THE TEMPERMENTALS Kicks Off Rep Stage's 20th Anniversary Season Tonight, 8/29

Rep Stage, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Howard Community College (HCC), opens its 20th anniversary season with Jon Marans' award winning comedy-drama "The Temperamentals." Described as "'Mad Men' meets 'Milk,'" this witty, intelligent and moving play opens the closet doors on lovers Harry Hay and Rudi Gernreich in 1950's Los Angeles as they build the Mattachine Society, the first gay rights organization in the United States. "The Temperamentals" is directed by Helen Hayes Award winner Kasi Campbell, and stars fellow Helen Hayes Award winner and Rep Stage regular Nigel Reed along with Vaughn Irving, Rick Hammerly, Brandon McCoy and Alexander Strain. "The Temperamentals" opens tonight, August 29, 2012, with a limited run through September 16 in the Studio Theatre of the Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center (HVPA) on the campus of HCC.

For Rep Stage's Producing Artistic Director, Michael Stebbins, "The Temperamentals" holds a special place in his heart. "In 2009 I purchased tickets to see 'The Temperamentals' Off-Broadway. I took my mentor, friend, and 'gay uncle' Walt Witcover. Walt just recently entered into a very difficult time in his life. This is a man I've known for over 25 years - he'll be 88 later this month. Walt's partner of 36 years passed away in 1996. They called me the son they never had. Walt and his partner, Richard, talked about their experiences being gay in the 50's, being entrapped by policemen, finding safe houses for gay men where they could go to be themselves, clubs both social and sexual. What courage and strength it took to be 'out' in those days - to fight for rights and/or recognition. After seeing 'The Temperamentals,' I thought of it as a dedication to all of those who persevered so that people like me could live the life that I lead today. When the lights came up after the performance, Walt and I sat for a long time and talked about it. It was important to both of us. I've been so fortunate to explore these worlds, meet some of these people. Plays like 'The Temperamentals' make me wonder about the oh-so-many men and women who I'll never meet, never know, who helped to make our world a better and more accepting place."

Stebbins adds, "The playwright, Jon Marans, let me know how thrilled he was that Rep Stage was producing 'The Temperamentals,' and he shared that he also felt that 'this play was a dedication to all those who persevered so that we can live the life we live today.'"

Of the 2010 Drama Desk Award-winning play, Ben Brantley of the New York Times wrote: "Amazing, isn't it, what could be hidden behind those sober jackets and ties that made American men look all but interchangeable in the early 1950s…Marans' eminently likable docudrama about gay identity in the age of Eisenhower begins with a classic vision of mid-20th-century uniformity… guys in off-the-peg suits, as anonymous as the standard-issue…Yet it doesn't make the mistake of letting its characters exchange one set of stereotypical traits (timid, oppressed, self-loathing) for another (confident, assertive, proud). The diversity that's celebrated here is within each of the individuals portrayed. This awareness of the lively inconsistencies that teem within any personality makes 'The Temperamentals' more than just an inspirational history lesson."

Press performance is Saturday, September 1, at 8 p.m. For photos and reservations, contact Mike Scrivener in the HCC Office of Public Relations and Marketing at 443-518-3133 or mscrivener@howardcc.edu.

A post-show reception follows the Saturday, September 1, 8 p.m. evening performance and free post-show discussions follow the Friday, September 7 and 14 performances. There will be a pre-show lecture discussing aspects of the history of the Mattachine Society before the Saturday, September 15 matinee performance beginning at 12:30 p.m. in Monteabaro Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public and is subject to change. No tickets are needed for the lecture. For further information, visit www.repstage.org or call 443-518-1500.

Jon Marans' play, "The Temperamentals," produced by Daryl Roth and Stacy Shane, ran for over eight months Off-Broadway, first at the Barrow Group Theater and then at New World Stages. "The Temperamentals" was nominated for both the Lucille Lortel and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway play. Mr. Marans' "Old Wicked Songs," a Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Drama, earned a New York Drama League Award and L.A. Drama Logue Award. His one-act "A Girl Scout World" opened at the 2010 Bloomington Playwrights Project. Mr. Marans' play "Jumping for Joy" had its world premiere at the Laguna Playhouse and was then subsequently produced at the International Adelaide Theater Festival in Adelaide, Australia. His "Legacy of the Dragonslayers" (book by Jon Marans, lyrics by Ronnie Gilbert) premiered at the San Jose Repertory Theatre, and "Irrationals" (book and lyrics by Jon Marans, music by Edward Thomas) was produced at the Village Theater in Seattle and ATA, NYC. In television, Mr. Marans was a writer for "Cookin' in Brooklyn" and a writer/lyricist for the 1991 "New Carol Burnett Show." In film, Jon Marans and Yuri Sivo were hired by Universal Pictures/Tribeca Productions to write a political/war screenplay based on Roy Rowan's acclaimed book "Chasing the Dragon." Mr. Marans is a graduate of Duke University in mathematics with a minor in music.

Kasi Campbell has mounted 25 productions for Rep Stage since its inception, including "The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?," "God's Ear," "In the Heart of America," "Bach at Leipzig," "Arcadia," "The Violet Hour," "Translations," "Faith Healer," "The Judas Kiss," "Da," "Travels With My Aunt," and last season's "Yellowman." Ms. Campbell has directed productions and readings for The Kennedy Center, Theatre J, Theatre Alliance, Washington Stage Guild, Source Theatre, Spooky Action Theatre, WSC Avant Bard, the former National Puppetry Center, Groton Center for the Arts, University of Connecticut, Catholic University and Indiana University. She received a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Director in 2004 for Rep Stage's "The Dazzle." She is an associate professor of theatre at HCC, serving as the coordinator of theatre performance.

"The Temperamentals" design team includes Denise Umland (costume designer), J.D. Madsen (set designer), Dan Covey (lighting designer), Natalia Leimkuhler (properties designer), and Neil McFadden (sound designer).

Rep Stage, a professional Equity theatre in residence at Howard Community College, is celebrating its 20th anniversary season. The company is a member of the League of Washington Theatres, the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance and Theatre Communications Group. Rep Stage is recognized by Theatre Washington as a professional DC Metro area theater company and is eligible to be nominated for the Helen Hayes Awards. Performances are made possible by Howard County Arts Council, Howard County Government, and the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of Maryland and National Endowment for the Arts, as well as through generous individual contributions. For the 5th straight year Howard Bank is the Rep Stage 2012-13 season partner. Rep Stage is proud to be a partner of Howard County Tourism and Promotion.

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