage's 2014 production of The Fox on the Fairway). Last year, Maggie assisted on the sold-out Broadway hit Constellations, and directed Steel Magnolias at the New London Barn Playhouse. The cast includes Laurel Casillo, playing Katerina, who recently made her Broadway debut in the Tony-nominated play Act One at Lincoln Center Theater. Last year the Connecticut Critics Circle Awards nominated her for Outstanding Actress in a Play for her starring role in Yale Repertory Theatre's production of Elevada, a new play by Sheila Callaghan. Alex Trow, who plays Sloane Hudson, is an actor and playwright born and raised in Colorado. Her New York credits include London Wall (Mint Theater), Flamingo (Sanguine Theater Co.), The Detour (Metropolitan Playhouse), and Scarlett Fever (NY Fringe Fest). Northern Stage veteran Thom Miller plays the role of Brandon, and has been seen at Northern Stage in Boeing Boeing, I Hate Hamlet, Deathtrap, Dancing at Lughnasa, and Moon Over Buffalo. He has also been seen in regional theaters across the country and in a number of shows Off-Broadway. The cast is rounded out with Daniel Patrick Smith, playing Doug, who was most recently seen as Buddy the Elf in the national tour of Elf the Musical.

Performances are Tuesdays through Sundays; sponsored by Vermont Public Radio (VPR), Wells Fargo Advisors, and Casella Resource Solutions. A companion event Athena Lecture "Writing is Re-Writing" led by Marisa Smith and her agent, Peregrine Whittlesley, will be held at the Barrette Center for the Arts on Sunday, January 31, from 3:30-4:30 PM. This conversation is free and open to the public.

Discounted tickets are available for preview performances January 27-29. $15 Anytime Student tickets are available for any performance, and regular adult ticket prices range from $30-$55. Mad Love is recommended for ages 13 and up. A complimentary post-show reception with the cast follows the opening night performance on Saturday, January 30. Optional twenty-minute post-show conversations with the cast and artistic team follow performances February 2-12.

Northern Stage is a regional non-profit professional theater company that seeks to change lives, one story at a time. Based in the Upper Valley of the Connecticut River, Northern Stage brings national and area talent together on an intimate stage in diverse classic, contemporary, and new plays and musicals. Northern Stage has offered over 100 productions in its 18-year history, and annual attendance is now over 25,000.

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