TheatreSquared Presents SONS OF THE PROPHET, Now thru 3/3

TheatreSquared will open Stephen Karam's bold, award-winning comedy Sons of the Prophet for a limited run in Northwest Arkansas in its first production since its critically acclaimed New York debut. Winner of multiple awards (including the 2012 Lucille Lortel and New York Drama Critics Circle awards for Best Play) and a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize in Drama, Sons of the Prophet is a contemporary comedy-drama that is "soul-piercing" and "explosively funny" (The New York Times).

New York director Tamara Fisch will lead a cast and creative team of national professionals from New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle and Northwest Arkansas. Following a preview performance tonight, February 14, Sons of the Prophet opens Friday, February 15 and plays through Sunday, March 3 in the 175-seat Studio Theatre at Walton Arts Center's Nadine Baum Studios, with performances Thursdays 7:30, Fridays 7:30, Saturdays 7:30, and Sundays 2:00 and 7:00. Tickets start at $22 ($10/under 30) through the Walton Arts Center Box Office at (479) 443-5600 or at theatre2.org.

"Sometimes, and only rarely, choosing the new season for TheatreSquared is made easier by the emergence of a simply exceptional play," said T2 Artistic Director Robert Ford. "Sons of the Prophet is that play. It is universally acclaimed to be one of the smartest, funniest and deeply felt new works that has been written in this decade-and we agree. I'm thrilled that TheatreSquared and Northwest Arkansas will host the play's first national production since its New York debut."

In Karam's darkly comic Sons of the Prophet, Joseph, a former track star, struggles to manage a dead-end job, mysterious pain and a family tragedy. The only thing more dysfunctional than his health, it seems, is his nonexistent love life as a gay Lebanese-American in small-town Pennsylvania. When a reporter gets too close and things get weird with his eccentric boss, Joseph's wit and worn-out family may be all that's left to keep him sane.

The cast for Sons of the Prophet includes: Kathleen Darcy, Lara Jo Hightower, Shirley Hughes, JP Green, Michael Bradley Cohen, Bill Rogers (Sundown Town), Mason Azbill, and Matt Klingler. The creative team includes Tamara Fisch (director), Anna Lucia DeDe-Panken (stage manager), Josh Tillotson (technical director), Courtney O'Neill (scenic designer) (Sundown Town, Noises Off), Ren LaDassor (costume designer) (It's a Wonderful Life), Matt Sherwin (sound designer), Andy Smith (lighting designer), Ginny Headrick (properties designer) (Period of Adjustment), and Emily Bohannan (assistant stage manager).

Through a continuing partnership between TheatreSquared and Fayetteville Public Library, playwright Stephen Karam will visit Northwest Arkansas and host two free public events in the library's Walker Community Room on Saturday, February 2. The Pulitzer Prize nominee will lead a playwriting workshop at 10am and, at 3pm, will join the cast of Sons of the Prophet for a T2 Artists' Forum hosted by Ozarks at Large producer Kyle Kellams. For more information and to sign up for the workshop, visit www.faylib.org.

Tickets for Sons of the Prophet are on sale now at the Walton Arts Center Box Office and can be reserved by calling (479) 443-5600 or visiting theatre2.org. Tickets are $22-$34. Opening Night performance includes a champagne toast at intermission and a post-show reception with the cast catered by BHK on the Square. Parents and Grandparents can bring children aged 4-12 to a special "T2 Kids' Club" performance on Sunday, February 17 at 2pm, where children will take part in separate theatre classes at Nadine Baum Studios during the performance time ($20 per child). Through the "30 under 30" youth access program, thirty $10 tickets are reserved for patrons under the age of thirty at every performance. Group discounts of up to 15% are also available for groups of eight or more. Recommended for ages 13 and up (parental discretion requested) due to adult language and mature situations.

TheatreSquared is Northwest Arkansas's locally produced and nationally acclaimed regional theatre, dedicated to innovative, professional stage work. The theatre is the recipient of the 2011 National Theatre Company Grant from the American Theatre Wing, founder of the Tony Awards, recognizing the nation's ten most promising emerging professional theatres. For further information, contact TheatreSquared at479.445.6333 or visit the Theatre's website at theatre2.org.

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