A Noise Within Presents GREAT EXPECTATIONS, 10/30-12/19

A Noise Within (ANW), the acclaimed classical repertory theatre company, revisits Charles Dickens' thrilling GREAT EXPECTATIONS with the West Coast premiere of a powerful stage adaptation by Neil Bartlett opening Saturday, October 30 and closing Sunday, December 19, 2010 (previews begin Saturday, October 23).  ANW Co-Founders and Co-Artistic Directors Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott co-direct this production - which features original music by noted composer Doug Newell - based on Dickens' masterful novel.  Bartlett was also the adaptor of A Noise Within's 2008-09 season favorite Oliver Twist.  This marks the second time Rodriguez-Elliott and Elliott have co-directed Great Expectations at A Noise Within, the first produced during the 1995-96 season, winning numerous awards. 
 
"The play holds a special place in our hearts," notes Rodriguez-Elliott.  "It's a marker in our history because our 1990s production, which reprised over three seasons, really solidified our reputation for ensemble work.  We're doing it again this season in a different adaptation because it's a wonderful classic story and a great time to revisit it as a celebration of A Noise Within's history during this final season in our long-time 'temporary' home in Glendale before our fall 2011 move to our permanent Pasadena venue."
 
Five actors from the 1995-96 season Great Expectations cast appear in the new production, including Elliott (Joe Gargery/Mr. Jaggers) and venerable ANW Resident Artists Mitchell Edmonds (Mr. Pumblechook/Sarah Pocket/Bentley Drummle), Jill Hill (Mrs. Joe/Biddy), and Stephen Rockwell (Herbert Pocket/Compeyson), and Deborah Strang (Miss Havisham).  Also featured are Jason Dechert (Pip/Mr. Phillip Pirrip), Jaimi Paige (Estella), Kurt Quinn (Wemmick/Ensemble), and Daniel Reichert (Abel Magwitch/A Sergeant).
 
Great Expectations is the story of Pip, orphaned as an infant and thrust into a childhood of cruel poverty, who clings to the hope of a brighter life.  On a rain-swept winter's eve, great tidings arrive: an anonymous benefactor has anointed Pip heir to a tremendous fortune, setting into motion a life's journey ripe with wonder, heartbreak and finally triumph.  Great Expectations' timelessness has spawned numerous films, including several silent movies and a 1998 motion picture starring Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow, and its universality was demonstrated in 2000 when the Pip character was parodied on an episode of the irreverent television show South Park.
 
To enhance the theatre-going experience, A Noise Within offers comprehensive study guides for every production, each with a synopsis, director's notes, general theatre lore, links to other resources and detailed information about the playwright, characters, setting, period, costumes, scenic design, music and more.  The Great Expectations Study Guide along with those for previous A Noise Within productions are available on-line at http://www.anoisewithin.org/education_studyguides.html. 
 
A Noise Within (ANW) is the only year-round classical repertory company in Southern California and one of only a handful in the entire country dedicated solely to producing classical dramatic literature in the repertory tradition of rotating productions with a resident company of professional artists.  Led by Co-Founders and Co-Artistic Directors Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, A Noise Within has been hailed by critics as "adventurous," "compelling and current," "ingenuity at work," "a bona fide class act," and "what great theatre is all about."  Founded 19 seasons ago, ANW quickly established itself as one of the region's key theatre companies, attracting fiercely loyal audiences and consistently high praise from the media for its productions and as a leading force in arts education.  The company has presented more than 120 plays from the classics of world literature, each season producing works from authors ranging from Shakespeare and Molière to Ibsen, O'Neill and Shaw to Miller and Williams.  ANW's consistent dedication to quality has been rewarded with more than two dozen Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards as well as numerous LA Weekly and Backstage Garland awards.  A Noise Within's next chapter provides the long-awaited opportunity to sink deep and lasting roots when the company moves in 2011 from its long-time base in Glendale to a spectacular, permanent home in a Pasadena mixed-use development at the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Sierra Madre Villa Avenue.  The facility, hailed as an anchor in East Pasadena's arts growth, is designed to broaden A Noise Within's artistic possibilities, offer a greater scope of educational opportunities, meet ticket demand and allow the company to expand its role as a leader in the presentation and preservation of classical theatre.
 
