Photo Flash: Phoenix Theatre Presents SUNLIGHT

Winner of the 2009 Edgerton Foundation New American Play award, Sunlight is a political thriller that tells the story of Matthew Gibbon, liberal lion and president of a small, prestigious university, who has never shied away from controversy or taken the easy road during his illustrious career. Case in point, Matthew hired one of his former star students, ultra-conservative Vincent Krieger, who also happens to be Matthew's son-in-law, as the dean of the university's law school. As the play opens we find that in retaliation for Vincent being the author of legal memos authorizing torture of Afghan detainees, Matthew has trashed his protégé's office and tried to close down the university newspaper for not agreeing with his views on torture and more.

The two women in Matthew's life, daughter Charlotte, a talented lawyer in her own right, and Midge, his longtime personal assistant, both find themselves caught in the showdown between these two strong and ambitious men. Four talented actors, none of whom are strangers to the Phoenix stage, bring this story to life. The deeply flawed and often tragic character of Matthew is played by Rich Komenich, who was most recently seen on the Phoenix stage in last season's Seafarer. Gayle Steigerwald, last seen in A Very Phoenix Xmas 4, is Midge, the assistant who has worked beside Matthew for more than 30 years, doing everything from handling his communication to dressing him and cooking for him.

Angela Plank and Bill Simmons are Charlotte Gibbon and Vincent Krieger, the couple who are struggling to keep Matthew's legacy intact and their marriage together. Perpendicular to her father's politics, Charlotte is a tough-as-nails Reagan conservative, sparring with reporters and university trustees on the phone and proactively shredding documents that could show Matthew in a less-than-positive light. Vincent is hoping his wife will come back home while trying to remember Matthew as the professor he admired and not as the desperate man who trashed his office and seems to be drunk with power. Plank was seen in last season's Love Person and Simmons opened this year's season in The Most Damaging Wound.

Bryan Fonseca, Producing Director at the Phoenix, is directing this Rolling World Premiere that has already opened at Marin Theatre Company (Mill Valley, CA) and will open later this year at New Jersey Repertory Company (Long Branch, NJ). Bryan stated that Sunlight was first brought to his attention by Sharon Gamble, Phoenix Managing Director, who was serving on a play reading committee for NNPN. "We saw a staged reading of Sunlight at an NNPN showcase at Orlando Shakespeare Theatre in December 2008 and we agreed it would be an impressive addition to our season. We knew it would be a popular script, so as soon as we came back to Indy, we raced to complete the paperwork and get our name in the running to produce the play."

In November 2009, Sharr White flew to Indianapolis to be present for a staged reading of his play that Marian University and the Phoenix presented in conjunction with Marian's senior project built around Howard Gardner's Five Minds for the Future. Mr. White used that reading to rework some aspects of the Sunlight before its first production of the rolling premiere in California earlier this month.

Plays by Sharr White include: Six Years (30th Anniversary Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville); Iris Fields (Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab); Satellites of the Sun (finalist, Princess Grace Award); The Escape Velocity of Savages (Dr. Henry and Lillian Nesburn Award as part of the Julie Harris Award in Playwriting). Sharr is a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre's Playwrighting Unit in New York, and a company member of Apartment A Productions in Los Angeles. Sunlight was commissioned by South Coast Repertory.
The setting, a university president's home, is being designed by award-winning professional scenic designer Robert Broadfoot. A professor at the University of Southern Indiana, Broadfoot received his MFA in Scenic Design from UC Davis and marks his Indianapolis design debut with Sunlight. Michael McNamara is Lighting Designer, Chris Hansen is Technical Director and Lori Raffel will be designing the costumes.

Ticket Prices

Through the League of Indianapolis Theatres' "Free Ticket February" promotion, 10 free tickets are available to teens aged 16-19 for each performance of Sunlight. Thanks to the generosity of Duke Energy, our CheapSeats performances have expanded to Thursdays and Sundays, so our prices for the 2009-2010 Season are $15.00 per person on Thursdays and Sundays. The Phoenix continues to offer Friday and Saturday shows for $20.00 per person (down from $25.00 last season) and a youth rate of $15 for those 24 and under. All seating is general admission on a first-come, first-served basis. Performances are Thursdays at 7:00 pm; Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 8:00 pm. and Sundays at 2:00 pm. Doors open ½ hour prior to curtain for seating. The Phoenix Pub, located inside the theatre, offers beer, wine, soft drinks, coffee, and bottled water, as well as treats, and all refreshments may be taken into either theatre and consumed during the performance.

For more information about any Phoenix Productions or to purchase tickets, call The Phoenix Theatre box office at 317.635.PLAY(7529). Tickets may also be purchased online. The theatre's website is www.phoenixtheatre.org.

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