Dante & Dowling Square Off In Theater UnCorked's ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST

Shana Dirik, Producing Artistic Director of Theater UnCorked - Boston's newest small theater company - announces the cast for One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, an enhanced staged reading on Saturday, October 13th at 3:30 and 7:30 pm at Margaret Jewett Hall, 11 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.

Cuckoo's Nest will star a regional cast of thirteen performers starring Elliott Norton Award nominee Gene Dante (The Rocky Horrow Show) as the charismatic Randle P. McMurphy, a new inmate who turns a mid-century psychiatric hospital upside down while rallying the other inmates into acts of independence, and Kerry Dowling as Nurse Ratched, the tyrannical ward nurse who holds absolute authority over all. Cuckoo's Nest is led by an all-female production team including Elliot Norton Award winning Director Bobbie Steinbach, IRNE Award winning Producing Artistic Director Shana Dirik and Stage Manager Kailey Bennett. Tickets for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest are $35.00 per person. Tickets can be purchased online at www.theateruncorked.com.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is Dale Wasserman's 1963 Tony Award-winning adaptation of the novel by Ken Kesey. The play takes audiences on an emotional roller coaster inside a mid-century mental institution as McMurphy and Ratched square off in a high stakes game of cat-and-mouse that leads to a showdown of shocking proportion. In a world where following the rules is the only way to prove mental sanity, some rules were made to be broken. The New York Times called Cuckoo's Nest "Scarifying and powerful."

"I am thrilled to be working with such a talented cast and production team for Theater UnCorked's second outing!" said Producing Artistic Director Shana Dirik. "With Bobbie Steinbach's direction, and the caliber of performers and artists, we couldn't have hoped for a stronger collaboration for Cuckoo's Nest. Our staged reading will be a visual treat in addition to allowing our actors to give voice to the humor and deep pathos of these characters - Gene and Kerry are sure to create fireworks on stage."

About the Cast (*Denotes member of Actors Equity Association):

Gene Dante (Randle P. McMurphy): Both an actor and a musician, Gene co-wrote and starred in the one-man show God Save The Queen: Paul Lynde '79. He recently appeared in Provincetown Murder Mystery. He also appeared as Dionysus in The Bacchae at American Repertory Theater's Oberon Nightclub. Previously at A.R.T. Gene appeared in both The Lily's Revenge and The Rocky Horror Show (Brad Majors, Elliot Norton Award nomination). He also was the title role in the critically acclaimed New England Tour of Hedwig And The Angry Inch. Previous roles include Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida (Radames), Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Andrew Jackson), The Boys In The Band (Larry), The Fantasticks (El Gallo), and Disney's Beauty And The Beast (The Beast), and several appearances in productions by Ryan Landry's Gold Dust Orphans. Gene writes and performs original music with his band The Future Starlets. www.genedante.com

Kerry Dowling* (Nurse Ratched) - Being Earnest; Calendar Girls; Steel Magnolias; Pal Joey (Greater Boston Stage); The Bridges of Madison County; Casa Valentina; Carrie; Far From Heaven; Clybourne Park; Next to Normal; The Drowsy Chaperone; Nine; The Great American Trailer Park Musical; Reckless; Jerry Springer - the Opera; The New Century; The Mystery of Edwin Drood; Parade; The Women; Bat Boy; Company; Elegies; A New Brain; Triumph of Love; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Songs for a New World (SpeakEasy); Nicholas Nickleby; Follies (Lyric Stage); A Man of No Importance (Súgán/SpeakEasy); The Most Happy Fella;Dueling Divas (Gloucester); Distracted (Underground Railway); Gypsy (Next Door).

Additional cast members include Pedro Figueroa as Chief; Jackson Baron as Billy; Ray O'Hare as Harding/Turkle; Robert Saoud* as Cheswick; John Manning as Scanlon; Billy Jenkins as Martini; Taylor Hilliard as Ruckley; Jon Smalls as Warren; Paul Yarborough* as Williams/ Spivey; Ivy Ryan as Candy and Becca Lewis as Sandra. *Denotes member of Actors Equity Association.

Artistic Bios

Shana Dirik (Producing Artistic Director):

Shana is an IRNE Award winning actor from the Boston area who, after performing 40 years on the stages of New England, is excited to bring her unique vision of the theater to her new company, Theater UnCorked. She is thrilled to be presenting her second production of TUC's inaugural Season with a Staged Reading of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". Her first "Pop-Up Musical" production of "Sweeney Todd in Concert" as the Producing Artistic Director, was critically acclaimed by reviewers and audiences alike where she reprised her IRNE winning role as Mrs. Lovett along with a very talented production crew and cast. She is honored to bring her own vision to the Boston theater scene and is thrilled to be able to "UnCork the Artistic Possibilities!"

Bobbie Steinbach (Director):

Bobbie Steinbach* has been a longtime member of Boston's amazing theatre community as actor, director, cabaret performer and acting coach. She is a Founding Member of Actors' Shakespeare Project and a Resident Actor with the company. Regional credits include Lyric Stage Company, Huntington Theatre Company, New Repertory Theatre, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company; Boston Playwrights' Theatre; Greater Boston Stage Company; Speakeasy Stage Company. Directing credits: Shakespeare Now! Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth; Boston Conservatory: Our Town; New Repertory Theatre Touring Company: The Diary of Anne Frank. She has received two Elliot Norton nominations and an Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Actress, and four IRNE Awards for Best Actress. In 2015 The Theatre Communications Guild honored Bobbie with a prestigiious two-year Resident Actor Fox Fellowship for Distinguished Achievement, She is also the 2016 Huntington Theatre Company's Lunt-Fontanne Fellow. Bobbiesteinbach.com

Tickets for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest are $35.00 per person. Tickets can be purchased online at www.theateruncorked.com

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.

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