New Repertory Theatre's FREUD'S LAST SESSION Begins Tonight

New Repertory Theatre announces FREUD'S LAST SESSION by Mark St. Germain, tonight, April 30, through May 22, 2016 in the Charles Mosesian Theater at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA.

Tickets are $30-$59 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 press opening will be Monday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m.

"We are pleased to finally bring Mark St. Germain's wonderfully witty and much anticipated play to New Repertory Theatre," says Artistic Director, Jim Petosa. "This imagined conversation between C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud makes for a thought-provoking and entertaining night at the theatre. Mark St. Germain has imbued this work with the perfect balance of wry humor and razor-sharp dialogue characterizing these two legendary scholars."

"New Repertory Theatre welcomes back both Joel Colodner and Shelley Bolman to our stage," says Managing Director, Harriet Sheets. "Joel and Shelley have each appeared in some of New Rep's most acclaimed works, lauded by critics and audiences alike. We're thrilled to have them back to star in this remarkable play and to help us conclude another exciting season at New Rep."

On the brink of war in Europe, author and former atheist C.S. Lewis visits the London home of Dr. Sigmund Freud. Lewis's recent embrace of Christianity stands in stark contrast to Dr. Freud, whose beliefs are influenced by his life's work in science. Amidst evacuations and air raid sirens these two legendary scholars debate religion, sex, love, the existence of God, and the meaning of life itself. Filled with humanity, humor, and razor-sharp dialogue, FREUD'S LAST SESSION imagines the meeting of two of the 20th century's greatest academics.

New Repertory Theatre is the award-winning, professional theatre company in residence at the Arsenal 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 Charles Mosesian Theater and the 90-seat Black Box 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 four playwrights through three staged readings and one 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.

New Repertory Theatre produces plays that speak powerfully to the essential ideas of our time. Through the passion and electricity of live theater performed to the highest standards of excellence, New Rep expands and challenges the human spirit of both artists and audience. New Rep presents world premieres, contemporary and classic works in several intimate settings. We are committed to education and outreach, including special dedication to the creation of innovative in-school programming and providing access to underserved audiences. New Rep is an active advocate for the arts and a major voice in the national dialogue defining the role of theater in our culture.

Artistic Bios:

SHELLEY BOLMAN* (C.S. Lewis) returns to New Repertory Theatre after appearing in Opus and Tartuffe. Other area credits include Three Sisters and Playboy of the Western World (Wellesley Repertory Theatre); Pinocchio and The Wizard of Oz (Wheelock Family Theatre); The Temperamentals (Lyric Stage); A Midsummer Night's Dream (Actors' Shakespeare Project); Better Off Dead and Almost Maine (The Village Theatre Project); The Woman in Black and Billy Bishop Goes to War (Gloucester Stage Company); A Midsummer Night's Dream (Commonwealth Shakespeare); Shear Madness (Charles Playhouse); and A Christmas Story and And Then There Were None (Stoneham Theatre). Regional credits include Trumpery and Opus (Olney Theatre Center); Dial M for Murder and Bedroom Farce (Barnstormers Theatre); and Dracula and Inherit the Wind (Oldcastle Theatre). Mr. Bolman earned his BA from Vassar College and a Master's in Education from Emerson College. He is also the General Manager and Artistic Director of Wheelock Family Theatre in Boston.

JOEL COLODNER* (Sigmund Freud) returns to New Repertory Theatre after performing in Imagining Madoff, The Elephant Man, Three Viewings, and Indulgences. Other area credits include Sorry and That Hopey Changey Thing (Stoneham Theatre); Sweet and Sad (Gloucester Stage); It's a Wonderful Life, Glengarry Glen Ross, and Mrs. Whitney (Merrimack Repertory Theatre); Our Town (Huntington Theatre Company); The Chosen and My Name is Asher Lev (Lyric Stage Company); The Light in the Piazza (SpeakEasy Stage Company); and numerous roles with Actors' Shakespeare Project. Regional credits include Streamers, Comedians, and Hamlet (Arena Stage); The Rainmaker (Guthrie Theatre); An American Clock, Measure for Measure, and Wild Oats (Mark Taper Forum); The Threepenny Opera (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis); and The Seagull (Pittsburgh Public Theatre). Off-Broadway credits include How I Learned to Drive (Vineyard Theatre). Broadway credits include work with the Acting Company and Phoenix Theatre. Television credits include Moonlighting, Remington Steele, Eight is Enough, Highway to Heaven, St. Elsewhere, 21 Jump Street, Cagney and Lacey, and LA Law. Mr. Colodner earned his BA from Cornell University and MFA from Southern Methodist University. Originally from New York, he resides in Portsmouth, NH.

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 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.

MARK ST. GERMAIN (Playwright) has written the plays Camping with Henry and Tom (Outer Critics Circle Award and Lucille Lortel Award), Out of Gas on Lover's Leap, Forgiving Typhoid Mary (Time Magazine's Year's Ten Best), Ears on a Beatle, and God Committee. With Randy Courts, he has written the musicals The Gifts of the Magi, Johnny Pye and the Foolkiller (winner of an AT&T New Plays for the Nineties Award), and Jack's Holiday. His musical Stand by Your Man: The Tammy Wynette Story was created for Nashville's Ryman Theater. Television credits include Writer and Creative Consultant for The Cosby Show. He co-wrote the screenplay for Carroll Ballard's film Duma. He directed and co-produced the documentary My Dog: An Unconditional Love Story featuring Richard Gere, Glenn Close, and Edward Albee. He has also written the children's book Three Cups. He is an alumnus of New Dramatists, where he was given the Joe A. Callaway Award, a member of the Dramatists Guild, and the Writer's Guild East, and a Board Member of the Barrington Stage Company. He was awarded the New Voices in American Theatre award at the William Inge Theatre Festival.

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