Unicorn Theatre & KC Actors Theatre Co-Produce The Seafarer, Previews 10/20

Unicorn Theatre and Kansas City Actors Theatre join forces to take on Conor McPherson's thrilling new Irish comedy, The Seafarer. This marks the first collaboration between the two companies, and the only collaboration in Kansas City this year between two local professional theater companies. The two companies are collaborating on all aspects of the production, from artistic to financial and administrative. Cynthia Levin, Unicorn's Producing Artistic Director is excited about the partnership, "We've wanted to collaborate with KCAT since they were founded. This seemed like the perfect play, dark, funny and full of drinking. It will entice people to visit our new bar! It's also surprising and sinister at the same time. Aspects both companies look for in their programming." Directed by Mark Robbins, The Seafarer features David Fritts, Victor Raider-Wexler, Stuart Rider, Allan L. Boardman and Dean Vivian.

The Seafarer will play on the Unicorn's Jerome Stage located at 3828 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111. Previews are October 20, 21 and 22. The play runs October 23rd through November 7th. Performances Tuesdays through Thursday are at 7:30 pm, Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm and Sunday at 3:00 pm and 7:30pm. Join us for a talk back immediately after the show with the director and actors on October 26th, 31st or November 7th.

To purchase tickets, call 816-531-PLAY (7529) EXT. 10, online at www.UnicornTheatre.org or in person at the box office located at 3828 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111. Regular run tickets start at just $27.50. Preview tickets start at just $22.50. Special discounts are available for seniors (60+), Students and Patrons Under 30.

About The Show

It's Christmas Eve, and Sharky has returned to Dublin to look after his quick-tempered, aging and recently
blind brother. Old drinking buddies Ian and Nicky are holed up at the house too, hoping to play cards, when a mysterious, charming stranger raises the stakes even higher. Sharky may be playing for his very soul in this darkly funny and chilling new play about Ireland, the sea and the power of myth.

Conor McPherson's other plays include Poor Beast in the Rain, Port Authority, Dublin Carol (premiered on Broadway in 2002), The Weir (premiered on Broadway in 1999), Saint Nicholas and This Lime Tree Bower. His plays have been performed at Atlantic Theater Company, Primary Stages, National Theatre, The Royal Court Theatre, Gate Theatre, New Ambassadors Theatre, Duke of York's Theatre, Dublin Theatre Festival and Bush Theatre. His plays have been performed across the United States, as well as in Ireland, England, Germany, France, Australia, Poland, Italy, Japan, Argentina and Uruguay. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play in 2006 for Shining City, which premiered on Broadway in 2006.

The cast of The Seafarer is David Fritts as Sharky (recently at the Unicorn: Nickel & Dimed, The Exonerated, Art and The Memory of Water; recently at KCAT: Glengarry Glen Ross, Dinner with Friends, Talley and Son and Talley's Folly), Victor Raider-Wexler as Lockhart (Unicorn debut; previously at KCAT: Glengarry Glen Ross), Stuart Rider as Ivan (previously at the Unicorn: Blue/Orange and BecauseHeCan; previously at KCAT: Glengarry Glen Ross, Private Lives and The Cripple of Inishmaan) Allan L. Boardman as Richard (Unicorn and KCAT debut) and Dean Vivian as Nicky (recently at the Unicorn: Green Whales, Intimate Apparel and Permanent Collection; KCAT debut).

Director Mark Robbins has worked extensively as an actor and director for both companies. At the Unicorn he has recently directed A House With No Walls, Orson's Shadow, Next of Kin, TopDog/UnderDog, Lobby Hero, Bee-Luther Hatchee and Fully Committed. For KCAT he has directed Translations, Private Lives, Absurd Person Singular and Fifth of July.

The creative team also includes Gary Mosby for scenic design (recently at the Unicorn: Grey Gardens, My First Time and Rising Water; KCAT debut), Alex Perry for lighting design (previously at the Unicorn: And Her Hair Went With Her, My First Time and Sister Mary Ignatius; KCAT debut), Daniel Warneke for sound design (previously at the Unicorn: Miss Witherspoon; previously at KCAT: True West and Marion Bridge), Jon Fulton Adams for Costume Design (most recently at the Unicorn: [title of show], And Her Hair Went With Her, Grey Gardens and My First Time; KCAT Debut), Evan Hill for properties design (Unicorn debut; previously at KCAT: Glengarry Glen Ross), Rebecca Rubino as dramaturg (Unicorn and KCAT debut) and Jim Mitchell as Stage Manager (Unicorn debut; previously at KCAT: Translations, The Cripple of Inishmaan, Private Lives, Absurd Person Singular, Talley's Folly, Fifth of July, True West and Boston Marriage).

*talk back performance with the director and actors

More information online at www.UnicornTheatre.org

About Unicorn Theatre
Founded in 1974, Unicorn Theatre exists to enhance the cultural life of Kansas City by producing professional contemporary, thought-provoking theater, which inspires emotional response and stimulates discussion. Unicorn Theatre is under the artistic and executive leadership of Producing Artistic Director Cynthia Levin, who joined the company in 1980. From a newly expanded home in the Midtown neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri, the Unicorn houses two stages--The Mainstage and The Jerome Stage (added 2007). A fully professional not-for-profit theatre, the theatre operates under agreement with Actor's Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. The Unicorn is a founding member of the National New Play Network, an alliance of not-for-profit professional theatres that champions the development, production and continued life of new plays for the American theatre; and is a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group, Inc., the national service organization for the not-for-profit professional theatre. Financial assistance for this theatre has been provided by The National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency; corporate and foundation gifts; and the generous individuals throughout the community we serve.

About Kansas City Actors Theatre
Founded in 2004, KCAT operates under a paradigm radically different from other theatres in the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area, having been founded and led by practicing theatre artists striving to perform plays in the classic "rotating repertory" format. KCAT's vital core company of artists--actors, stage managers, directors & designers from the greater Kansas City community, focus on the craft of the actor and the talents of the playwright; implementing exciting lighting, music and sound, and eschewing expensive, elaborate scenery and costumes.

The Actors Theatre performs in locations throughout the city, whether in found spaces such as the recent production of David Mamet's Boston Marriage at The Webster House, or at its "unofficial home" on Union Station's H&R Block City Stage, or in collaboration with friends on the Unicorn Theatre's Jerome Stage.

 

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