Geva's Presents Its Second World Premiere Of 2019 - Lila Rose Kaplan's THE MAGICIAN'S DAUGHTER

Geva Theatre Center's 2018-2019 Fielding Studio Series continues with the world premiere of The Magician's Daughter, written by Lila Rose Kaplan and directed by Shelley Butler. This production marks the second world premiere of the season, following hot on the heels of the world premiere of Brent Askari's Hard Cell - also premiering in January. The Magician's Daughter begins performances on January 24 and runs in the Fielding Stage through February 10.

The Magician Prospero and his daughter Miranda dazzle their audiences until the day Miranda quits. This funny bittersweet play dives deep into the ups and downs of a father-daughter relationship. Viewer discretion advised if you have a father or a daughter (or know anyone who does).

Lila Rose Kaplan's plays shine light on the stories we don't tell about women. Her heroines live in heartfelt zany comedies, bittersweet comic dramas, and imaginative musicals for young audiences. Her plays include The Villains' Supper Club, Jesus Girls, Home of the Brave, 1 2 3 - a play about abandonment and ballroom dancing, We All Fall Down, Wildflower, Bureau of Missing Persons, and Biography of a Constellation. Her musicals for young audiences include The Light Princess, The Pirate Princess, and The Magic Fish. Productions include A.R.T., South Coast Rep, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, New Victory Theatre, Second Stage, San Francisco Playhouse, Neighborhood Productions, Know Theatre, and Perishable Theatre. She has developed plays at Huntington Theatre, Trinity Rep, Arena Stage, Kennedy Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Center Theatre Group, Theatreworks, PlayPenn, and The Lark. Awards include National Science Award in Playwriting and The International Women's Playwriting Award. Fellowships include Huntington Playwriting Fellowship, Playwrights' Realm Writing Fellow, New Rep Next Voices, Old Vic/New Voices Exchange, and the Shank Fellowship. Residencies include The Orchard Project, Space on Ryder Farm, Labworks at the New Victory Theatre, Writers Retreat at Theatreworks, Harvard Business School Playwright-in-Residence, and the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics Playwriting-in-Residence. She received her B.A. with Honors in Playwriting from Brown University and her M.F.A. in Playwriting from UC San Diego.

The cast of The Magician's Daughter make their Geva Theatre Center debuts in this world premiere. Brittany Bellizeare's (Miranda) New York credits include In the Blue Hour, an interactive play at La Maison d'Art Gallery in Harlem; and Beneatha in A Raisin in the Sun for the Gallery Players. Regional credits include Tonya in King Hedley II for Two River Theater; Edith in three girls never learnt the way home for the JAW Festival at Portland Center Stage; Shanita in Skeleton Crew at Baltimore CenterStage; Pecola in The Bluest Eye at the Guthrie Theatre; Nina in Sunset Baby at TheaterWorks Hartford; Rose in The Last Tiger in Haiti (NAACP Theatre nomination for Best Ensemble) at La Jolla Playhouse/Berkeley Repertory Theatre: Camae in The Mountaintop at Northern Stage; Ruby in Seven Guitars at Two River Theater; Archy & Mehitabel at the Yard and Sunjata Kamalenya at the McCarter Theatre. Film/TV credits include "The Blacklist," "Eye Candy," and "The Knick." Tyrone Mitchell Henderson (Prospero) is the Founder of Quick Silver Theater Company. New York credits include Yellowman at the Billie Holiday Theatre; Rancho Viejo at Playwrights Horizons; The Piano Lesson at Signature Theatre, the National Tour of Bring in 'da Noise Bring in 'da Funk; The America Play, The Tempest (with Patrick Stewart), Two Noble Kinsmen and The Public Sings at The Public Theatre; and King Lear with Tony Winner Billy Porter. Regional Theatre credits include world premieres of War, Aubergine and the West Coast premiere of Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures. Television credits include "FBI," "Search Party," "God Friended Me," "The Good Fight," "Sneaky Pete," "Orange is the New Black," "House of Cards," and "Law & Order" (franchise trifecta - six episodes).

The Magician's Daughter is directed by Shelley Butler whose recent productions include the world premiere of Lucas Hnath's A Doll's House, Part 2 at South Coast Repertory; Human Error by Eric Pfeffinger for the Denver Center Theatre Company; and the Japanese premiere of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo. The creative team includes Sara C. Walsh (Scenic Design), Lex Liang (Costume Design), Seth Reiser (Lighting Designer), Kate Marvin (Sound Design), Michael Weber (Magic and Illusion Designer) and Jenni Werner (Dramaturg).

The Magician's Daughter begins performances on January 24 and runs in the Fielding Stage through February 10.

The 2018-2019 Season is sponsored by ESL Federal Credit Union and Rochester Regional Health. The Honorary Season Producer is Dr. Dawn Lipson. The Fielding Studio Series is supported in part by the Gouvernet Arts Fund at The Community Foundation. The Associate Producer for The Magician's Daughter is St John's Rochester.

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