Rover Dramawerks Premieres PREMIERE!, 10/29
By: Jessica Lewis Oct. 08, 2009
Rover Dramawerks opens the regional premiere of Premiere!, a comedy by the late Dale Wasserman on Thursday, October 29. Performances will be at the Cox Building Playhouse, 1517 H Avenue in Plano (next to the Courtyard Theater), continuing through November 21, 2009, with shows on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., and an additional matinee performance on Saturday, November 7 at 2:00 p.m.
Dale Wasserman is best known for Man of La Mancha and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Premiere! was his last play before his death this past December and was named Best Original Play at the 2009 Arizona Awards this past month.
From the creator of one of the most famous of petty tyrants comes a look at the petty tyranny of fame. Gil (played by Mike Hathaway) is the comedic playwright of his day, doomed to hit after hit when all he wants is to be taken seriously, darkly, academically. Like...dare he say it? The Bard. A hilarious series of events - involving a visiting British Shakespearean expert (played by Elfriede Russell) and a shrewd forger named Lefty Guggenheim (played by Rich Hancock) - leads to the discovery of a "new" long lost tragedy by William Shakespeare. When does a forgery become art itself? Is truth absolute or a function of aspiration, democracy, and marketing?
Rounding out the ensemble cast are Kelly Moore Clarkson as Gil's wife Becky, Matthew J. Edwards as her brother and Gil's producer, and Howard Korn as the family patriarch.
Jason Rice directs, with Sonya Jones as Assistant Director/Stage Manager. Kelly Williams is set designer, Carol M. Rice is costume designer, and Katherine J. Kramer is properties designer. Jeff Mabray is lighting designer, with Michael Rathbun as sound designer.
Tickets for Premiere! are $15.00 on Thursdays and matinees and $18.00 on Fridays and Saturdays. Thursday, October 29 is Preview Night, and all seats are "pay-what-you-can." The following Saturday, November 7, Rover Dramawerks invites all patrons to join the cast after the evening performance for a reception with the cast, director, and designers, as well as Rover board members.
In addition, Martha Nelly Wasserman, Dale Wasserman's widow, will be joining Rover Dramawerks for performances during the second weekend of the run and will be honored at the reception on November 7.
Premiere! is the first show in Rover Dramawerks' 10th Anniversary Season - A Year of Premieres. Tickets for Premiere! may be ordered online at www.roverdramawerks.com, and season tickets are also available.
Show sponsors include the Dale Wasserman Foundation and Las Brisas Properties. Season sponsors include the City of Plano, Plano Arts and Cultural Endowment, and Texas Commission on the Arts. For more information, please call 972-849-0358 or visit www.roverdramawerks.com.
In the picture (left to right): Rich Hancock, Kelly Moore Clarkson, Mike Hathaway, and Howard Korn.
Photo Credit: Carol M. Rice.
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