Theatre Southwest Presents WONDER OF THE WORLD, Opens 12/31

Theatre Southwest will present their production of David Lindsey-Abaire's play, WONDER OF THE WORLD, beginning December 31st with a special New Years Gala. The show will run through January 23rd. The cast for the production will include James Reed, Stacy A. Spaeth, Ananka Kohnitz, Cheryl Tanner, Brian Heaton, Jeanette Sebesta, and John Kaiser. The show is directed by David Holloway.

The production centers around a truly desperate housewife who flees to the honeymoon capital of the world on a frantic odyssey of self-discovery, joining forces with some real characters along the way, for a wild ride over Niagara Falls in a barrel of laughs.

David Lindsay-Abaire (Playwright) received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007 for his play Rabbit Hole. Born in 1969 into a working-class Boston family, he later attended a prestigious New England boarding school and went on to study writing with Christopher Durang at Juilliard. Others of his plays include Fuddy Meers, Kimberly Akimbo, and Dotting and Dashing, as well as books for the musicals High Fidelity and Shrek. As he once noted, "My plays tend to be peopled with outsiders in search of clarity."

David Holloway (Director) made his first appearance at TSW in 1973 in Teahouse of the August Moon. The list of plays he has directed includes California Suite, Tobacco Road, Charley's Aunt, The Rainmaker, Accomplice, Forty Carats, Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, Catholic School Girls, The House of Blue Leaves, A Few Good Men, Mary, Mary, Lu Ann Hampton Laveerty Oberlander, Line, and Broadway Bound, plus several productions in the Festival of Originals. As an actor, David has appeared here in A Doll's House, Lovers and Other Strangers, Harvey, The Lion in Winter, Don't Just Lie There, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, On Golden Pond, California Suite, Faustrop, Gingerbread Lady, When Ya Comin' Back, Red Ryder?, The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wilde, Woman in Mind, Wrong Turn at Lungfish, George Washington Slept Here, Angel Street, Never Too Late, To Kill a Mockingbird, Twelve Angry Men, roles in several Festivals of Originals, and most recently, The Wayside Motor Inn. Elsewhere around Houston, he has also been seen in Equus, The Enclave, Raft of the Medusa, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Glengarry GLen Ross, and the Houston Shakespeare Festival.

James Reed (Kip)is feeling "all snuggie" in his sixth TSW production, having performed here in The Seven Year Itch and Matching Designs in The Festival of Originals last season, plus A Thirties Affair (FOO 2008), Imaginary Invalid, and Exact Center of the Universe. Other recent local credits include Doubt, The Dirty Talk/Pillow Talk, and On Borrowed Time.

Stacy A. Spaeth (Cass) is thrilled have such hilarious material to play with, and opposite the most talented people ever! Most recently seen here in Wanda's Visit as part of Comedy Tonight, she has numerous TSW credits: The Seven Year Itch, Private Lives, The Odd Couple (Female Version), Impossible Marriage, Exact Center of the Universe, Chapter Two, Stay Carl Stay, plus a FOO or two. Elsewhere, she's played favorite roles in Same Time, Next Year, Barefoot in the Park, It's a Wonderful Life, Baby Dance, Rumors, I Hate Hamlet, and The Women. Stacy's professional experience has been with Murder Mystery Players at Dave & Buster's and JL Productions in various "whodunits."

Ananka Kohnitz (Lois) has been active in the Theatre World since the age of 7, when she started her 17-year professional dance career, touring nationally with musicals, training as an actress at The American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco and the Colorado Shakespeare Repertory. Ananka wears many hats in theatre, as an actor, director, and set designer. Among her many acting credits are The House of Yes, A Comity of Eros, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Odd Couple (Female Version), Blithe Spirit, The Vagina Monologues, The Food Chain, It Could be Any One of Us, You Can't Take it With You, Absurd Person Singular, Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Towards Zero, A Company of Wayward Saints, Accomplice, Man of the House, Who Was That Masked Man, Spider's Web, A Piece of My Heart, Rumors and The Hollow, plus several children's productions. Her favorite classical leading roles are Antigone, Salomé, and Regarding Electra. Ananka has a great passion for Shakespeare, with leading roles in 11 of his plays. Her directing credits include Alone at Last, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Times Square Angel, Veronica's Room, Under the Oleanders, Night Must Fall, Bad Seed, How He Lied to Her Husband, Four Dogs and a Bone, The Unexpected Guest, The Last 20 Minutes, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, God, Murder and Apple Pie, The Monkey's Paw, Spoon River Anthology, and No Exit.

