Pinch 'N' Ouch will present Kenneth Lonergan's THIS IS OUR YOUTH

Atlanta's Pinch 'N' Ouch Theatre is having one of its busiest seasons. Most recently presenting Edward Albee's harrowing masterpiece WHO'S AFRAID OF Virginia Woolf, only weeks prior to Sam Shepard's Obie Award winning play FOOL FOR LOVE, the electrifying contemporary theatre company has just announced their latest production of Kenneth Lonergan's THIS IS OUR YOUTH, a compassionate living snapshot of the moment between adolescence and adulthood. YOUTH will be directed by the company's Producing Artistic Director Grant McGowen, and will feature Derek Evans, Thien Vuong, and Annie Jacob. It will perform in late November thru December at Pinch 'N' Ouch Theatre, now located in Kirkwood of Atlanta, GA.

In meticulous, hilarious, and agonizing detail, THIS IS OUR YOUTH follows forty-eight hours of three very lost young souls in the big city at the dawn of the Reagan Era: Warren Straub, a dejected nineteen-year-old who steals fifteen thousand dollars from his abusive lingerie-tycoon father; Dennis Ziegler, the charismatic domineering drug-dealing friend who helps him put the money to good use; and Jessica Goldman, the anxiously insightful young woman Warren yearns for. Funny, painful, and compassionate, THIS IS OUR YOUTH is a living snapshot of the moment between adolescence and adulthood when many young people first go out into the world on their own, armed only with the ideas and techniques they developed as teenagers-ideas and techniques far more sophisticated than their parents ever realize, and far less effectual than they themselves can possibly imagine.

"THIS IS OUR YOUTH-by turns caustic, cruel and compassionate-is the real real world" wrote the NY Times. "Lonergan, whose ear for the way his characters speak is pitch-perfect, is no less attuned to the simmering potential in their silent hearts," added Variety. Some of the notable actors that have performed in the play include Josh Hamilton, Mark Ruffalo, Jake Gyllenhaal, Hayden Christensen, Anna Paquin, and Atlanta-based Andrew Benator.

Kenneth Lonergan is a playwright, screenwriter and director. He is best known for co-writing Gangs of New York (2002), and for writing and directing You Can Count On Me (2000), Margaret (2011), and Manchester by the Sea (2016). Lonergan earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Director for Manchester by the Sea, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for You Can Count On Me, Gangs of New York, and Manchester by the Sea, winning for the latter at the 89th Academy Awards. He also won the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay for Manchester by the Sea at the 70th British Academy Film Awards.

Producing Artistic Director Grant McGowen most recently directed Sam Shepard's FOOL FOR LOVE and Edward Albee's WHO'S AFRAID OF Virginia Woolf. Atlanta InTown Paper's Manning Harris wrote recently, "McGowen is flawless-and invisible. I love that Pinch 'N' Ouch is doing Albee and Shepard and other greats now.' McGowen has directed Pulitzer Prize winning plays GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS by David Mamet and WATER BY THE SPOONFUL by Quiara Alegría Hudes, both at Pinch 'N' Ouch. He also directed Lonergan's acclaimed play LOBBY HERO at Pinch 'N' Ouch. "It appears that more and more of the city's finest actors want to work with him. I think Mr. McGowen is the real deal, and I hope he sticks around," continued Harris.

Derek Evans (Black Lightning, The Resident, Being Mary Jane) will play the charismatic "Dennis Ziegler." Annie Jacob (Life Sentence, Superstition, Star) will play Jessica Goldman. Newcomer Thien Vuong will play the dejected Warren Straub. Vuong is well known in the cosplay community and on YouTube as RealTDragon. PNO Associate Artist Philip Mertz, most recently seen in FOOL FOR LOVE, will Assistant Direct YOUTH alongside McGowen.

Pinch 'N' Ouch Theatre, now residing in Atlanta, is approaching their 10th year anniversary. The bold company will present their first musical, the Tony Award winning Hedwig and the Angry Inch, in January of 2019. Chad Darnell will play the role of Hedwig.

THIS IS OUR YOUTH by Kenneth Lonergan will perform at Pinch 'N' Ouch Theatre November 30 thru December 22. For tickets and info:www.pnotheatre.org

Photo Credit: Grant McGowen