Photo Flash: Alley Theatre's The Farnsworth Invention

In 1929, two ambitious visionaries race against each other to introduce to the world a revolutionary new device called "television." By the fall of 1921, an Idaho farm boy Philo T. Farnsworth had drawn a diagram of an "image dissector tube" for a prototype electronic television system. As he seeks to develop a functioning machine, Farnsworth is swept into an epic struggle with David Sarnoff, an enterprising media mogul who foresees the lucrative potential of this powerful cultural and scientific invention. Only one man will unlock the key to the greatest innovation of the 20th century and rule the airwaves. Drawn to the story about the race to create an operable television and the competition for the patent right to control the future of this technology, Aaron Sorkin describes his play as "an optimistic story about the spirit of exploration" in a National Public Radio interview.
Recommended for mature audiences. Strong Language.

The Farnsworth Invention by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Cromer begins Friday, June 5 and runs through Sunday, June 28 on the Hubbard Stage.

Aaron Sorkin graduated from Syracuse University with a B.F.A. in Theatre in 1983. He made his Broadway playwriting debut at the age of 28 with the military courtroom drama, A Few Good Men, for which he received the John Gassner Award as Outstanding New American Playwright. His subsequent film adaptation was nominated for four Academy Awards and five Golden Globes, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay. He followed this success with the screenplays for Malice, starring Alec Baldwin and Nicole Kidman, and The American President , starring Michael Douglas and Annette Bening. Mr. Sorkin produced and wrote the television series Sports Night for ABC for two years, winning the Humanitas Prize and the Television Critics Association Award. He spent the next four years writing and producing the NBC series The West Wing, winning the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series all four years. For his work on The West Wing, Mr. Sorkin also twice received the Peabody Award, the Humanitas Prize, the Television Critics Association Award and the Golden Globe, Writers Guild and Producers Guild Awards.

About David Cromer
A native of Chicago, David Cromer is an OBIE and Lortel award-winning director and actor. In order to direct the Alley's production of The Farnsworth Invention, Cromer took a leave from directing and performing as the Stage Manager in the Off-Broadway production of Our Town , called "highly rewarding" by the New York Times. Describing the same production, the Wall Street Journal called David Cromer a "genius," adding "I don't know a more gifted stage director, or one who, at the age of 44, holds out the promise of still greater things to come." The New Yorker said that Cromer's Our Town "provides us with a master class in the fundamental art of making believe." His direction of William Inge's Picnic at the Chicago Writers' Theatre was named the "show of the year" with "rapt staging...way beyond praise" by the Wall Street Journal. In 2008, his Off-Broadway production of Adding Machine: a Musical and Chicago production of Our Town were both named as "memorable nights spent at the theatre this year" by the New York Times. His production of Orson's Shadow, originating at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, moved to Off-Broadway in 2005, his Off-Broadway debut. Among his regional credits, he has directed The Glass Menagerie with Annalee Jefferies as Amanda at Kansas City Rep. The Farnsworth Invention will be the fourth play that David Cromer directs at the Alley, following The Santaland Diaries, The Clean House and Orson's Shadow.

The Farnsworth Invention features Alley Theatre Resident Company Actor Jeffrey Bean as David Sarnoff (Alley's Mauritius, A Christmas Carol, Cyrano de Bergerac) and Brandon Hearnsberger as Philo T. Farnsworth (Alley's Mrs. Warren's Profession, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Unexpected Guest). Also featured are Alley Theatre Resident Company Actors James Black, James Belcher, Elizabeth Bunch, Justin Doran, Elizabeth Heflin, Paul Hope, Chris Hutchison, Charles Krohn, Philip Lehl, Emily Neves, Melissa Pritchett, David Rainey, John Tyson, and Todd Waite.

Also included in the cast are Sara Gaston (Alley's Rock 'n' Roll, The Man Who Came to Dinner), John Paul Green (Alley's The Lieutenant of Inishmore, A Christmas Carol), Justin O'Brien (Alley's The Man Who Came to Dinner), Ty Doran (Alley's A Christmas Carol, Much Ado About Nothing) and Sean Hardin (Alley's A Christmas Carol)

The design team of The Farnsworth Invention includes Scenic Design by Takeshi Kata (Alley's Subject to Fits, The Clean House, Orson's Shadow), Costume Design by Janice Pytel (Alley Debut. Broadway credits include 33 Variations, I Am My Own Wife), Lighting Design by Keith Parham (Alley Debut), Original Composition & Sound Design by Josh Schmidt (Alley's Mauritius, Eurydice, The Clean House ), Projection Design by Clint Allen (Alley's Rock 'n' Roll, Underneath the Lintel, The Clean House), and Dramaturgs Mark Bly (Alley Theatre Senior Dramaturg and Director of New Play Development) and Lauren Halvorsen (Alley Theatre Literary Associate).

The Farnsworth Invention is sponsored by Lead Sponsor Enbridge Energy Company, Inc. and The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts and Supporting Sponsor Baker Botts L.L.P. The Alley Theatre is supported by the 2008-2009 season sponsor Continental Airlines, the official airline of the Alley Theatre.

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets to The Farnsworth Invention start at $21. All tickets for The Farnsworth Invention are available for purchase at www.alleytheatre.org, at the Alley Theatre Box Office, 615 Texas Avenue, or by calling 713.220.5700. Groups of 10 or more can receive special concierge services and select discounts by calling 713.315.3346. The added convenience of reservations by phone or Internet is available for a nominal fee.

Photo Credit: T Charles Erickson

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