ON THE VERGE Plays New Repertory Theatre, Now thru 5/25

New Repertory Theatre announces ON THE VERGE by Eric Overmyer. Directed by Jim Petosa, ON THE VERGE performs in the Charles Mosesian Theater at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, in Watertown, MA. Tickets are $28 -$60 and may be purchased by calling the box office at 617-923-8487 or online at newrep.org. Student, senior, and group discounts are available. The press performance is tonight, May 5 at 7:30pm.

"The three time-traveling, Victorian-era women in this play do so as a means of escaping the conventions of their society," explains Artistic Director, Jim Petosa. "They each choose a unique path, embarking on a safari through time that leads them to the possibilities of liberation, empowerment, and beyond."

"We're pleased to welcome each of the actors in ON THE VERGE back to New Repertory Theatre," says Managing Director, Harriet Sheets. "Benjamin Evett, Christine Hamel, Adrianne Krstansky, and Paula Langton have performed with us on numerous occasions, and we're happy to have them for this wonderfully inventive comedy from Eric Overmyer."

About ON THE VERGE: In this hilarious time-travel fantasy, three Victorian-era women set off to explore "Terra Incognita," not realizing that they have warped into 1955 American pop culture. As they tromp through time and the outback of mid-century America, they recount past travels and face their challenges in language rich with wordplay, humor, and the vernacular of anthropologists. Playwright Eric Overmyer's unique style, thick with lavish wit, made way for his television writing for acclaimed dramas The Wire, Law and Order, and Treme.

About New Repertory Theatre: New Repertory Theatre is the award-winning, professional theatre company in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA. Entering its 30th anniversary season as a leading self-producing theatre in greater Boston, New Rep produces 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 45,000-50,000 patrons, including over 2,200 season Subscribers. In addition to its mainstage productions, the non-profit theatre produces New Rep's Next Voices, with four playwrights each season, which develops new plays into three staged readings and one world premiere production. Under its Lifelong Enrichment Arts Programs (LEAP), New Rep also produces its Classic Repertory Company, summerSTAGE2, Page To Stage, Insider Experiences, and Spotlight Symposium Series.

New Rep's Mission: 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

Benjamin Evett* (Various) appeared at New Repertory Theatre earlier this season in Camelot (2014 IRNE Award), and has also been seen in Amadeus, Cherry Docs, Opus, Indulgences, A Christmas Carol, Quills, A Girl's War, and Jerusalem, and directed RENT. He was recently seen 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.

Christine Hamel* (Alex) returns to New Repertory Theatre after performing in Ragtime and Sweeney Todd and dialect/voice coaching many productions, including most recently Tongue of a Bird, Camelot, The Elephant Man, Amadeus, Holiday Memories, and The Kite Runner. Other area credits include The Penelopiad (Boston University School of Theatre); Season's Greetings and Our Town (Wellesley Summer Theatre); and The Glass Menagerie (Boston Center for American Performance). Regionally, she performed the role of Emma Darwin in Trumpery (Olney Theatre Center). Ms. Hamel holds an MFA from Boston University School of Theatre where she now serves on the faculty. She is a designated Linklater Voice teacher, a member of Voice and Speech Trainers Association, and the Michael Chekov Association. Originally from Bedford, she now lives in Arlington. This fall she will be directing for the all-female Shakespeare initiative Femina Shakes at Boston University.

Adrianne Krstansky* (Fanny) returns to New Repertory Theater after performing in Imagining Madoff, Holiday Memories, Three Viewings, afterlife: a ghost story, 2.5 Minute Ride and Frozen. Other area credits include Tribes and Body Awareness (SpeakEasy Stage Company); Legally Dead (Boston Playwrights' Theatre); Round and Round the Garden (Gloucester Stage Company); Othello (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company); Paradise Lost and Britannicus (American Repertory Theater); among others. New York credits include 365 plays/365 days (Public Theater); and Luck, Pluck and Virtue (Atlantic Theater Company). Regional work includes performances at Steppenwolf Theater Company and La Jolla Playhouse. Film credits include Olive Kitteridge (HBO) and The Company Men. Ms. Krstansky earned her MFA at the University of California, San Diego, is originally from Chicago, and resides in Newtonville. She is an Associate Professor of Theater Arts at Brandeis University.

Paula Langton* (Mary) returns to New Repertory Theatre after performing in Amadeus and Bakersfield Mist. Recent credits include Love's Labour's Lost and Mother Courage (Shakespeare & Company); The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man- in-the-Moon Marigolds, Good, and Monster (Boston Center for American Performance); A Question of Mercy (Potomac Theatre Project); The Glass Menagerie (Olney Theatre Center); Trojan Barbie and Donnie Darko (American Repertory Theatre), Walking the Volcano and Daughter of Venus (Boston Playwrights' Theatre); and Romeo and Juliet, Middletown, Twelfth Night, Othello, The Winter's Tale, King Lear, Measure for Measure, Henry V, All's Well That Ends Well, and Richard III (Actors' Shakespeare Project). She has also performed with Boston Theatre Works, Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company, Charles Playhouse, Nora Theatre, Gloucester Stage Company, Coyote Theatre, Hasty Pudding, New York Theatre Workshop, and others. Ms. Langton serves as Head of Acting at Boston University's School of Theatre.

Jim Petosa** (Director/Artistic Director) joined New Repertory Theatre as an award-winning theater 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 BU, he established the Boston Center for American Performance (BCAP), the professional production extension of the BU School of Theatre, in 2008. Throughout the Northeast, Petosa has directed for numerous institutions, including, 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, 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.

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