EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR Coming Soon To The Long Beach Playhouse

The Long Beach Playhouse opens its 2019 Studio Season with Lauren Gunderson's play entitled Exit, Pursued by a Bear. The play's subtitle is "A Revenge Comedy." It's a play that feels like a mashup between Shakespeare and the Coen Brothers. The protagonist, Nan, is trapped in an unhappy marriage with a man named Kyle. She and her best friend, Simon, along with a stripper named Sweetheart, cook up a plot to reenact scenes from Nan and Kyle's miserable marriage in hopes of helping Kyle understand the ways he's failed her.

"The script is hilarious," said Madison Mooney, the Playhouse's Executive Director, "But it also cleverly addresses the reality of domestic violence as seen through the various prisms of those involved. It's both shallow and deep, all at the same time. That's one of my favorite things about this play."

The title comes from a famous stage direction in Shakespeare's play The Winter's Tale. In Gunderson's hands the title is more literal. Nan, Simon and Sweetheart aren't content with just showing Kyle the error of his ways, they set a trap using raw meat and honey in hopes his fate will be sealed by a hungry bear.

"This might be the first time we have plays by the same author running at the same time in the Studio and Mainstage Theaters," said Sean Gray, Producing Artistic Director for the Playhouse. "Lauren Gunderson is an impressive playwright as evidenced by how very different Exit, Pursued by a Bear is from Silent Sky. I'm hoping some audience members will see one of the shows and be so impressed they decide to see the other."

James Rice is taking another turn in the director's chair for this show. Other Playhouse shows he's directed include Rumors, The Final Adventure of Sherlock Holmes and A Flea in Her Ear. Rice said he's enjoyed directing this show because of the inventive script and the chance to examine the various aspects of revenge.
All of the cast members for this show are audience favorites including Michael Kaye, Jennifer Whitney, Deva Marie Gregory and Lee Samuel Tanng.

SPECIAL EVENTS FOR THIS PLAY:

• Pay what you can Thursday April 25 - community can see this production for whatever they can afford
• Two for One Preview Friday April 26- Tickets are $10.00
• Opening Night Champagne Reception with cast on April 27- Tickets are $27.00

Friday: Adults are $20.00, Seniors $18.00, and Students $14.00, Saturday and Sunday: Adults are $24.00, Seniors $21.00, and Students $14.00.

Tickets are available at www.lbplayhouse.org, or by calling 562-494-1014, option 1.
To request an interview with the director, cast members or reserve your media tickets to this performance, please send an email to: pr@lbplayhouse.org.

Long Beach Playhouse is located at 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach, CA, 90804, right across from the Long Beach Recreation golf course. The Playhouse is community-supported theatre with programs and events that cut across age, gender, ethnic, and cultural boundaries.

Performances are 8 p.m. Friday, and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. The box office is open Wednesday-Saturday from 3:00-8:00 pm and Sundays from 1:00-2:00 pm on scheduled matinees.

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