Orange County's THEATRE OUT presents HAPPY ENDINGS ARE EXTRA October 1 - 25

SANTA ANA, CA—Theatre Out, Orange County's gay and lesbian theatre, will present HAPPY ENDINGS ARE EXTRA as its next production, with performances starting October 1 and continues through October 25. This provocative story of love and betrayal unravels as one man comes to terms with the life he's leading and the one he left behind in a fascinating study of emotions that illustrates how intertwined the lives of two strangers can quickly become.  This dark drama from playwright Ashraf Johaardien is rooted in the culture of South Africa's red light district and was inspired by the 2003 massacre of six rent boys.
 
Theatre Out's Managing Director, David C. Carnevale, commented of the production, "Theatre Out is pleased to be presenting the Orange County premiere of this exciting work.  It is definitely something different for Theatre Out and a production that will draw audiences in to the lives of its characters as you follow their shocking stories."
 
"HAPPY ENDINGS ARE EXTRA is at once a modern Greek tragedy and a cinematic thriller that will have the audience on The Edge of their seats.  This play will challenge audiences with its perfect mix of raw emotion and intensity," commented Jack Millis, the play's director and Theatre Out's Artistic Director.

About the Playwright
Ashraf Jogaardien is an award-winning South African playwright, performer, columnist, and arts manager. He was born in Cape Town but now lives in Johannesburg where he is the general manager of the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT). In 2008 he featured on the Mail & Guardian’s list of Top 200 Young South Africans. His plays have been performed and produced at mainstream theatres and across South Africa, in Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands and this will be his fourth production in the USA. His other plays include Coloured Son X, STRIPPED, Miracle, Ecce Homo! adapted from Body Blows: Six Performances by Tim Miller and The Quiet Violence of Dreams adapted from the novel by K. Sello Duiker. Ashraf is also the author of The Perfumed Closet, a monthly column published in The Pink Tongue (Independent Newspapers, Cape Town). His first short story entitled Through the Looking Glass appeared in the collection entitled Cheesecutters and Gymslips compiled by Robin Malan and published by Umuzi Ramdom House. Ashraf and Robin are currently working together on a new collection of gay South African writing called Yes, I am! and they have plans to collaborate on a solo performance of Hamlet in 2010 which Robin has adapted and which will be performed by Ashraf.

HAPPY ENDINGS ARE EXTRA started out as a tribute to the victims of the Sizzlers Massacre which took place in the early hours of the morning in an ordinary unmarked suburban house in Sea Point, Cape Town on Monday, January 20, 2003. Seven employees of the parlour, a client and the owner were massacred. They were found tied up and shot, execution-style in the back of the head, at close range. Most of them also had their throats slit. A tenth man survived.

Rather than attempting to document the actual details of the massacre, the play only makes a passing reference to what transpired on that gruesome night and instead Ashraf has woven a cautionary tale that is both brutal and beautiful; and which charts a terrifying journey into the ambiguous areas of sexuality and emotional dependence.

Directed by Jack Millis, Theatre Out's Artistic Director. Cast features Keith Bennett, Brenda Kenworthy and Paul Anderson.
Approximate Running Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes with no intermission.

Content Advisory: Happy Endings Are Extra contains adult content and nudity.

Show logo designed by Darcy Hogan.

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Performance Dates:
Friday, October 2 @ 8:00 pm
Saturday,  October 3 @ 8:00 pm
 
Friday, October 9 @ 8:00 pm
Saturday, October 10 @ 8:00 pm
 
Thursday, October 15 @ 8:00 pm
Friday, October 16 @ 8:00 pm
Saturday, October 17 @ 8:00 pm
Sunday, October 18 @ 2:00 pm
 
Friday, October 23 @ 8:00 pm
Saturday, October 24 @ 8:00 pm
Sunday, October 25 @ 2:00 pm

Theatre Out's home is The Empire Theatre in the Artists' Village in downtown Santa Ana, located at 202 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, CA. Tickets are available online at www.theatreout.com or by calling the Theatre Out Box Office at (714) 826-8700.

Visit www.theatreout.com for more information.

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