Ron Orbach will star in Little Mary, William Leavengood's drama about a modern day
Immaculate Conception. The production debuts June 2nd and will run through
June 26th at the Sanford Meisner Theater.
Orbach plays Bishop Peter Tivoli, an outspoken and progressive
church leader who has turned his Catholic mission outside Los Angeles
into a self-sustaining farming collective. He openly encourages
conservation, women as priests and contraception while denouncing
overconsumption and overpopulation. The Vatican seeks to
silence the Bishop and sends Cardinal-Dean Victorio Gian (Jeremy
Lawrence) to California. Upon his arrival at the Mission in the
Desert, the Cardinal is introduced to Christina (Monica Raymund), a
brilliant and beautiful fifteen-year-old Mexican-American. She is
pregnant with seven fetuses, but medically still a virgin. God, she
claims, has spoken to her. The children are His. When the media
learns of the story, the news explodes around the globe. The two men
struggle with the nature of their faith, their worldly ambitions, and
each other as they take sides over the "miracle" of a pregnant virgin
whom the media crowns, "Little Mary."
"Little Mary," according to a press statement, "provokes thought about man's search for meaning and the
struggles of organized religion in an increasingly complex world. While
the issues raised by Little Mary are controversial, they are straight
from the headlines and present an eerie reflection of the world in
which we live."Nelson Avidon, Robyn Hatcher and Kaipo Schwab are also featured in the play's cast, while Little Mary is helmed by the acclaimed Los Angeles-based director Jessica Kubzansky.Orbach is a veteran of film, theatre and television. He starred in Neil Simon's
Laughter on the 23rd Floor with Nathan Lane, and most recently appeared in the musicals Dance of the Vampires and Never Gonna Dance. His screen and television credits include Clueless, "Law and Order," "Touched by an Angel" and "Family Matters."Kubzansky was recently honored with the L.A. Drama Critic's Circle
Margaret Hanford Award for Sustained Excellence in Theater. She is the
co-Artistic Director of the Theatre at Boston Court in Pasadena,
California.
Leavengood, a two-time Eugene O'Neill-winning playwright, is
Artistic Director of the LiveArts Peninsula Foundation in St.
Petersburg, Florida. His off-Broadway credits include The Head at the
Chelsea Playhouse, The Preservation Society, directed by Casey Childs
at Primary Stages, and Florida Crackers, directed by John Bishop, which
premiered as part of Circle Repertory's 20th Anniversary Season.The Sanford Meisner Theatre is located at 164 11th Avenue (East Side of 11th Avenue between 22nd and 23rd Streets).The performance schedule is as follows: Thursday at 8:00 PM, Friday at 8:00 PM, Saturday at 8:00 PM and Sunday at 5:00 PM.Tickets, which are $15, are available via www.littlemary.info and www.theatermania.com. "
