Tom Dudzick's HAIL MARY! Previews At Circle Theatre 5/14, 5/15, 5/16

Circle Theatre, a professional, contemporary regional theatre company in Sundance Square, will preview Hail Mary! by Tom Dudzick on May 14, 15, 16 (matinee). Hail Mary! officially opens Saturday, May 16, 2009 at 8:00pm. A post-show opening night celebration, follows Saturday evening's performance.

This production marks the third premiere of a Dudzick play presented by Circle Theatre. The Theatre previously produced Over the Tavern in 2005 and The Last Mass at Saint Casimir's in 2007. Circle also presented the second play in Dudzick's popular Over the Tavern Trilogy (King O' the Moon) as a staged reading, during the run of Last Mass at Saint Casimir's.

With Hail Mary!, Tom Dudzick (known as the "Catholic Neil Simon") introduces a new comedy about a clash of wills between a young parochial school novice and her Mother Superior. The unexpected appearance of a former sweetheart and an eccentric priest add hilarious complications to the mix.

Hail Mary! is directed by Harry B. Parker. (Parker, the chair of Texas Christian University's Theatre Department, directed all of Circle's past productions of Tom Dudzick's plays.) The cast consists of Lynn Blackburn* (in her first role at Circle Theatre), Joel McDonald (whose first stage appearance in the Metroplex was as the son in A Moon for the Misbegotten at Circle) and Lois Sonnier Hart* (previously seen as Sister Clarissa in Circle's production of Over the Tavern). This production also marks first time appearances on Circle Theatre's stage for Monica Rivera and Alan Shorter.

Rose Pearson, Circle's Executive Director, states, "Harry and I are definitely fans of Tom Dudzick. I am proud that Circle is in a position to help spread the news about his work! Tom's words warm your heart and make you smile. With the trauma and sad news surrounding us each day, we can all benefit from a dose of his infectious sense of humor."

Circle's production of Hail Mary! will be accompanied by an art exhibit in the theatre's newly updated lobby gallery space, featuring works by artist Robert Beverly. Beverly works creatively with wood, glass, metal and concrete mediums.

Circle Theatre
230 W. Fourth Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102
Sundance Square
Entertainment District

When: May 14 - June 13

Previews: May 14, 15, 16 (Matinee)
Opening Night: Saturday, May 16, 8:00pm
Thursdays at 7:30pm;
Fridays at 8:00pm;
Saturdays at 3:00pm and 8:00pm

Previews Thursday and Saturday matinees: $10
Preview Friday evening: $15
Opening Saturday Night: $30

Thursday evenings: $20-$25
Saturday matinee: $20-$25
Friday/Saturday evenings: $25-$30

Students and seniors (65+) receive a $5 discount on any full-priced ticket.

Student Rush tickets are available for half price, at half hour before show time (on standby).

Groups of 10 (or more) receive a $5 discount on each full-priced ticket.

Seating is limited and reservations are recommended. Call 817.877.3040 or stop by the box office, Tuesday through Friday, from 1:00pm to 6:00pm and one hour before show times.

Circle Theatre accepts Bell Helicopter coupons, the KERA Member Rewards Card, Sundance Square Insider coupons and the Star-Telegram Press Pass.

Harry Parker directs a cast featuring Lynn Blackburn* (Mary), Joel McDonald (Joe), Lois Sonnier Hart* (Mother Regina Marie), Monica Rivera (Sister Felicia) and Alan Shorter (Father Stanley). Sara Harris* is the Stage Manager.

Production team members for Hail Mary! are: Bill Newberry Set Designer; David Lambert, Sound Designer; John Leach, Lighting Designer; and Cathy O'Neal; Props Manager.
*Actors' Equity Association

Tom Dudzick is often referred to by theatre critics as "the Catholic Neil Simon". He has created a series of semi-auto­biographical comedies that have been performed in theatres from New York to Los Angeles and doz ens of cities in between. His plays have broken the box office records at Buffalo Studio Arena, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and Chicago's Northlight Theatre. A native of Buffalo, New York, Tom was born over a tavern in 1950 and received his early theatrical training creating musical comedies for Buffalo's extensive dinner theatre industry. He managed to consistently cast himself in the lead role, thus garnering critical acclaim as "Western New York's premier comic actor." In the 1980's Tom relocated to New York, left performing behind and focused on writing. Within a few years he landed his first Off-Broadway play: Greetings! -- a Christmas-themed family comedy. The Los Angeles Times described Greetings! as "a wonderful, wacky look at how cleverly a mixture of Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Age philosophy can - in the right hands - flick on the electricity." The play is now a holiday favorite, appearing annually in theatres all over the country. For his next play, Tom dipped into his own childhood. He semi-fictionalized his family, renamed them the Pazinski's and called the play Over the Tavern. The hilarious and touching play created such interest that Buffalo Studio Arena commissioned him to write a sequel, employing the same characters ten years older, which Tom entitled King O' the Moon. This comedy has been performed to great success in major cities such as Pittsburgh, Chicago and Los Angeles. Tom created an "Over the Tavern Trilogy" by writing yet a third play about the Pazinski's entitled The Last Mass at St. Casimir's. Tom currently lives in New York with his wife Holly Caster, and their children, Charles and Emma.

Harry Parker is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Theatre at TCU. He has directed more than 75 professional and university productions, including shows at the Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Stages Repertory Theatre (Houston), American Heartland Theatre (Kansas City), and Lyric Theatre (Oklahoma City). In Fort Worth, his professional directing credits include A Nervous Smile for Amphibian Stage Productions, Permanent Collection for Jubilee Theatre, and five shows at Circle Theatre including Over the Tavern and Side By Side By Sondheim. At TCU, he has directed Ellis Island: The Dream of America at Bass Performance Hall, You Can't Take It With You for the re-opening of the Jerita Foley Buschman Theatre, Bus Stop in a co-production between TCU and Circle Theatre, the musical Little Women and the original holiday musical revue We Need a Little Christmas. Among his other directing credits are titles as varied as The Taming of the Shrew, The Will Rogers Follies, The Laramie Project, The King and I, The Philadelphia Story, Extremities, The Miser, Charley's Aunt, Marvin's Room, Antigone, The Glass Menagerie, Our Town, and South Pacific. Originally from Oklahoma City, Harry received his BFA from TCU, an MA and Ph.D. from the University of Kansas, and served for 11 years as the Director of Theatre at Emporia State University in Kansas. He is a two-time winner of the Kennedy Center Medallion of Excellence, he serves on the boards of Tarrant County's Live Theatre League and Circle Theatre, he is currently the National Chair of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Harry is also the Managing Director for the Trinity Shakespeare Festival, which will premiere at TCU in June 2009. He is an associate member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.

Circle Theatre is a non-profit regional theatre, founded in 1981 by Rose Pearson and Bill Newberry. Circle brings contemporary plays, not yet produced in the community, to the Fort Worth area. The Theatre's mission is to present professional, innovative productions in its intimate 125-seat setting. Circle provides a place for emerging playwrights, directors, designers and actors to hone their craft. As an Equity Theatre, Circle offers salaries and benefits to professional artists who wish to continue pursuing their careers while living in Texas. Additionally, during the Theatre's off-times in its main stage season, Circle provides its space to emerging theatre companies. Circle Theatre also strongly supports the role education plays in the future of all arts organizations and collaborates with local university theatre departments to give students the experience of working in a professional theatre environment. Thanks to a successful capital campaign, Circle Theatre recently underwent an extensive three-month renovation in early 2009. For more information, please visit www.circletheatre.com.

 

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