Broadway Veteran Joy Franz Stars in White Horse Theater's 'NIGHT, MOTHER, Now thru 5/19

Celebrating its 10th anniversary season, this month at the Hudson Guild Theatre (441 West 26th Street), the White Horse Theater Company will present an exciting new production of Marsha Norman's Pulitzer Prize-winning play 'night, Mother which will star Broadway veteran Joy Franz as Thelma, with Laura Siner playing daughter Jessie (who previously starred in White Horse's acclaimed In The Bar of a Tokyo Hotel). The production will run from tonight, May 3-May 19 and will feature direction from White Horse's Producing Artistic Director Cyndy A. Marion, who will be staging a bold, visually alluring version of the dramatic work, heightening the theatricality and sharpening the focus on Jessie's looming bedroom door.

Joy Franz appeared in the original Broadway cast of Into the Woods as Cinderella's Stepmother (she was also Bernadette Peters' understudy as The Witch and got to go on many times). She also appeared in the 2002 Tony-winning revival of Into the Woods. Joy portrayed Susan in the original West End productions of Company and Damn Yankees (as Meg Boyd) with Jerry Lewis. She also appeared in the original Broadway runs of Pippin (as Catherine) and A Little Night Music (as Mrs. Nordstrom) and is a company member of Marvell Rep which was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for The Three Penny Opera (as Mrs. Peachum) and God of Vengeance.

Winner of the 1983 Pulitzer Prize, 'night, Mother tells the story of a seemingly regular Saturday evening in rural America at the ranch-style farmhouse that Thelma occupies with her middle-aged daughter, Jessie. Down on her luck, Jessie is divorced, cannot hold down a job, suffers from epilepsy and has a runaway son turned petty criminal. She's moved back in with her mother and has been helping to take care of Thelma and the house. The evening starts off normally until Jessie inquires about the whereabouts of her deceased father's gun. Thelma asks what she needs it for and so begins a battle for control and understanding between mother and daughter that changes their relationship forever.

The creative team includes Vanessa Bombardieri (Dramaturg), Brooke Harbaugh (Assistant Director), Elliot Lanes (Stage Manager), Katie Chew (Assistant Stage Manager), Randall Parsons (Set Design), Debra Leigh Siegel (Lighting Design), Derek Nye Lockwood (Costume Design), Joe Gianono (Composer), Colin Whitely (Sound Design), Michael G. Chin (Fight Choreographer) and Julie Foh (Dialect Coach).

'night, Mother will run at the Hudson Guild Theatre (441 West 26th Street), from tonight, May 3-May 19 with performances Tuesdays-Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm. There is also a Saturday matinee at 2pm on 5/18. Tickets, priced at $18, can be purchased online at www.smarttix.com. For more information, visit www.WhiteHorseTheater.com.

Founded in 2003, WHITE HORSE THEATER COMPANY is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to producing and developing American plays. They seek to investigate and celebrate American culture by re-examining American classics and nurturing new American voices. They aim to shed new light on seldom-produced works or revitalize masterworks making their productions accessible to both the general public and a scholarly audience.