Lily Nicksay and Erik Odom to Reunite in Rubicon Theatre's SEE ROCK CITY This Winter

The Appalachian love story of May and Raleigh continues as Rubicon Theatre Company presents SEE ROCK CITY by Arlene Hutton, running January 27 through February 14, 2016, in Ventura's Downtown Cultural District.

Set in the 1940's in Corbin, Kentucky, SEE ROCK CITY is a funny, tender and universal portrait of a young couple trying to find their footing in a world on the brink of great change. The production is the sequel to Last Train to Nibroc, which was presented by Rubicon last season to popular and critical acclaim. (The production was nominated for an Ovation Award for "Best Play, Larger Theatre").

Award-winning director Katharine Farmer returns to helm SEE ROCK CITY. Lily Nicksay ("Boy Meets World"/The Wild Duck at A Noise Within) and Erik Odom ("The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2"/Sons of the Prophet at The Blank) reprise their roles as May and Raleigh, joined by returning Rubicon artist Clarinda Ross (Spit Like a Big Girl/Steel Magnolias) and Sharon Sharth (television and film veteran and member of Actors Studio and Circle Rep in New York).

Low-priced previews for SEE ROCK CITY begin Wed., Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. and continue Thurs., Jan. 28 and Sun., Jan. 29 at 8 p.m. Opening night is Sat., Jan. 30 at 7 p.m., and is followed by an after-party hosted by Busy Bee Diner with the artists and local dignitaries. SEE ROCK CITY continues through Feb. 14, with performances Wed. at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Thurs. at 8 p.m., Fri. at 8 p.m., Sat. at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sun. at 2 p.m. Rubicon Theatre is located at 1006 E. Main in Ventura's Downtown Cultural District. Tickets are $25 - $54; with discounts for students, active military and groups of 10 or more. For tickets and information, call (805) 667-2900 or go to www.rubicontheatre.org.

SEE ROCK CITY opens with May and Raleigh returning to Corbin, Kentucky after plans to honeymoon in Rock City are derailed. The newlyweds settle into small-town life, living with May's parents. May is the local school principal; and Raleigh, discharged from the army for medical reasons, is beginning to find success as a short-story writer. The couple works to make ends meet and find their place in the community under the watchful eyes of May's gentle and supportive mother (Mrs. Gill), and Raleigh's taciturn, judgmental mother (Mrs. Brummett). When victory overseas results in unexpected consequences on the home front, May and Raleigh must confront hidden truths and deal with the challenges of a new, post-war America.

According to Rubicon Producing Artistic Director Karyl Lynn Burns, "Last Train to Nibroc was the surprise hit of last year's season. The play seems understated and simple," she continues, "but it packs a powerful emotional punch. Many of our audience members related to the struggles faced by May and Raleigh and were captivated by the charm and gentle humor of the piece. The storytelling was so true, and the characters so real, that every night after the performance, attendees asked what happened to May and Raleigh after the play ended. We quickly knew we had to produce the sequel."

Katharine Farmer, who at 21 was the youngest person to ever direct a mainstage show at Rubicon with Last Train to Nibroc, returns to Rubicon for SEE ROCK CITY having made her West End directing debut this fall.

Farmer first came in contact with Rubicon after Rubicon's production of Daddy Long Legs played the St. James in London (where Farmer later assisted Trevor Nunn on his acclaimed London production of Scenes from a Marriage). Farmer was then only a sophomore at the University of Warwick, but had already directed a number of plays and produced and directed one of the top-grossing shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Impressed by her knowledge of the field and passion for new works, Burns asked Farmer to read scripts for Rubicon. She was then invited by Burns and Artistic Director James O'Neil during a spring break to produce Rubicon's 2013 Plays-in-Progress series. One of the plays Farmer selected for the series, 23.5 Hours by Carey Crim (later retitled Conviction), was co-produced in 2014 by Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, Rubicon, and Dead Posh, Farmer's production company. Farmer also served as Assistant Director for the production under Scott Schwartz and Katie Lindsay.

After graduating, Farmer came to work with Rubicon on an internship through Cultural Vistas, during which time she assisted Jenny Sullivan and James O'Neil on Rubicon Off-Broadway transfers of Wiesenthal and Lonesome Traveler, respectively (both nominated for Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards). She also assisted director Stephanie Coltrin on Rubicon's production of The Last Five Years. As the final part of the Cultural Vistas program, Farmer directed Rubicon's mainstage production of Last Train to Nibroc, winning an Indy Award on her 22nd birthday. The production was nominated for an Ovation for Best Play Larger Theatre and was a part of Rubicon's Best Season nomination (which also included Conviction and The Last Five Years).

Since completing her Rubicon internship, Farmer made her West End directing debut with the farce Pig Farm by Tony Winner Greg Kotis, starring Stephen Tompkinson. She will be making her Canadian directing debut this fall at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.

Actors Lily Nicksay and Erik Odom return to Rubicon for SEE ROCK CITY, continuing their critically acclaimed portrayals of May and Raleigh, respectively, in Last Train to Nibroc.

Says Farmer, "It has been such a great pleasure in rehearsal to see how deeply Lily and Erik know and own these characters. They were incredible together in Last Train to Nibroc; the passage of time has deepened their connection to each other and the challenges faced by this decent, devoted couple in a beautiful, sometimes unbearably beautiful, way."