Cheryl Tanner (Barbara, Pilot, Waitresses, Janie) holds a B.A. in Theater Arts and Education from Principia College. She later studied with the late Peggy Feury at The Loft Studio in L.A., and at The Strasberg Institute, to become part of the West End Acting Company under the direction of David Proval (The Sopranos). Locally, favorite roles have been in Deathtrap, Romantic Comedy, Free Will and Wanton Lust, Bad Seed, Time of My Life, Graceland, Rumors, and Stella, Stella for Star. This past summer Cheryl led the Teen's June session of the Young Professional Studio at The Alley Theatre, and currently teaches acting at the Page Parkes talent agency. She is also the founder of In Alignment Productions, which focuses on theatrical projects that raise awareness for the greater good. To find out more about Cheryl and IAP, visit www.cheryltanner.com.

Brian Heaton (Captain Mike) is glad to be back at TSW, where he appeared in Instant Messaging and The Comity of Eros, both part of the Festival of Originals, as well as Fools by Neil Simon; he's glad to finally do a show here where, for once, FoO isn't in the title. Elsewhere, he has been seen in Biloxi Blues, Arms and the Man, Noises Off, Wait Until Dark, A Flea in Her Ear, Inherit the Wind, plus many others. As a playwright, he's had productions of Therapeutic Insanity, Holding On to Rose, and Cupid's Misfire. Also a published poet and a black belt in American Freestyle Karate, he loves a good bottle of mustard, unprovoked sarcasm, and massive 10-pound jars of peanut butter.

Jeanette Sebesta (Karla) is happy to be back at Theatre Southwest. Favorite roles here include Charlotte in Moon Over Buffalo, Sara in The Sisters Rosensweig, Libby in You Say Tomatoes, and Trudy in Social Security; plus Faye in The Sugar Bean Sisters at Theatre Suburbia, Rachael in As It Is in Heaven at Company OnStage, and Clairee in Steel Magnolias at Country Playhouse. For Actors Theatre of Houston, Jeanette played Nurse O'Neal in The Sunshine Boys and Essie in Critics Choice. Most recently, at College of the Mainland, she cooked up a storm as Isobel in The Kitchen Witches. Film credits include The Challenger and The James Brady Story, as well as industrials and commercials.

John Kaiser (Glen), last seen here in full wigalia as Isaac Newton in the Festival of Originals, plays many roles at TSW - actor, playwright, board member, playbill editor, tech booth, play selection committee, decorator and general bon vivant; serving in The Seven Year Itch, Regrets Only, and The House of Blue Leaves, among numerous others. Meanwhile, he continues to play venues great and small, from Houston Grand Opera to The Little Room Downstairs, in an ongoing Kafkaesque soap opera of his own devising.

The production plays December 31st through January 23rd, with productions taking place Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm, with a special January 10th matinee at 3:00pm. Tickets for the production are $15 with discounts available for seniors, students, and groups.

The December 31st New Years Gala will include a full buffet, hats, noisemakers, and festivities to welcome the New Year. Tickets for the gala will be $50 for individuals and $95 for couples. Tickets must be paid in advance.

Tickets may be purchased online at theatresouthwest.org or by calling the box office at 713-661-9505.

Founded in 1957 , Theatre Southwest is in its 51st season with a strong reputation for delivering quality theatre. It is our goal that every artist leaves each production with some added knowledge, insight, or fine tuning of his talent. This reputation enables Theatre Southwest to attract artists of quality.

Theatre Southwest was born when Marie and Les Pearsall held a summer carnival in their backyard to raise money for a Houston theatre. They had met as students at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and shared a love of theatre. Marie remained the backbone of the theatre until her death in 1988. Marie and Les's daughter, Mimi Holloway, inherited their love of theatre, and is our present Artistic Director.

The original name of Theatre Southwest was Bellaire Theatre Guild. The first show was performed at the Bellaire Community House, which the theatre rented on a nightly basis. In its earlier years, the target audience was mostly Southwest Houston, and most participants lived close by. As the quality of the work done at the theatre became known, it naturally branched out.

For many years now, Theatre Southwest has drawn audiences and artists from all of Houston's surrounding areas. After the initial period of renting others' facilities, we have enjoyed having our own place. There have been several moves. Our first theatre was located on Times Boulevard in the Village. Unfortunately, due to restrictions by the Fire Department, we had to leave that location. We moved to Wilcrest off of Bellaire Boulevard, then to Gessner near Westpark, and finally to our present location on Clarkcrest, which is between Westheimer and Richmond off of Fondren.

Theatre Southwest remains and thrives. It has gone from a three-play season to a season that includes six subscription plays, the Festival of Originals, a Reader's Theatre, and monthly workshops. We have had monthly meetings and workshops the third Wednesday of every month for 51 years. During all the changes, there has been continuity with audiences and artists. There also has been a non-ending flow of new participants, increased audiences, and growing diversity. The original by-laws Marie and Les devised are still in operation. Although the by-laws have been revised and amended, they continue to work.

For more information, visit www.theatresouthwest.org.

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