Colony Theatre to Present SEX AND EDUCATION, 2/12-3/16

The Colony Theatre will present Stephanie Zimbalist starring in SEX AND EDUCATION, written by Lissa Levin and directed by Andrew Barnicle. SEX AND EDUCATION will preview on Wednesday, February 12; Thursday, February 13; and Friday, February 14 at 8:00pm and will open on Saturday, February 15 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, March 16 at the Colony Theatre, 555 N. Third Street (at Cypress) adjacent to the Burbank Town Center Mall.

Before texting, facebooking, and tweeting became the preferred mode of communication for young people, there was writing notes. Remember passing them in high school? Remember how it felt to get caught? OMG! Meet Miss Edwards, a high school English teacher on the last day of a long teaching career. And meet Joe Marks, a basketball star whose college scholarship is suddenly in jeopardy when his attempt to pass his girlfriend a profanity-laced, sexually charged note, dripping with hormones and misplaced modifiers, is intercepted by Miss Edwards during a final exam. With nothing to lose as she bids farewell to her teaching career, Miss Edwards puts an unorthodox approach to the test, using the note to teach him a lesson in English composition, and to see if she can light an intellectual flame under one last underachiever.

Lissa Levin (Playwright) enjoys the frequent surprised reaction to the fact that Sex and Education, a play about the merits and intricacies of good grammar, was written by a 25-year veteran of television comedy. Her credits include the Emmy-nominatedMad About You, Cheers, WKRP In Cincinati, Family Ties, Brothers, Thunder Alley (with Ed Asner), Mr. Belevedere, and Gloria(with Sally Struthers), amongst many others. An award-winning librettist/lyricist, Levin garnered the prestigious Kleban Award for the libretto for her musical, Twist of Fate (composer Ron Abel), which also won L.A. Weekly's Musical of the Year and two L.A. Drama Critics Circle Awards, and was nominated for a Los Angeles Ovation Award for Best Musical. She is currently writing the book for the musical Hazel, based on the Saturday Evening Post cartoon and iconic tv character, with Ron Abel, and lyricist, Chuck Steffan. Levin's essay, Pisser, a rant about insufficient bathroom stalls in women's rest rooms in theaters, was published by Random House in a humor collection by noted women in the arts. The collection was later transformed into a theatrical benefit co-produced by Levin, a breast cancer activist, and Adryan Russ, supporting the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation. Levin hopes the regard for both English teachers and sit-com writers will be heightened by this play.

Andrew Barnicle (Director) is pleased to return to the Colony Theatre for his sixth production, including the recent Blame It On Beckett and Moonlight and Magnolias. Andy served as artistic director of The Laguna Play­house from 1991 through 2010. In that time he produced over 100 Playhouse shows and directed over 40 of them, including many World, U.S., West Coast and Southern California premieres. Recent directing projects at Laguna include Willy Russell's Shirley Valentine, Noel Coward'sPrivate Lives, Ron Hutchinson's Moonlight and Magnolias, which also played the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts as a co-production with McCoy/Rigby Entertainment. In the past few years, he directed Coward's Present Laughter at Chapman University, Shirley Valentine at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank, The Irish Curse at the Odyssey Theatre in LA, and Private Lives at the Rubicon Theatre in Ventura. Andrew previously served as Head of Theatre at United States International University's School of Performing and Visual Arts in San Diego, and was the Associate Artistic Director at North Coast Repertory Theatre. He has also directed at San Diego's Theatre at Old Town, Michigan's Meadow Brook Theatre, and The Foreigner at the San Jose Repertory Theatre.

As an actor, he has appeared numerous times Off-Broadway and in major roles in eighteen LORT productions across the country, including Meadow Brook Theatre, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, San Diego Rep, the Alaska Rep, and five roles at The Laguna Playhouse, including The Actor in Enter The Guardsman, Sam Galahad in both the production and on the cast album CD of Gunmetal Blues, in David Rambo's The Ice-Breaker, and most recently in Noel Coward's Fallen Angels. He played the title role in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part One at North Coast Rep.