Co-Director GEOFF ELLIOTT (Joe Gargery/Mr. Jaggers) - who this season also co-directs and appears in A Noise Within's current production of Measure For Measure and upcoming production of Noises Off - is co-founder and co-artistic director of A Noise Within with his wife, Julia Rodriguez-Elliott.  They have co-produced close to 100 productions and directed/co-directed more than 40 for the company.  Elliott has also performed major roles for some of the leading regional theatres in America, including The American Conservatory Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Arizona Theatre Company, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre and California Shakespeare Festival.  He has received three Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle awards and more than a dozen other awards for acting.  His Shakespearean roles include Iago in Othello, Theseus/Oberon in a Midsummer Night's Dream, Coriolanus, Richard in King Richard III and Hamlet.  He has also performed leading roles in classic plays by such authors as O'Neill, Miller, Ibsen, Rostand, Wilde and Williams.  Last season, he directed Richard III, Noises Off, in which he also played the role of Director, and The Playboy of the Western World, in which he played Old Mahon.  Elliott holds a BFA from the University of Florida and an MFA from The American Conservatory Theatre.
 
Co-Director JULIA RODRIGUEZ-ELLIOTT, co-founder and co-artistic director of A Noise Within along with her husband Geoff Elliott, has co-produced close to 100 productions and has directed/co-directed more than 40 productions, including the current season's production of Measure For Measure, the critically acclaimed 2009-10 production of Noises Off, earlier productions of Neil Bartlett's adaptation of Oliver Twist and The Rehearsal, and the 2004 performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen.  Other directorial credits include The Winter's Tale, Othello, The Tempest, Coriolanus, Macbeth, Ubu Roi, Loot, A Flea in Her Ear, Mourning Becomes Electra, Great Expectations, Buried Child, Another Part of the Forest, Life is A Dream, Master Builder and The Price.  For four consecutive years, Rodriguez-Elliott has conducted a workshop for the National Endowment for the Arts Journalism Institute in Theatre and Musical Theatre at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication.  Rodriguez-Elliott has extensive experience teaching theatre arts to students from middle school to college and regularly conducts student workshops as part of A Noise Within's highly regarded educational programming.  She has served on theatre panels for organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the LA Stage Alliance.  In addition, she regularly conducts lectures for CalArts, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and schools throughout the California State and University of California school systems, to name a few.  Rodriguez-Elliott holds a BFA from the University of Florida and an MFA from The American Conservatory Theatre.
 
Jason Dechert (Pip/Mr. Phillip Pirrip) makes his A Noise Within debut in this production.  He has previously appeared in Vera Laughed at New York Stage and Film; A Midsummer Night's Dream, Kicking Up Dust, Six Degrees of Separation, The Three Sisters, Journey of the Fifth Horse, Hobson's Choice, The Constant Wife, La Ronde, Bus Stop, and Twelfth Night at New York University; Hamlet, Handing Down the Names, The Barber of Seville, Hay Fever, As You Like It, Bedroom Farce, and other productions at Vanderbilt University.  His film and TV credits include Medium, Electric Spoofaloo, and L'Affaire d'Honneur.  Dechert earned a BA from Vanderbilt University and an MFA from NYU Graduate Acting.
 
Mitchell Edmonds (Mr. Pumblechook/Sarah Pocket/Bentley Drummle), who is currently celebrating his 19th season as a Resident Artist of A Noise Within, is featured in the current production of Measure For Measure and appeared in the company's acclaimed production of Waiting for Godot for the past three seasons and in The Rehearsal in spring 2009.  The Tennessee native began performing as youngster in his church's drama club and with the University of Tennessee's Carousel Children's Theatre.  At 15, he joined The Bishop's Company, a repertory touring company and continued touring through his teens with a children's theater company and a marionette company.  He also participated in summer stock at the Wagon Wheel Playhouse in Indiana and the Wingspread summer Theatre in Michigan.  Edmonds served in the U.S. Air Force in the early '60's and was stationed at a base near Tokyo.  There he performed with a base theatre club as well as with the Tokyo Armature Dramatic Club.  He also dubbEd English into Japanese films.  Edmonds subsequently acted at the Provincetown Playhouse in New York City as part of its repertory company.  He also performed extensively at such regional theatres as Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, New Orleans Rep, South Coast Rep, A Contemporary Theatre in Seattle, the Performing Arts Foundation on Long Island, San Diego Rep, The ALLIANCE THEATRE in Atlanta, Alaska Rep in Anchorage, the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, Cortland Rep in upper New York.  In addition, Edmonds co-founded a marionette company based in Atlanta and was the founder and director - for three years - of the Studio Company in Atlanta.  He has performed at Broadway's Court Theatre in Red, White and Maddox in 1969 and Two Shakespearian Actors in 1992.  At A Noise Within, Edmonds has appeared in more than 40 plays, including Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Skin of Our Teeth, Romeo and Juliet, Heartbreak House, Waiting for Godot, Great Expectations, Henry IV, Part One and Tartuffe.  Among his television credits are True Blood, The West Wing, Days of Our Lives, Frazier and Numb3rs.
 
