Photos: First Look at Everyman Theatre's Premiere Production of CRYING ON TELEVISION

Everyman Theatre will close out its live, 2021/2022 season with R. Eric Thomas's World Premiere comedy, CRYING ON TELEVISION. The production at Everyman Theatre is directed by Reginald L. Douglas and runs from May 31 through June 26, 2022. At-home streaming is also available from June 17 through July 10.

After a chance meeting in an apartment elevator, Mackenzie finally realizes where she's seen Ellison before - as a contestant on a reality dating show from a decade earlier! Struck by the character she remembers well, Mackenzie decides the two should be friends and quickly gets caught up in a series of escalating hijinks designed to make that friendship happen. Enter Chris, doing his level best to be a loner, and Taffy, an amateur sleuth who's never met a stranger. The foursome embarks on this laugh-out-loud funny, yet beguilingly sweet, friendship farce journey. Crying on Television wrestles with one of life's great mysteries - how do you make friends as an adult in today's modern, often dystopian, world?

According to Thomas, "I have been trying to bring Crying on Television to the stage for years and this Everyman world premiere production is more than a dream come true. There couldn't be a more perfect time for this play in Baltimore-it's funny, zany, heartfelt, and has some of the most incredible design I've ever seen. Everyman is such an exciting company and I'm thrilled to work on this comedy about finding friends with a theatre company that's so great at making community."

Crying on Television marks Thomas's third world premiere play in three months, with Backing Track opening at Philadelphia's Arden Theatre in early March, The Folks at Home opening at Baltimore Center Stage in April, and now Crying on Television having its world premiere at Everyman Theatre at the end of May.

Everyman Theatre Founder and Artistic Director, Vincent M. Lancisi, says, "Eric is a writer with a keen sense of humor. His ability to depict three dimensional characters through situational comedy and reality at the same time is a unique gift. We are so fortunate to have him here in Baltimore. I'm eager for our audiences to be the first to experience Crying on Television here at Everyman Theatre."

The ensemble cast for Crying on Television features Everyman Theatre's Associate Artistic Director and Resident Company Member, Paige Hernandez as Ellison (Hernandez most recently directed Pearl Cleage's Flyin' West at Everyman), Starr Kirkland (most recently seen in the New Ambassadors HEARTbroke 2022 Fesival) as Mackenzie, ERIKA ROSE (seen most recently at Everyman as Jacqueline Marie Butlerin Queens Girl in Africa) as Taffy, and Dwayne Washington as Chris (a Baltimore School of the Arts graduate, most recently seen in Dorian's Closet at Rep Stage).

R. Eric Thomas is the Baltimore-based national bestselling author of Here for It, Or How to Save Your Soul in America and the lauded Maxine Waters biography Reclaiming Her Time. He is a television writer (Dickinson, Better Things), playwright (The Folks at Home, Time Is on Our Side, Mrs. Harrison) humorist, and internet phenom.

The long-running host of 'The Moth' in Philadelphia and D.C., Thomas was also a Senior Staff Writer at Elle.com for four years where he wrote "Eric Reads the News," a daily current events and culture column. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, Time, W Magazine, O the Oprah Magazine, Slate, and others. Kings of B'More is Thomas's latest book, a YA novel debut, that follows two Black, queer best friends facing their last day together with an epic journey through the city they love. Penguin Random House will release Kings of B'More in hardcover on May 31, 2022.

In addition to playwright R. Eric Thomas, the creative team for Crying on Television includes director Reginald L. Douglas, the newly appointed Artistic Director at D.C.'s Mosaic Theatre, who most recently directed Berta, Berta as part of Everyman's 2020/2021 season, set design by Daniel Ettinger, costume design by Ivania Stack, lighting design by John Alexander, sound design by Tosin Olufolabi and Fights and Intimacy by Lewis Shaw. Cat Wallis serves as Stage Manager with Dante Fields as Assistant Stage Manager. Ettinger, Wallis, and Shaw are all members of Everyman's Resident Company of Artists.

Single tickets for in-person performances of Crying on Television are on-sale now and start at $29. Video on Demand (VOD) tickets are also on sale with streaming access beginning June 17. Box office hours are Monday through Friday from 9am until 6pm and Saturdays from 10am until 5pm. Visiteverymantheatre.org or call 410.752.2208for more information. Please be aware that everyone entering the building is asked to wear a mask as a safety precaution for our actors. Actors will not be wearing masks on stage. For further information on safety at Everyman, visit everymantheatre.org/safety.

Take an inside look at the production below!

Photo Credits: Teresa Castracane Photography

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