Know Theatre Presents Tony Kushner's ANGELS IN AMERICA, 4/3-5/8

Know Theatre of Cincinnati is pleased to announce its fourth and fifth production of the season, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, written by Tony Kushner. Angels in America will open with the first of the two part play, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, on Know Theatre's mainstage April 3 and play through May 8, 2010. The second half of the production, Angels in America: Perestroika, will open April 23 and play through May 8, 2010.

In honor of the 20th Anniversary of its commission, Know Theatre presents Tony Kushner's American epic, Angels in America. Set in the 1980s against a backdrop of greed, conservatism, sexual politics, and the discovery of an awful new disease: AIDS. Both a love story and a political drama, the story centers around a group of separate, but inextricably connected individuals whose relationships are disintegrating as the AIDS crisis starts to grab hold. Kushner's dark, cynical humor captures the fragility of the human condition through his prophetic and sublime script. Angels in America is a turning point in the history of American Theatre and is a theatrical event not to be missed.

Know Theatre's production celebrates the 20th anniversary of the original commission of the play and we are proud to take on this astonishing theatrical masterpiece. "This single piece of theatre altered the topography of the landscape of American theatre, and in many ways our politics. The opportunity to revisit this contemporary classic is not only an honor, but it's a chance to look at how far we've come and how far we have yet to go with these issues," says Eric Vosmeier, Managing Artistic Director.

Angels in America: Millennium Approaches was commissioned and performed in 1990 by the Center Theatre Group at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles as a workshop and received its world premiere in 1991 by the Eureka Theatre Company in San Francisco. The second half, Angels in America: Perestroika, was still being developed as Millennium Approaches was running and received its world premiere in 1992 at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. The play debuted on Broadway in 1993 and both parts were awarded the Tony Award for Best Play back to back in 1993 and 1994. The play was made into an HBO film and mini-series in 2003. The movie was the most watched movie in 2003 and won both the Golden Globe and Emmy for best Miniseries.

Millennium Approaches will be directed by Brian Issac Phillips, the Artistic Director of Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and Perestroika will be directed by Drew Fracher, a freelance director, fight arranger and actor.

Brian Issac Phillips (Director of Millennium) is excited to be returning to the Know Theatre after last staging their 2003 production of The Zoo Story. Mr. Phillips has been serving as Artistic Director of the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company since the fall of 2003. He has been a resident of Cincinnati for over ten years. In that time he has worked for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, The Children's Theatre, Know Theatre of Cincinnati, and New Stage Collective, as well as over 100 productions with CSC. Most recent directing credits include Amadeus, The Seagull, Timon of Athens, Hamlet, Long Day's Journey Into Night, King Lear, Cymbeline and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Drew Fracher (Director of Perestroika) is a freelance director, fight arranger and actor, serving as a Fight Master with the Society of American Fight Directors. As a director his work has been seen at Actors Theatre of Louisville, American Stage, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, New Stage Collective, Florida Stage and the Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Cincinnati Shakespeare Festivals. As a fight director his work has been seen for over twenty-five years at a wide variety of theatres throughout the U.S. Most recently he directed Dying City at New Stage Collective and Wait Until Dark at the Human Race Theatre Company. He spent June teaching stage combat to the graduate students of PA State University and directed fights for Cincinnati Opera's Carmen.

The playwright, Tony Kushner, is a widely produced and award-winning playwright well-known for creating provocative dramas that focus on AIDS, politics, and America's gay subculture. Although he is most famous for Angels in America, Kushner has written many plays including Homebody/Kabul, A Bright Room Called Day, Change, and Slavs! Mr. Kushner is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Tony Awards for Best Play; Obie Awards for Best Play; and a Cultural Achievement Awards from The National Foundation for Jewish Culture along with others.

All tickets to all Know Theatre productions are $12 in advance and $15 on the day of the performance. You can purchase online at www.knowtheatre.com or call the Know Theatre box office at (513) 300-KNOW (5669).

Basic Information:

Angels In America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes
- Millennium Approaches - Part 1, Directed by Brian Issac Phillips
- Perestrioka - Part 2 - Directed by Drew Fracher*

*Member of the Stage Directors & Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union

Cast:
Roy M. Cohn - Michael Bath*
Joseph Porter Pitt - Christopher Guthrie
Harper Amaty Pitt - Courtney Brown
Louis Ironson - Joshua Murphy
Prior Walter - Rob Jansen
Hannah Porter Pitt - Amy Warner*
Belize - DarNell Benjamin
The Angel/Nurse - Liz Vosmeier

*Member of Actors Equity Association

Mainstage performances

Millennium Approaches

April 3 - May 8, 2010

8 PM performances: 3, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 24, 29, 6
3 PM performances: May 1 & 8

Perestroika

April 23 - May 8, 2010

8 PM performances: April 23, 30, 7, 8
3 PM performances: April 25

Cash bar before and after show
Creative Team

Director Millennium Approaches - Brian Issac Phillips

Director Perestroika - Drew Fracher

Scenic Design - Andrew Hungerford

Lighting Design - Josh Mansker

Costume Design - Susan Toy

Sound Design - Doug Borntrager

 

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