New Repertory Theatre Presents THE BAKELITE MASTERPIECE

New Repertory Theatre presents The Bakelite Masterpiece, March 17-April 8, 2018 in the MainStage Theater at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA. Tickets are $37-$67 and may be purchased by calling the New Rep Box Office at 617-923-8487 or visiting newrep.org. Student, senior, and group discounts are available.

"The Bakelite Masterpiece is a compelling new work based on the true story of art forger Han van Meegeren," says Artistic Director Jim Petosa. "The play deftly explores the idea that if an artist such as Van Meegeren can so perfectly mimic the brilliance of a painter such as Vermeer, does that then also make him a brilliant artist? A truly fascinating and deeply psychological play that we're very excited to share with our audiences this season."

"New Rep is thrilled to present this dynamic new play with two of the Boston-area's finest performers," says Managing Director Harriet Sheets. "We're pleased to welcome back Laura Latreille, who was last seen here in the fourth and final installment of Richard Nelson's Apple Family plays, Regular Singing. And certainly no stranger to the New Rep stage, Benjamin Evett has delighted our audiences and has been a New Rep favorite in some of our most critically acclaimed productions. From Amadeus to Assassins, to last season's Good and his solo, limited run of Albatross, Ben has been a true friend of our theatre, and we're pleased to see him back on our stages once again."

About THE BAKELITE MASTERPIECE
At the end of World War II, artist Han van Meegeren sits in a prison cell accused of selling a long-lost Vermeer to the Nazis, a crime tantamount to treason. Van Meegeren contends that the painting was a forgery, which he skillfully produced and aged with a special treatment of the plastic known as Bakelite. Now he must create another masterpiece in front of his jailer, art historian Geert Piller, to save his life. The Bakelite Masterpiece is a dynamic and compelling Boston-area premiere from playwright Kate Cayley.

New Repertory Theatre is the award-winning, professional theatre company in residence at the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA. For over 30 years, New Rep has been a leader of self-produced theatre in greater Boston, producing contemporary and classic dramas, comedies, and musicals in both the 340-seat MainStage Theater and the 90-seat BlackBox Theater. Annually, New Rep serves over 40,000 patrons, including 2,000 season subscribers. In addition to its mainstage productions, New Rep produces Next Voices, a program dedicated to developing new plays with playwrights through staged readings and world premiere production. Under its Lifelong Enrichment Arts Programs (LEAP), New Rep also produces its Classic Repertory Company, Page To Stage, Insider Experiences, and Spotlight Symposium Series.

Artistic Bios

Benjamin Evett* (Han van Meegeren) returns to New Repertory Theatre after performing in Good, Broken Glass, Assassins, On the Verge, Camelot (2014 IRNE Award, Best Actor in a Musical), Amadeus, Cherry Docs, Opus, Indulgences, A Christmas Carol, Quills, A Girl's War, and Jerusalem, and directing RENT. He recently won the Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Solo Performance 2015 for Albatross with The Poets' Theatre, where he is also Executive Director. He has appeared in Freud's Last Session and God of Carnage (co-produced with Arizona Theatre Company and San Jose Rep). He was a member of the ART Resident Acting Company from 1993 to 2003, performing in over 50 productions including Waiting for Godot, The Bacchae, Phedre, and Six Characters in Search of an Author. He has performed at Missouri Rep, Virginia Stage Company, Alley Theatre, Taiwan National Theatre, and Moscow Art Theatre. He is Founding Artistic Director of Actors' Shakespeare Project, where he played Coriolanus, Hamlet, Petruchio, Edmund, and Caliban.

LAURA LATREILLE* (Geert Piller) returns to New Repertory Theatre after performing in Regular Singing. Credits include The Nest (Denver Center of the Performing Arts); That Hopey Changey Thing, Sorry, Of Mice and Men, and The Unbleached American (Greater Boston Stage Company); Sweet and Sad (Gloucester Stage); and The Trials of Gertrude Moody and Utility Monster (Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater). Regional credits include Ryan Landry's M and Mauritius (Huntington Theatre Company); God Of Carnage and Four Places (Merrimack Repertory Theatre); Time Stands Still (2012 Improper Bostonian Best Female Performance Award), Dear Elizabeth, and The Understudy (Lyric Stage Company); Fat Pig and The Shape Of Things (Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Actress, SpeakEasy Stage Company); The Sussman Variations and The Glider (Boston Playwrights' Theatre); The Blowin of Baile Gall (Vineyard Playhouse); Signs of Trouble and Shel Shocked (Market Theatre); Bash and Sin (Coyote Theatre); and The Bottom of the Sky (Cape Repertory Theatre). Off-Broadway credits include Love Song (59E59); and The Elephant Play (Playwright's Collective). She has also participated in creating new works with The Lark, New Dramatists, Theatre Masters, Women's Project and Productions, Playwright's Collective, Huntington Theatre Company, and the Denver Center's New Play Summit. She received an MFA from Brandeis University and is currently a faculty member in the Theatre Department at Suffolk University.

Jim Petosa (Director/Artistic Director) joined New Repertory Theatre as an award-winning theatre artist, educator, and leader in 2012. He has served as Director of the School of Theatre, College of Fine Arts, at Boston University since 2002, and Artistic Director of Maryland's Olney Theatre Center for the Arts and its National Players educational touring company (1994-2012). While at Boston University, he

established the Boston Center for American Performance (BCAP), the professional production extension of the Boston University School of Theatre, in 2008. Throughout the Northeast, Mr. Petosa has directed for numerous institutions, including Lonely Planet, Statements After and Arrest Under the Immorality Act, Ideation (IRNE Nomination), The Gift Horse, Brecht on Brecht, Good, Freud's Last Session, The Testament of Mary, Broken Glass, Assassins, On the Verge, The Elephant Man (IRNE Nomination), Amadeus, Three Viewings, The Last Five Years, and Opus at New Rep. In Boston, his work was nominated for two IRNE awards for A Question of Mercy (BCAP). He has served as one of three artistic leaders for the Potomac Theatre Project (PTP/NYC) since 1987. In Maryland, his work earned over 25 Helen Hayes Award nominations as well as the award for outstanding direction of a musical for Jacques Brel is Alive and Well... His production of Look! We Have Come Through! was nominated for the Charles MacArthur Award for outstanding new play, and he earned the Montgomery County Executive's Excellence in the Arts and Humanities Award for Outstanding Artist/Scholar. A member of Actors' Equity Association, Mr. Petosa has served on the executive board of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for StageSource. Originally from New Jersey, he was educated at The Catholic University of America and resides in Quincy.

KATE CAYLEY (Playwright) is a fiction writer, playwright, and poet. Her short story collection, How You Were Born, won the 2015 Trillium Book Award and was a finalist for the Governor General's Award and the ReLit Award. Her first collection of poetry, When This World Comes to an End, was s

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