Olney Theater Presents MISALLIANCE 9/29-10/24

English propriety is laid low by fistfights, gunplay, broken crockery, and a plane crash in George Bernard Shaw's Misalliance.

Misalliance plays the Mainstage September 29 through October 24. Tickets are $26 to $54, with discounts available to groups, seniors, military, and students. Call the Box Office at 301.924.3400 or visit olneytheatre.org for tickets and information. In addition, Olney offers several special performances that include sign interpretation, audio description, and post-show discussions. (Please see the "Fact Sheet" below for more details.)

Shaw's delightful comedy, Misalliance, is a fast-paced, witty romp set in the garden room of John Tarleton's English country estate. A whirlwind of characters from varied social classes, including an underwear magnate, an ambassador, a Polish aviatrix, and a socialist clerk, clash and debate, upholding and questioning societal norms.

As the play opens, Tarleton's daughter Hypatia is engaged to Bentley Summerhays, the intellectual son of Lord Summerhays (who had himself once asked Hypatia to marry him). Tarleton's son Johnny runs the family business - underwear - while his father indulges his own philanthropic ideas by establishing free libraries around England.

Domestic tranquility is interrupted by a plane crash in the backyard, delighting Hypatia, who has always longed for "adventure to drop out of the sky." The dashing young pilot catches Hypatia's eye. Arriving with him is Lina Szczepanowska, a Polish aviatrix whose family tradition demands that she risk her life at least once a day. Lina catches the eye of almost every man there. Adding to the mix is another unexpected guest, a gun-wielding clerk who is bent on revenge for Tarleton's callous treatment of his mother.

The cast for Misalliance includes Andrea Cirie (Lina Szczepanowska), Joel Reuben Ganz (Johnny), Patricia Hurley (Hypatia), Dudley Knight (Lord Summerhays), Drew Kopas (Gunner), Matthew McGloin (Bentley), Alex Podulke (Percival), Anne Stone (Mrs. Tarleton), and Joe Vincent (Tarleton).

John Going directs Misalliance at Olney, where he is Associate Artistic Director. He has staged more than 30 productions here, most recently the critically acclaimed The Savannah Disputation. Going's creative team includes James Wolk (Scenic Designer), Liz Covey (Costume Designer), Dennis Parichy (Lighting Designer), G.W. Rodriguez (Sound Designer), Nan Flanagan (Wig Designer), Nancy Krebs (Dialect Coach), and Renee E. Yancey (Stage Manager).

Cast Biographies

Andrea Cirie (Lina Sczcepanowska) Olney Theatre: Debut. Numerous Regional Credits include Cincinnati Playhouse (A Flea in Her Ear), The Shakespeare Theatre of DC (Othello, Dir, Michael Kahn), Hartford Stage (Noises Off), Repertory Theater of St Louis (Heartbreak House, A Flea in Her ear, The Clean House), The Old Globe Theatre (Macbeth, Pericles, Comedy Of Errors, Othello, Twelfth Night, Dracula, As You Like It), The Contemporary American Theater Festival (Lonesome Hollow, Pursuit of Happiness, Pig Farm, A View of the Harbor), Alabama Shakespeare Festival (Death of a Salesman),Theatrevirgina (Moon Over Buffalo), Capital Rep (Nora), The Organic Theater (The Last Seder), Florida Stage (The Gulf of Westchester) TV Credits: Law and Order, Law and Order: SVU, Law and Order : Criminal Intent, Guilding Light Film: Violet tendencies, (Fall 2010). Ms. Cirie is a proud member of Actor's Equity Association/

Joel Reuben Ganz (Johnny) is excited to make his Olney debut with this production. In Washington theaters: Measure for Pleasure at Woolly Mammoth; Theatre J in Pangs of the Messiah and Honey Brown Eyes (Helen Hayes award Best New Play); the Studio Theatre in The Death of Meyerhold and Take Me Out (Helen Hayes Award Best Play), The Picture of Dorian Gray at Round House Theatre, Made in China for SolasNua; Shear Madness and The Lisbon Traviata at the Kennedy Center, Othello at the Shakespeare Theatre; and The Dybbuk and Host&Guest with Synetic Theatre. He has performed internationally in Scotland, France, and Corsica. A graduate of the InterNational Theatre School of Jacques Lecoq in Paris, he holds a B.A. in Theatre Studies from Emory University. His next production will be the American premiere of War Horse at Lincoln Center in New York City.

