The Lyric Stage Company of Boston Opens THE TALE OF THE ALLERGIST'S WIFE Tonight

The Lyric Stage Company of Boston's 2014-15 Season continues with THE TALE OF THE ALLERGIST'S WIFE by Charles Busch. Directed by Larry Coen, the production will run tonight, November 21 - December 20, 2014. Press opening: November 23, 3pm.

A middle-aged Upper-West-Side doctor's wife is devoted to mornings at the Whitney, afternoons at MOMA, and evenings at BAM. Plunged into a mid-life crisis of Medea-like proportions, she's shaken out of her lethargy by the reappearance of a fascinating and somewhat mysterious childhood friend. Filled with passion and humor, the New York Times called The Tale of the Allergist's Wife a "window-rattling comedy of mid-life malaise."

This production is part of 30 YEARS OF CHARLES BUSCH -- A CELEBRATION!, marking the 30th anniversary of the Off-Broadway debut of Charles Busch (Vampire Lesbians of Sodom in 1985) as well as the 15th anniversary of his Broadway debut (The Tale of the Allergist's Wife in 2000).

CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM:

Marina Re* Marjorie

Zaven Ovian Mohammed

Joel Colodner* Ira

Ellen Colton* Frieda

Caroline Lawton* Lee

Scenic Design, Matt Whiton

Costume Design, Mallory Frers

Lighting Design, Chris Bocchiaro

Sound Design, Jack Staid

*Member of Actors' Equity Association (AEA)

The show runs November 21 - December 20, 2014, playing Wednesdays, Thursdays at 7:30pm; Wednesday matinees at 2pm, November 26 and December 17, 2pm; Special Tuesday evening, November 25, 7:30pm (no performance on Wednesday evening, November 26); Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays at 3pm & 8pm; and Sundays at 3pm. Post-show Q&A with the artists: Sundays, November 23 & December 7 after 3pm performance.

Performances play The Lyric Stage, 140 Clarendon Street, Copley Square, Boston, MA 02116. Tickets start at $25; Seniors - $10 off regular price; Special rate for student groups: only $20; Student rush, ½ hour before curtain: $10; Other group rates available. Box Office: 617-585-5678 or online at lyricstage.com. Join the conversation at lyricstage.com/blog, facebook.com/LyricStageBoston and instagram: @lyricstageboston.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Charles Busch is the author and star of such plays as The Divine Sister, The Lady in Question, Red Scare on Sunset, and Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, which ran five years and is one of the longest-running plays in Off-Broadway history. His play The Tale of the Allergist's Wife ran for 777 performances on Broadway and won Mr. Busch the Outer Circle Critics John Gassner Award and received a Tony nomination for Best Play. He wrote and starred in the film versions of his plays Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommie Die, the latter of which won him the Best Performance Award at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2003, Mr. Busch received a special Drama Desk Award for career achievement as both performer and playwright. Mr. Busch made his directorial debut with the film A Very Serious Person, which premiered at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won an honorable mention. He is also the subject of the documentary film The Lady in Question Is Charles Busch. His many plays are published by Samuel French.

Larry Coen (Director) previously directed Becky's New Car, Chinglish and The Understudy for The Lyric Stage. He received the 2012 and 2010 Elliot Norton Awards for Best Director for directing Charles Busch' The Divine Sister (SpeakEasy Stage) and Phantom of the Oprah (Gold Dust Orphans), respectively. In addition, Larry has received two Elliot Norton Awards for acting. Additional directing credits: The Divine Sister (Red Barn Theatre in Key West), Ruthless! (SpeakEasy Stage), Twilight Zone and Willie Wanker and the Hershey Highway (co-directed with James Byrne) (Gold Dust Orphans), world-premiere productions of Shel Shocked by the late Shel Silverstein (Market Theater), MLK: We Are the Dream (American Place Theater, NYC), Fax of Life (Manhattan Punchline). He has acted in many Lyric Stage productions, most recently as Charley in Death of a Salesman. His play Epic Proportions (co-written with David Crane) was produced on Broadway in 1999 at the Helen Hayes Theatre directed by Jerry Zaks and starring Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Tudyk (also produced by The Lyric Stage in 2002). Larry is Artistic Director of City Stage Co., which provides free arts education programs and performances for low-income kids and families. Info at citystage.org.

Joel Colodner* (Ira) last appeared at The Lyric Stage in The Chosen and My Name Is Asher Lev. In the Boston area, he has appeared in Imagining Madoff and Three Viewings (New Repertory Theatre), Mrs. Whitney (Merrimack Rep), Light in the Piazza, The Wrestling Patient (SpeakEasy Stage), As You Like It, Henry I, parts 1 & 2, The Duchess of Malfi, King John, Titus Andronicus, The Winter's Tale (Actors' Shakespeare Project). Regional: How I Learned to Drive (off-Broadway), The Rainmaker (The Guthrie), Streamers, Comedians, Hamlet (Arena Stage), and The Seagull (Pittsburgh Public Theatre). He was in the original cast of the musical Is There Life After High School? (Hartford Stage) and was in the revival of Arthur Miller's An American Clock (Mark Taper Forum). He has guest starred in numerous series including LA Law, Moonlighting, St. Elsewhere, and Remington Steele, and played a host of doctors and lawyers (mostly) in TV movies. He played Bart Walker, a psycho-cardio-interno-gynecologist on the daytime serial Texas.