JILL HILL (Mrs. Joe/Biddy), a long-time resident artist with A Noise Within, also appears as Mariana/Mistress Overdone in ANW's current production of Measure for Measure.  Last season, she played Brenda Blair in the company's production of Noises Off, and Widow Quin in The Playboy of the Western World.  Her numerous roles with the company include Hortensia in The Rehearsal, Nancy in Neil Bartlett's adaptation of Oliver Twist, Mistress Quickly in Henry IV, Part 1, Hannah Jelkes in The Night of the Iguana, Hermione in The Winter's Tale, Mrs. Purdie in Dear Brutus, Fay in Loot, Deborah in A Touch of the Poet, Queen Rosumund/Anna Stanislas in Ubu Roi, Aline Solness in The Master Builder, Emilia in Othello, Lucienne in A Flea in Her Ear, Mrs. Molloy in The Matchmaker, Virgilia in Coriolanus, Clarice/Smeraldina in The King Stag, First Witch/Lady Macduff in Macbeth, Princess of France in Love's Labour's Lost, Imogen Parrott in Trelawny of the Wells, Estrella in Life is a Dream, Sabina in The Skin of Our Teeth, Mae in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Belle/Charwoman in A Christmas Carol, Bianca in Taming of the Shrew, Geraldine in What the Butler Saw, Teiresias in Oedipus the King, Molly/Mrs. Joe in Great Expectations and Birdie in The Little Foxes and Another Part of the Forest, among others.  She has also appeared in productions with American Conservatory Theatre, Nassau Repertory, Kenyon Festival Theatre, The Westbank (NYC), and The Matrix Theatre (LA).  Television viewers will recognize her from various soap operas and television guest star roles, and her distinct voice can be heard on such audio books as Gapcreek and The Truest Pleasure by Robert Morgan, produced by John Runnette.  She studied at the English Speaking Theatre in Copenhagen and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, earned a BFA from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, and is a graduate and company member of The American Conservatory Theatre.
 
JAIMI PAIGE (Estella) made her ANW debut as Regina in the 2009 production of Ghosts. Her extensive stage credits include Green Eyes and Adam and Eve on a Ferry at the Tennessee Williams Theatre Festival (Provincetown), Proposals at Old Log Theatre, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Tale of Two Cities, Romeo and Juliet, Enchanted April and The Violet Hour at Park Square Theatre, A Devil Inside, The Crucible, and Independence at Gremlin Theatre, as well as Hamlet and Rozencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at Theatre Pro Rata.  Page has also appeared in such film and teleVision Productions as Peacock starring Cillian Murphey and Ellen Page, 2084 (in production), Horrible Flowers, Gigi 12x5, and Diagnosis X, and currently stars in Ghost Whisperer: The Other Side III at www.cbs.com/ghost.  She studied at the University of Minnesota and with the Margolis-Brown Theatre Co.
 
DANIEL REICHERT (Abel Magwitch/A Sergeant), who has appeared in such films as Batman Forever, Judging Amy, Charmed, Get Real, Prophet of Evil, and Dead in the Water and on NBC's Days of Our Lives, previously played Moe Axelrod in Awake and Sing!, and Lopakhin in The Cherry Orchard at A Noise Within. His other theatrical productions include Bus Stop, Side Man, and Enchanted April at Pasadena Playhouse; Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, Burn This, Tale of Two Cities, Saint Joan, King Lear and Twelfth Night, among others, at the American Conservatory Theater; Macbeth and The Importance of Being Earnest at Intiman Theater; Arms and the Man and The Rivals at Portland Center Stage; The Misanthrope, Betrayal and The Elephant Man at Andak Stage Company; King Lear, Oedipus Rex and Midsummer's Night Dream at American Players Theater; Much Ado About Nothing at San Francisco Shakespeare Festival; The Rivals at Denver Center Theater; Arms and the Man at South Coast Repertory; and Orpheus Descending at New York Stage and Film Company. Reichert holds a B.A. from Vassar College and an M.F.A. from the American Conservatory Theater.
 
