Stage West Presents the Regional Premiere of LIFE SUCKS.

Life is, like, really hard sometimes. It's hard to be the hot chick everyone wants, but no one understands. Or the not-so-hot chick with the heart of gold. Or the middle-aged guy insightful enough to see the cavernous depth of his own failings. Stage West presents Life Sucks., a quirky, charming, and deeply human comedy which is the next installment in Aaron Posner's Chekhov cycle, beginning a 5-week regional premiere run on Thursday, October 12.

A weekend at a country house with extended family-what could go wrong? As Sonia puts it, "Family, right? It's like everyone is hard-wired to totally upset everyone else." Living in the house are Sonia (who inherited it from her late mother), Sonia's uncle Vanya, his semi-cousin Pickles, and Sonia's mother's best friend Babs. Along for the weekend are Vanya's best friend Dr. Aster, plus Sonia's pretentious father, the Professor, and his gorgeous third wife, Ella. It's an uneasy mix of people, as both Vanya and Dr. Aster have been in love with Ella for years, and Sonia is crushing on Dr. Aster. To add to the awkwardness, the Professor has come to drop a bombshell on the group. Inevitably, all the years of pent-up love, longing, and disappointments come to an absurdly explosive head.

Sound heavy? It's not. Chekhov referred to his plays as comedies, and Posner's adaptation is all of that, riffing on topics like work-life balance, the environment, our love/hate relationship with the gym, and growing old. But it's also a moving look at how we try to tell ourselves we actually matter, and why we carry on, in spite of everything.

Aaron Posner is a Helen Hayes and Barrymore Award-winning director and playwright. He is a founder and former Artistic Director of Philadelphia's Arden Theatre, is an Associate Artist at both the Folger Theatre and Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, and has directed at major regional theatres from coast to coast. His adaptations include Chaim Potok's The Chosen and My Name Is Asher Lev (both of which have enjoyed successful runs at more than 50 other theatres across the country. Aaron was raised in Eugene, Oregon, graduated from Northwestern University, is an Eisenhower Fellow, and lives near Washington, DC.

Life Sucks. will be directed by award-winning director Emily Scott Banks, who most recently directed our production of Stupid f-ing Bird. Vanya will be played by Stage West Managing Director Mark Shum, last on our stage in Wait Until Dark, while Sonia will be played by newcomer Kally Duncan, seen as Emilia in Royal Sockspeare Company's Othello. Michael Corolla, seen as Flip Valentini in Dallas Children's Theater's Jackie and Me, will play The Professor, while Sherry Hopkins, who appeared in WaterTower's hit The Big Meal, will be seen as Ella. Dr. Aster will be played by long-time Stage West fave Jakie Cabe, who played Victor LaPlant in the Circle Theatre production of Funnyman. Sherry Jo Ward, star and author of the Critics Forum Award-winning play Stiff, will appear as Pickles, while Cindee Mayfield, seen at Circle Theatre as Silda in Other Desert Cities, will make her Stage West debut as Babs.

Set Design will by N. Ryan McBride, with lighting design by Luke Atkison, costume design by Aaron Patrick DeClerk, sound design by Dana Schultes, and props/set décor by Lynn Lovett.

Life Sucks. will preview Thursday, October 12 at 7:30 and Friday, October 13 at 8:00, and will run through Sunday, November 12. Performance times will be Thursday evenings at 7:30, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00, with Sunday matinees at 3:00. The opening night reception will be Saturday, October 14. Ticket prices range from $31 to $35, with discounts for the preview performance, and for students, seniors, and military. Food service is available 90 minutes prior to performances (reservations are necessary). Reservations and information are available through the Box Office (817-784-9378), or on the website, www.stagewest.org.

NOTE: This show contains strong language.

Photo credit: Evan Michael Woods

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