Patricia Hurley (Hypatia) is delighted to return to the Olney Theatre, having just performed this spring as Princess Léonide in Triumph of Love. Olney: Guenevere in Camelot, Sr. James in Doubt; Wendy in Peter Pan; Tzeitel in Fiddler On the Roof; Queen in Cinderella; Maria in The Heiress; Marie in 13 Rue De L'Amour. Regional: Fulton Theatre, PA: Percy in The Spitfire Grill. Signature Theatre, VA: Gussie in Merrily We Roll Along. The Shakespeare Theatre, DC: Lady Stutfield in Lady Windermere's Fan. Imagination Stage, MD: Mazzie in Seussical, the Musical; Cecile in A Hundred Dresses. Patricia received a BM from Catholic University, and is currently studying with The Barrow Group in New York.

Dudley Knight (Lord Summerhays) A founding member of the Tony Award-winning Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut and the Magic Theatre in San Francisco, Dudley Knight's extensive stage career has included major roles at such major regional theatres as The American Conservatory Theatre, the Mark Taper Forum, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center Theatre Company, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Los Angeles Actors Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, and The Old Globe Theatre, and multiple seasons at the Utah Shakespearean Festival, the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, and the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. Over 100 film, TV and radio drama roles. Professor Emeritus of Drama at the University of California, Irvine.

Drew Kopas (Gunner) is thrilled to return to Olney Theatre Centre, where he was last seen as Young Charlie in Da. Regional credits include: Shakespeare Theatre Company: Curio in Twelfth Night (Free for All); National Players: as Orlando in As You Like It, Valentine in Two Gentlemen of Verona, Big Brother in 1984; Keegan Theatre: Jamesie in There Are Little Kingdoms, Whit in Of Mice and Men (Ireland/DC); Capital Fringe Festival: Pythagorus in The Playwright Zone; Shawnee Theatre and Cleveland Shakespeare Festival. Later this season, he can be seen in All My Sons at Everyman Theatre and On the Razzle at Constellation Theatre. Training: MFA Western Illinois University.

Matthew McGloin (Bentley) has performed locally at the Signature Theatre (The Lieutenant of Inishmore), Folger Theatre (As You Like It), Ford's Theatre (History on Foot tour series), Constellation Theatre (A Flea in Her Ear), and Synetic Theatre (Faust), as well as in various productions at the Kennedy Center, Virginia Shakespeare Festival, Imagination Stage, and Adventure Theatre. He was last on stage at Olney Theatre in Cinderella. Education: University of Maryland Baltimore County, BFA Theatre, Summa cum Laude. Upcoming: American Scrapbook at the Kennedy Center, and On the Razzle with Constellation Theatre.

Alex Podulke (Percival) is delighted to be making his debut at the Olney Theater. His New York credits include: Sarah Ruhl's Passion Play, Irondale Center; Flesh and the Desert, SPF; Romeo and Juliet, Public Theater, Shakespeare in the Park; Cyrano de Bergerac, Metropolitan Opera; Corleone, NY Fringe Festival. Regional credits include: Seattle Rep, Pioneer Theater Company, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Portland Center Stage, Jungle Theater, and others. Six seasons at the Guthrie Theater. Alex's one-man play DNA and the Dancing Fool has been produced regionally and in Canada. Film and TV: Welcome to the Cosmos, Guiding Light. Alex is a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Anne Stone (Mrs. Tarleton) is delighted to be back at Olney working with John Going, who directed her in Night Must Fall and Morning's at Seven. Other Olney productions include Death of a Salesman, Hedda Gabler, Tartuffe, and The Madwoman of Chaillot. Her local credits include The Imaginary Invalid, Lady Windermere's Fan, and Beaux Stratagem at Shakespeare Theatre Company; Henry IV Part 1 and All's Well That Ends Well at the Folger; Black Milk at Studio Theatre; A Christmas Carol and The Matchmaker at Ford's Theater; A Delicate Balance at Everyman Theatre; and Orpheus Descending at Arena Stage. Anne is a graduate of Catholic University and National Players Tour 25.

Joe Vincent (Tarleton) In a long career, Mr. Vincent is proud to have spent more than 27 years in Shakespeare Festivals all over the country. He has been in 34 of the Bard's 37 plays in more than 60 professional productions. He also includes more than 40 major musical theatre roles including: LaMancha, Warbucks, Tevye, Emile DeBecque, Fagin, Scrooge, and many more. This spring Mr. Vincent was seen as Big Daddy Pollitt in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Arkansas Rep. He recently had his Broadway debut as Max in Tom Stoppard's Rock ‘n' Roll. In his spare time, Mr. Vincent leads tours to Shakespeare's Italy.

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