Gina Gionfriddo's World Premiere CAN YOU FORGIVE HER? Begins Tonight at Huntington

The Huntington Theatre Company presents the world premiere of CAN YOU FORGIVE HER? by two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Gina Gionfriddo (Becky Shaw and Rapture, Blister, Burn) and directed by Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois (A Little Night Music and Smart People). Performances begin tonight, March 25, and continue through April 24, 2016 at the South End / Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA.

"I think Gina Gionfriddo is one of the most exciting playwrights in America today, and her new comedy is a sensational piece of writing that crackles with ideas," says Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois. "Over the years, Gina has become a favorite with Huntington audiences, and I look forward to collaborating with her once again." The Huntington has previously produced Gionfriddo's Becky Shaw and Rapture, Blister, Burn. CAN YOU FORGIVE HER? marks the first time the company is presenting a world premiere of her work.

CAN YOU FORGIVE HER? takes place on Halloween night, and its central character Miranda is desperate for a way out. She's up to her neck in debt, she might be falling for the man who pays her bills, and now her date has threatened to kill her. A charismatic stranger offers shelter and a drink; where will the night take them? With her trademark dark humor, Gina Gionfriddo presents complicated characters wrestling with love, money, and their past in this sharp, contemporary comedy.

Meredith Forlenza (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner at the Huntington) plays the ferocious and beautiful Miranda, massively in debt and living large by playing two lovers off one another. Miranda has a "mutually beneficial arrangement" with David, a rich but emotionally unavailable doctor, played by Allyn Burrows (Henry VIII and King Lear at Actors' Shakespeare Project). Theogan Iyer (Brothers at Manhattan Repertory Theatre) plays Sateesh, the other man Miranda is seeing. Graham, a charismatic, grieving stranger played by Chris Henry Coffey (How Shakespeare Won the West at the Huntington and Bronx Bombers on Broadway), offers Miranda a place to hide out for a night after things go awry with her date at the local bar. Graham's girlfriend Tanya, played by Tanya Fischer (The Dream Express at The Chocolate Factory Theatre), is a bartender and single mother, and like everyone else, desperately trying to improve her circumstances.

All of the characters in CAN YOU FORGIVE HER? are looking for financial freedom and at the same time dealing with the consequences of their past choices. CAN YOU FORGIVE HER? riffs on ideas from personal security to student debt and income inequality, striking a balance between character-driven drama and larger social issues. The New York Times says, "What is exciting about Gionfriddo's writing is the multiplicity of the ideas it engages."

The Huntington's production of CAN YOU FORGIVE HER? features scenic design by Lauren Helpern (Bad Jews at the Roundabout Theatre Company); costume design by Mary Lauve (assistant costume design for Rapture, Blister, Burn at the Huntington and Geffen Playhouse); lighting design by Philip S. Rosenberg (Betrayal at the Huntington and A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder on Broadway); and sound design by Daniel Kluger (Tribes and Hit the Wall at Barrow Street Theatre). Casting by Alaine Alldaffer. Production stage manager is Emily McMullen and stage manager is Kevin Schlagle.

CAN YOU FORGIVE HER? runs March 25 - April 24, 2016. Select Evenings: Tues. - Thurs. at 7:30pm; Fri. - Sat. at 8pm; select Sun. at 7pm. Matinees: Select Wed., Sat., and Sun. at 2pm. Press Opening: Wednesday, April 6, 7pm. RSVP online. All performances play South End / Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA.

Single tickets starting at $25 and FlexPasses are on sale: online at huntingtontheatre.org; by phone at 617 266 0800; or in person at the BU Theatre Box Office, 264 Huntington Ave. and the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA Box Office, 527 Tremont St. in Boston's South End. Select discounts apply: $5 off: seniors; $10 off: subscribers and BU community (faculty/staff/alumni); $30 "35 Below" tickets for patrons 35 years old and younger (valid ID required); $20 student and military tickets (valid ID required).

SPECIAL EVENTS IN CONJUNCTION WITH CAN YOU FORGIVE HER?:

35 BELOW WRAP PARTY

Friday, March 25, following the 8pm performance at Masa Restaurant

A post-show party for the region's culturally curious aged 35 and below, featuring backstage access and free refreshments. Mingle with members of the cast, creative team, and Huntington staff. 35 Below tickets are available at all performances to patrons 35 and under for just $30.