Stephanie Zimbalist (Miss Edwards) is delighted to tread the Colony boards for the first time. THE BOARDS [selected]: A Little Night Music (South Coast, Ensemble), The Lion in Winter (Ensemble), The Subject Was Roses(George Street), Tea at Five (several venues, Indie Award), You Can't Take It With You, Hamlet, The Night of the Iguana, Defying Gravity, Dancing at Lughnasa, The Rainmaker (all Rubicon, Robby Award), Vincent in Brixton (Pasadena),The Cherry Orchard (Long Wharf, Odyssey), Side Man (Guthrie Lab), Sylvia (L.A. Premiere, Drama-L0gue, Robby Awards), The Philadelphia Story (Cleveland), The Threepenny Opera (Williamstown), The Baby Dance (original cast, Pasadena, Williamstown, Long Wharf, Lucille Lortel), My One And Only National Tour, Summer and Smoke, Barbarians(Williamstown), The Tempest (Taper). With Lucie Arnaz, Betty Buckley, Morris Carnovsky, Honi Coles, Anthony Hopkins, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Alfred Molina, Chris Reeve, Annie Reinking, Tommy Tune, and her father Efrem. Directed by Jenny Sullivan (a continuous honor), Marcia Milgrom Dodge, John Jory, John Tillinger, Andy Robinson, Nikos Psacharopoulos, Arvin Brown, John Hirsch. THE BIG SCREEN: The Awakening (w/Charlton Heston, directed by Mike Newell), The Magic of Lassie (w/James Stewart). THE BOX [selected]: over 30 movies, The Gathering, Centennial, The Golden Moment, The Story Lady (w/Jessica Tandy), Caroline? (w/George Grizzard for Hallmark, Golden Globe nomination), Incident in a Small Town (w/Walter Matthau, Harry Morgan), and Stop the World - I Want to Get Off for A&E. Laura Holt in the NBC/MTM series Remington Steele. To Elizabeth Farrar, Warriners English Grammar and Composition, and Marlborough School. www.stephaniezimbalist.net.

Allison LindSEY (Hannah) is honored to be making her debut at the Colony Theatre. Originally from San Diego, Allison became involved in the theatre scene there from a very young age, and never stopped. She studied theatre at UC Irvine, and she is also an alumnus of the La Jolla Playhouse Conservatory. She currently studies at the Ivana Chubbuck Studio in Hollywood, and she is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA. Allison is often seen devoting her energy to entertaining children. One of her favorite roles was "Jamie," Big Bird's best "human" friend, in a live Sesame Streetmusical production at Sea World called Big Bird's Beach Party. She is a regular cast member of the pop musicalTwinkle Time, both the live show and Internet videos, where she plays the prissy Priscilla Poodle. She has been a volunteer for the BookPals program through the SAG Foundation reading books to children in an East Hollywood kindergarten class for the last two school years. She can also be seen dancing down Main Street USA at Disneyland, as she is a current parade performer there as well. www.AllisonLindsey.com

WILLIAM REINBOLD (Joe) is excited to be making his Colony Theatre and Actors' Equity debut. Last year, he appeared in the Archway Theatre's production of Christopher Marlowe's Faustus where he played the titular character. William has also performed with Coeurage in their production of Love's Labours Lost, Creative Pulse's Richard II, and in a number of productions at Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga. William is also a proud member of Drive Theatre Company and Actors Equity Association. wjreinbold.com.

SEX AND EDUCATION features an award-winning design team. Scenic Design is by Trefoni Michael Rizzi (Ovation award, Songs for a New World). The Costume Design is by Dianne K. Graebner (Ovation nominations, The Brothers Karamazov and Battle Hymn). The Lighting Design is by Jared A. Sayeg (Ovation nominations, Trying and Kiss Me, Kate). The Sound Design is by Drew Dalzell (Ovation Award, Songs for a New World). Props Design and Set Dressing is by Colony Theatre resident designer John McElveney.

SEX AND EDUCATION will open on Saturday, February 15, at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, March 16. Performances for SEX AND EDUCATION are Thursdays & Fridays at 8:00pm; Saturdays at 3:00pm & 8:00pm; and Sundays at 2:00pm. Ticket prices range from $20.00 - $49.00 (group discounts are available). SEX AND EDUCATIONwill preview on Wednesday, February 12; Thursday, February 13; and Friday, February 14 at 8:00pm at The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street (at Cypress) adjacent to the Burbank Town Center Mall.

Opening night performance with reception - all tickets $55.00. There are question-and-answer talkbacks after the performances on Friday, February 21 and Thursday, March 6. For tickets, call the Colony Theatre Box Office at818/558-7000 ext. 15 or online at www.ColonyTheatre.Org.

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