YANKEE TAVERN Set for Phoenix Theatre, 4/8-5/1

The Phoenix Theatre of Indianapolis announces the Midwest Premiere of Yankee Tavern. Written by Steven Dietz, this play starts Thursday, April 8 and runs through May 1, 2010 on the Phoenix Mainstage.

A guy walks into a bar and orders two beers, one for himself and one for his buddy who no one else can see. It sounds like the set-up for a joke, but with his chilling and ingenious new play, Yankee Tavern, the prolific Steven Dietz has something darker and more menacing in mind. Just about everyone can get caught up in a good conspiracy theory. It's easy to get wrapped up in second-guessing motives, connecting the dots, and contemplating the nature of coincidence. With wit, clever nuances and fast-paced dialogue, Yankee Tavern proves to be far more than a tall tale or platform for politicizing.

Yankee Tavern is set in a run-down watering hole in Lower Manhattan five years after the terrorist attacks. Life goes on, but 9/11 has shaken us all, including the locals. The bar is run by Adam (Shane Chuvalas), an idealistic young man who's earning his master's in international studies. Once out of school, Adam's goal is to work for the CIA. Janet (Carrie Schlatter) is Adam's fiancée, a woman who's fretting about last-minute wedding plans - and learning some disturbing truths about the man she thought she knew.

Both Adam and Janet spend much of their time listening to Ray (Rich Komenich), a force of nature with hilarious frenetic spiels about seeing a conspiracy in everything - the 1969 moon landing, the 2000 election, even the institution of marriage. Ray is the kind of guy who has as many stories as the bar has bottles, and he's willing to share them to anyone who will listen.

For Ray, John F. Kennedy's assassination remains "the mother of all conspiracies." But 9/11 ranks pretty high on the list, as well. As Ray goes on about the government's role in orchestrating the attacks, Adam and Janet pooh-pooh his "wild theories" as just that - theories.

When a stranger walks in, a mystery man named Palmer (Doug Johnson) who sits quietly (and ominously) downing Rolling Rocks, we start to think that maybe Ray is onto something. Palmer doesn't say much in the first act, but when he does open up in the second act, it's clear he knows a little too much about those in the bar and what really happened on 9/11 - not just what the government told us.

Yankee Tavern - written by Dietz in 2007 and recently produced in South Florida, Charlotte and Denver - is really a play about belief. Belief in ghosts, trust in our loved ones and faith that secret forces steer our destinies. Or it may be a whopping good tale that's not really about anything more than most thrillers, which is to say it may be about nothing at all. The audience will have to decide.

Bryan Fonseca, Producing Director at the Phoenix, is directing this edge-of-your-seat thriller, which is being produced concurrently with Indiana Repertory Theatre's production of Becky's New Car, also written by Steven Dietz. "It makes sense to collaborate on bringing these two plays to Indianapolis - both contemporary plays written by Mr. Dietz." Fonseca went on to say that arrangements are being completed to have Dietz speak at the Phoenix Theatre sometime during the run of Becky's New Car, details of which will be released upon completion.

Dietz, whose plays range from the whimsical (More Fun Than Bowling) to the dour (God's Country), is a master of smart dialogue and wily storytelling. Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Dietz graduated in 1980 with a B.A. in Theatre Arts from the University of Northern Colorado, after which he moved to Minneapolis and began his career as a director of new plays at The Playwrights' Center and other local theaters. During these years he also formed a small theatre company (Quicksilver Stage) and began to write plays of his own.

The tavern itself is being designed by Linda Janosko, who most recently designed the set for Mauritius at the Phoenix last year. Laura Glover is Lighting Designer, Chris Hansen is Technical Director and Victoria Richardson will be designing the costumes.

Ticket Prices

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.

The Phoenix Theatre is Indiana's only professional contemporary theatre, and has presented productions to challenge and entertain the Indianapolis community for 26 years. An Equity house, the Theatre presents the Midwest and Indiana premieres of many popular Broadway and Off-Broadway plays, and has presented more than 70 world premieres in its quarter century. The Phoenix operates the 130-seat proscenium Mainstage as well as the 75-seat cabaret-style black box Frank & Katrina Basile (buh-SEAL) Theatre. The Phoenix Pub, located in the Basile Theatre, serves beer, wine, coffee, soft drinks, water, and treats, and patrons may take all refreshments into either theatre. Both venues are housed along with administrative offices in a renovated 1907 church in downtown Indianapolis' historic Chatham Arch neighborhood, part of the Mass Ave Arts & Theatre District. The Phoenix Theatre is a member of the National New Play Network and the League of Indianapolis Theatres, and is supported by the Indiana Arts Commission, the Arts Council of Indianapolis, and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as local corporate and foundation funders and more than 500 individual donors.

 

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