BOSTON GLOBE EVENT WITH "LOVE LETTERS" COLUMNIST MEREDITH GOLDSTEIN

Friday, April 1 after the 8pm performance

Boston Globe "Love Letters" columnist Meredith Goldstein will lead a post-show talkback following the 8pm performance. A Boston Globe event -- tickets to the April 1 performance are $45 for Boston Globe subscribers who use the discount code.

ACTORS FORUMS

Thursday, April 14 after the 7:30pm performance
Wednesday, April 20 after the 2pm performance

Meet participating members of the cast of CAN YOU FORGIVE HER? and ask them your questions at the Actors Forum, following the performance.

HUMANITIES FORUM

Sunday, April 17 after the 2pm performance

Explore the context and significance of CAN YOU FORGIVE HER? with a leading expert following the 2pm performance on April 17.

Gina Gionfriddo (Playwright) was a 2012 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Rapture, Blister, Burn (commissioned by and premiered at Playwrights Horizons and produced at the Huntington in 2013) and a 2009 finalist for Becky Shaw, which the Huntington produced in 2010. Becky Shaw had its world premiere at Actors Theatre of Louisville's Humana Festival of New American Plays and its New York premiere Off Broadway at Second Stage Theatre. Ms. Gionfriddo's other plays include After Ashley (Humana Festival and Off Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre) and US Drag (Off Broadway by the stageFRAM). She has received an Obie Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, an Outer Critics Circle Award, The Helen Merrill Award for Emerging Playwrights, and an American Theatre Critics Association/Steinberg citation. She has written for the television dramas "Law & Order," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Cold Case," "Borgia," and "House of Cards." Ms. Gionfriddo has contributed essays on rock music to the literary journal The Believer and short fiction to Canteen. She attended the MFA playwriting program at Brown University where she studied with Paula Vogel and began her long, happy collaboration with Mr. DuBois.

Peter DuBois (Artistic Director) is in his eighth season as Artistic Director at the Huntington where his directing credits include Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music; the world premieres of Lydia R. Diamond's Smart People, Evan M. Wiener's Captors, Stephen Karam's Sons of the Prophet (2012 Pulitzer finalist), Bob Glaudini's Vengeance is the Lord's, and David Grimm's The Miracle at Naples; the regional premieres of Stephen Belber's The Power of Duff and Gina Gionfriddo's Becky Shaw and Rapture, Blister, Burn; Craig Lucas' Prelude to a Kiss; and A. Rey Pamatmat's after all the terrible things I do. His New York credits include The Power of Duff with Greg Kinnear (New York Stage and Film); the premiere of Rapture, Blister, Burn (Playwrights Horizons, 2013 Pulitzer finalist); Sons of the Prophet (Roundabout Theatre Company); Modern Terrorism, Becky Shaw (2009 Pulitzer finalist), Trust with Sutton Foster and Zach Braff, and All New People (Second Stage Theatre); Measure for Pleasure, Richard III with Peter Dinklage, Biro, and Mom, How Did You Meet the Beatles? (The Public Theater/NYSF); and Jack Goes Boating with Philip Seymour Hoffman and The View From 151st Street (LAByrinth Theater Company/The Public Theater). Regional US, UK, and West End credits include productions at Hampstead Theatre, Duke of York's Theatre, Almeida Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, Trinity Repertory Company, Humana Festival of New Plays, Manchester Opera House, and Kings Theater Glasgow. He served for five years as associate producer and resident director at The Public Theater, preceded by five years as artistic director of the Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska. Mr. DuBois lived and worked in the Czech Republic where he co-founded Asylum, a multi-national squat theatre in Prague. His productions have been on the annual top ten lists of The New York Times, Time Out, New York Magazine, The New Yorker, Newsday, Variety, Entertainment Weekly, The Evening Standard, The Boston Globe, and The Improper Bostonian.

Recipient of the 2013 Regional Theatre Tony Award and named Best of Boston 2013 and 2014 by Boston magazine, the Huntington Theatre Company has developed into Boston's leading professional theatre and one of the region's premier cultural assets since its founding in 1982. Bringing together superb local and national talent, the Huntington produces a mix of groundbreaking new works and classics made current to create award-winning productions, runs nationally renowned programs in education and new play development, and serves the local theatre community through its operation of the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA. Under the direction of Artistic Director Peter DuBois and Managing Director Michael Maso and in residence at Boston University, the Huntington cultivates, celebrates, and champions theatre as an art form. For more information, visit huntingtontheatre.org.

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