Ellen Colton* (Frieda) returns to The Lyric Stage having performed in Over the River and Through the Woods, Kong's Night Out, Beyond Belief, and A Woman of No Importance. She is a two-time winner of the IRNE Award. Other credits: Shear Madness (Charles Playhouse), Good People, Well, Mornings at Seven, Light Up the Sky, Kong's Night Out (New Century Theatre, Northampton, MA), Beyond Belief (City Stage, Springfield), The Last Jews (Boston Playwright's Theatre), The Porch (Stoneham Theatre, Majestic Theatre, W. Springfield), The Misanthrope (New Repertory Theatre), Divine Sister, The Women, Brooklyn Boy (SpeakEasy Stage). For the last 27 years in the New England area, she has served as secretary of the Screen Actors' Guild, treasurer of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and now, proudly, she is secretary of our newly merged union, SAG-AFTRA. She is also the vice-president of the local branch of Actors' Equity Association.

Caroline Lawton* (Lee) returns to The Lyric Stage after performing in The Underpants. Recent credits in London, UK include Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (Chipping Norton Theatre), A Woman of No Importance (Artifice Theatre), Veronica Decides to Die (Theatre Collection), and the award-winning Private Thoughts in Public Spaces (CASA Festival's Scratch Nigh. US theatre credits include Reconsidering Hanna(h) (Playwright's Theatre), The Taming of the Shrew (Commonwealth Shakespeare), Arcadia, and Comedy of Errors (Publick Theatre), An American Daughter (SpeakEasy Stage), Dutchman (Peabody Theatre), The Tempest (Firehouse Theatre), The Beeple (Pennsylvania Centre Stage), Mr. Sensitivity (NY International Fringe Festival), and Shear Madness. Film and television credits include Confessions of a Shopaholic, Scotch Hill, My Brother Jack, Brotherhood, Guiding Light, and One Night Only, a short for which she has received nominations for Best Lead Actress at the Portsmouth International Film Festival and the Southampton International Film Festival.

Zaven Ovian (Mohammed) is back at The Lyric Stage after his debut in last season's Water by the Spoonful. Other area credits include LES MISERABLES, Fiddler on the Roof (Reagle Music Theatre), Hair, and Merrily We Roll Along (Boston Conservatory). He is a current B.F.A. candidate at the Boston Conservatory and is a Boston local, having grown up just outside the city. Thanks to the fam, friends, and RW.

Marina Re* ( Marjorie) returns to The Lyric Stage having appeared in Present Laughter, An Ideal Husband, Lady Windermere's Fan, Hay Fever, and How the Other Half Loves. This summer, she received the Desert Star Award for her portrayal of Maria Callas in Master Class (CA), and filmed Woody Allen's Summer Project (2015), and Talking With God ( Maya Batash, dir.). Off Broadway: NY Classical Theatre, HB Playwrights Theatre, Abingdon, West End, The Flea Theatre, Bleecker Street Theatre. REGIONAL: Two River Theatre, Arts Center of Costal Carolina, Centre Stage, Ct, Rep., Gulfshore Playhouse , Florida Studio Theatre (Best Lead Actress, Boleros for the Disenchanted, Best Supporting Actress, The Miamians), National Theatre of the Deaf (USA Tour),Becton Theatre, Seven Angels, Stage West, Public Theatre (Me). BOSTON: Huntington Theatre, Merrimack Rep, The Charles Playhouse, Gloucester Stage, Vineyard Playhouse, Worcester Foothills Theatre, Wheelock Family Theatre, Stoneham Theatre, Jewish Theatre of New England, Boston Playwrights Theatre. FILM/TV: The Woman, Urban Relics, Duck Love (winner Fresh-Film Festival),Teacakes and Cannoli and the title role in Mona Wonderstein, Primetime: What Would You Do?, New Amsterdam, Nurse Jackie. Marina is a magna cum laude graduate of Brooklyn College. marinare.info

Matt Whiton (Scenic Design) returns to design at The Lyric Stage having previously designed One Man Two Guvnors, Stones in His Pockets, Superior Donuts, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Shipwrecked! , and The Year of Magical Thinking. Matt is also the resident scenic designer for the Lyric First Stage summer educational program. Regionally Matt has designed for the A.R.T. Institute, Argos Productions, Salve Regina University, UMass Lowell, Plymouth State University, and Merrimack College. Matt Received his M.F.A. from the University of Georgia in 2007.

Mallory Frers (Costume Design) returns to The Lyric Stage Company having designed The Chosen, Ain't Misbehavin', Broke-ology, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, Shipwrecked!, Speech and Debate, and The Year of Magical Thinking. She has also had the pleasure of designing for Lyric First Stage for the last few summers. She is currently getting her masters in Visual Art Education.

Chris Bocchiaro (Lighting Design) returns to The Lyric Stage having lit Rich Girl last spring. Chris' work can be seen throughout the greater Boston Area, recently at: SpeakEasy Stage, Boston Opera Collaborative, Apollinaire Theatre, Flat Earth Theatre, Fresh Ink Theatre, The Longwood Players, Opera Brittenica, Fort Point Theatre Channel, The Company Theatre, Gloucester Stage,Emerson Stage, and imaginary beasts where he is an Artistic Associate. Chris was the recipient of the 2013 IRNE award for Best Lighting Design. He holds a B.F.A. in Theatre Design and Technology from Emerson College. chrisbocchiaro.com

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