STEPHEN ROCKWELL (Herbert Pocket/Compeyson), an A Noise Within Resident Artist for more than 14 years, also plays Lucio in the current production of Measure For Measure.  He has appeared in numerous productions at the repertory theatre company, including as Frederick Fellowes in Noises Off, Hortensio in The Taming of the Shrew, Ensemble in Oliver Twist, Don Carlos in Don Juan, Polixenes in The Winter's Tale, Carrasco in Man of La Mancha, Jamie Cregan in A Touch of the Poet, George F. Babbitt in Babbitt, Captain Macnure/Ensemble in Ubu Roi, Ragnar Brovik in The Master Builder, Roderigo in Othello, Peter Quince in A Midsummer Nights Dream, Rugby in A Flea In Her Ear, Lysander in A Midsummer Nights Dream at The Hollywood Bowl, Orestes in Electra, Swallow in A Wilde Holiday, Junius Brutus in Coriolanus, Deramo in The King Stag, Banquo in Macbeth, Semyon Yepikhodov in The Cherry Orchard, King Ferdinand of Navarre in Love's Labour's Lost, Tom Wrench in Trelawny of the Wells, Clarin in Life is a Dream, Oscar Hubbard in The Little Foxes and Another Part of the Forest, Gentleman Caller in The Glass Menagerie, Joe Gargery in Great Expectations, Randall Utterword in Heartbreak House, Clitandre in The Misanthrope, and more.  Among other acting credits, Rockwell has appeared at the Fremont Centre Theatre, Los Angeles Theatre Center, American Conservatory Theatre and the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (HVSF).  He has also directed Julius Caesar at the Open Fist Theater, Two Gentleman of Verona at HVSF, and Living Together at Fremont Center Theatre.  His film and television appearances include In Justice, Rodney, The Mikes (Pilot), The Comeback, Hawaii, Malcolm In the Middle, Good Morning Miami, Miss Match, ER, Roswell, M.Y.O.B., The Drew Carey Show and 3rd Rock From the Sun.  He has also been in several national television commercials, most notably in a T-Mobile spot as the father who "catches" his daughter with her boyfriend in the back seat of the car "texting!"  Rockwell earned a BA in Drama from Vassar College and an MFA from American Conservatory Theatre.
 
Deborah Strang (Miss Havisham) has been a Resident Artist with A Noise Within for 18 years and has performed in more than 40 productions, including Awake and Sing!, Noises Off and Richard III, last season, and Ghosts and Hamlet during the 2008-09 season.  Other productions have ranged from Shakespeare to Tennessee Williams, and Chekhov to Alfred Jarry.  Her favorite roles include Maxine Faulk in The Night of the Iguana, Mrs. Dearth in Dear Brutus, Paulina in The Winter's Tale, the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, Nora Melody in A Touch of the Poet, Ma Ubu in Ubu Roi, Dolly Levi in The Matchmaker, Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie, Mrs. Antrobus in The Skin of Our Teeth, Regina in Little Foxes, Alexandra in O Pioneers, Ranyevskaya in The Cherry Orchard, Rosemary in Picnic and as Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream in a co-production with the LA Philharmonic at the famed Hollywood Bowl.  Also at ANW, Strang co-directed Moliere's The Learned Ladies on the main stage as well as productions of Comedy of Errors and Twelfth Night for the Summer With Shakespeare teen programs.  She currently teaches Acting Shakespeare and coaches the interns in the ANW Conservatory and was a guest artist at the acclaimed Oklahoma Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain.  Her film and TV credits include Cold Case, Close to Home, Numb3rs, Ghostwhisperer, Threshold, Carnivale, The X-Files, Deep Space Nine, Kiss the Girls, Things To Do In Denver, and Eagle Eye with Shia LaBeouf.  Strang can be heard most Saturday mornings as the voice of Aunt May in the new animated TV series The Spectacular Spider-Man.
 
Single Tickets are $46 (Friday and Saturday evenings, Sunday matinees); $42 (Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings, Saturday matinees); and $32 (previews).  Groups (10 or more) are $25, or $30 on Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees; School Groups (10 or more) are $16, or $20 on Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees. 
 
A NOISE WITHIN is located at 234 South Brand Boulevard, Glendale, CA 91204.  To purchase tickets or for a full season brochure, call 818-240-0910 x1 or visit www.ANoiseWithin.org.