Town Hall Presents Staged Reading Of Anna Ziegler's BOY

Next up in Town Hall Theatre's staged reading series IN THE WINGS is a one-night only reading of BOY, a moving new play about gender identity by Anna Ziegler. BOY will have one performance only on Monday, February 4, 2019, at Town Hall Theatre Company, 3535 School Street, in Lafayette, CA. Tickets are $10 general admission and free to subscribers, and are available through the Box Office at (925) 283-1557 or online at www.TownHallTheatre.com.

The true story of David Peter Reimer was the playwright's inspiration for BOY. In 1966 Reimer suffered a botched circumcision as an infant; on the advice of psychologist and gender identity specialist John Money, Reimer's parents raised him as a girl. At age 14, learning of his past from his father, Reimer decided to accept a male identity. But Reimer's actual story serves only as a jumping off point for the playwright. BOY focusses in on the complicated inter-dependent relationship between a doctor and a patient; and Ziegler is most interested in how parents can be blinded by love to the true needs of their children.

The choice Adam's parents make reverberates throughout this life. Scenes in the play bounce back and forth from the 1960s to the 1980s: Adam's parents ask the advice of a psychologist after a surgical accident has left one of their twin boys without a penis; Adam is 'trained' in being a girl as we witness many childhood appointments in a doctor's office; Adam finds love as a young man in his 20s. What's it like to grow up in an identity that doesn't fit you?

BOY is directed by Cynthia Lagodzinski and features five talented Bay Area performers: Alan Coyne, Adrian Deane, Craig Eychner, Gretchen Lee Salter, and Craig Souza.

In an interview given before the play's world premiere, the playwright discussed the recurring themes of betrayal, forgiveness and the durability of love in her plays, particularly in BOY: "At the heart of the play is an incredible betrayal, stunning in its scope and consequences. That Adam can ultimately find a way to forgive his parents speaks to his gradual recognition that it was in fact love that drove their decision, and to all the characters' deep humanity and good intentions, however flawed."

Performance History

The world premiere of BOY was produced Off-Broadway by the Keen Company, in co-production with Ensemble Studio Theatre and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in 2016. BOY was originally commissioned by the Manhattan Theatre Club, with funds provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. BOY was nominated for the 2016 John Gassner Award for a new American play by the Outer Critics Circle.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

Anna Ziegler is an award-winning playwright whose plays include Actually (2017 at The Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Manhattan Theatre Club and The Geffen Playhouse and winner of the Ovation Award in Los Angeles for Playwriting of an Original Play); Photograph 51 (2015 West End starring Nicole Kidman, and previously produced at Ensemble Studio Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre and Theater J); The Last Match (The Old Globe Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company); Boy (Keen Company/Ensemble Studio Theatre); A Delicate Ship; Another Way Home (2012 at The Magic Theatre), Dov and Ali; The Minotaur; and BFF. Her plays have been developed at The Sundance Theatre Lab, The O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, The Williamstown Theatre Festival, among others, and are published by Dramatists Play Service. Anna is a graduate of Yale College and holds an M.F.A. in dramatic writing from the Tisch School of the Arts.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Cynthia Lagodzinski hails from Livermore and works as an actor and director all around the SF Bay Area. Most recently, she directed As You Like It at Silicon Valley Shakespeare, and Laughing Stock at Role Players Ensemble. Up next she'll be back on stage in Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! at Douglas Morrisson Theatre and Sojourn at The Pear Theatre.

ABOUT TOWN HALL THEATRE COMPANY

Established in 1944 as the Dramateurs, Town Hall Theatre turns 75 this year, making it the oldest continuously active theatre in Contra Costa County. Town Hall Theatre was awarded Best Theatre Troupe 2016 in Diablo Magazines, Best of The East Bay, and is the past recipient of numerous Shellie Awards, and regional Theatre Bay Area Awards. THT is also home to an extensive children's educational program, twice voted the "Best Children's Theatre Company" by Bay Area Parent Magazine. THT's 104-year old historical building is managed by the Lafayette Association (LIA). Town Hall Theatre Company is located at 3535 School Street, in Lafayette, CA 94549. The Box Office is open Tuesday through Friday, 4:00 to 6:00PM, and Saturday, 2:00-4:00 pm, and can be reached at 925.283.1557. Information is also available at www.TownHallTheatre.com.