"It is also lovely," says Farmer, "to experience May and Raleigh's SEE ROCK CITY story from the perspective of two new characters. It greatly enriches our understanding of who they are, and of the time period and place."

Clarinda Ross plays Raleigh's tactless mother Mrs. Brummett, and Sharon Sharth is May's good-natured mother Mrs. Gill.

Lily Nicksay's prior theatre credits include The Wild Duck (A Noise Within, Ovation Nomination for "Best Featured Actress"), The Curse of Oedipus (Antaeus Company), The Trip Back Down (Whitefire Theatre), Heaven Can Wait (Glendale Centre Theatre), and Shakers (Ghostlight Theatre). She's been seen in films such as "Killing Animals" (executive produced by James Franco), "The Negotiator," "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle," and "Up Close & Personal," among others. On television, Nicksay began her career as series regular Morgan Matthews on "Boy Meets World." She has also guest-starred on "The Mentalist," "The Guardian," "8 Simple Rules" and "Judging Amy."

Erik Odom recently made his London stage debut with Pig Farm at the St James Theatre, directed by Katharine Farmer (Last Train to Nibroc and SEE ROCK CITY). Other theatre credits include the Los Angeles Premiere of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize finalist Sons of the Prophet at The Blank Theatre, the World Premiere of Uploaded and the West Coast Premiere of A Bright New Boise at the Rogue Machine (nominee for 2013 LA Weekly Theatre Award for Best Supporting Male Actor). Erik's screen credits include Peter in "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2." Erik will next star in the independent feature film "Tidewater Project."

Clarinda Ross returns to Rubicon having appeared in Steel Magnolias, Bad Apples and the World Premiere of her own play Spit Like a Big Girl. She has received numerous accolades for her stage work from Backstage West, LA Weekly, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Drama-Logue, and LA Stage Alliance. Clarinda made her film debut in "Blue Sky" with Jessica Lange and Tommy Lee Jones, directed by Sir Tony Richardson. She later appeared in "Fluke" directed by Italian filmmaker, Carlo Carlei. Clarinda's first play From My Grandmother's Grandmother Unto Me celebrates its thirtieth anniversary next year, having toured extensively in the '80's and '90's and was made into a television special for PBS with Ross in the lead.

Sharon Sharth is a lifetime member of Actors Studio and a longtime member and leading actress with Circle Repertory Company where she played May in Sam Shepard's Fool For Love with Will Patton, touring the show internationally, most notably in Japan. She has originated lead roles for playwrights such as Lanford Wilson, John Bishop, Caroline Kava and Aaron Sorkin, among others. In LA, she performed with Jane Kaczmarek in The Snake Can at the Odyssey Theatre, and earlier that same year, starred in the Los Angeles Times "Critic's Choice" production of Alan Ayckbourn's Woman in Mind at Sierra Madre Playhouse. Sharon has also been seen in original stage productions including Hoagy, Bix, & Bunkhaus at the Mark Taper Forum and in the World Premiere of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 at the Colony Theatre. She is also a member of Dramatists Guild and Antaeus Playwrights. Her play, Dates and Nuts, was produced off-Broadway and her award-winning play, Waiting for Grace, will have its World Premiere in May 2016 at the Odyssey Theatre in LA.

The design team from Last Train to Nibroc returns for SEE ROCK CITY as well, including Mike Billings (sets, lights and projections), Austin Quan (sound) and Marcy Froehlich, who received an Ovation nomination for her costumes for Last Train. Jessie Vacchiano serves as Stage Manager and Christina Burck is Production Manager.

New-York based playwright Arlene Hutton, has been a part of the first-week rehearsal process for SEE ROCK CITY, and will return to join the company for previews and the opening weekend.

Hutton is best known for "The Nibroc Trilogy," which is inspired by her own Appalachian roots and by family members and events. The Trilogy includes Last Train to Nibroc (Drama League Best Play nomination), SEE ROCK CITY (Spirit of America Award) and Gulf View Drive (which had its World Premiere nearly a decade ago at Actors Co-op in Los Angeles and was nominated for LA Weekly and Ovation Awards).

Her plays have been presented Off- and Off-Off-Broadway and at theatres across the U.S., in London, Edinburgh and throughout the world.

Other works by Hutton include Vacuum, I Dream Before I Take the Stand, Three Sisters Brontë, As It Is In Heaven, and Happy Worst Day Ever (commissioned by Cincinnati Playhouse and winner of the Macy's New Play Prize). She is an eight-time Actors Theatre of Louisville 10-Minute Play Contest finalist, three- time winner of the Samuel French Short Play Festival, a finalist for the Francesca Primus Prize and recipient of the Lippmann and Calloway Awards and an EST/Sloan Commission.

Residencies include the Australian National Playwrights Conference, New Harmony Project, Blue Mountain Center, MacDowell Colony and Yaddo. Her play for teens Kissed the Girls and Made Them Cry premiered at the 2015 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Letters to Sala was recently presented at TBG in New York in October. Hutton teaches playwriting at The Barrow Group.

SEE ROCK CITY runs Jan. 27 through Feb.14, 2016. Low-priced previews are Wed., Jan. 27 at 7:00 p.m., and Thurs. and Fri., Jan. 28 and 29 at 8:00 p.m. Opening night is Sat., Jan. 30 at 7:00 p.m., with a post-show reception with the cast and local dignitaries at Busy Bee Diner. The regular performance schedule is Wed. at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., Thurs. and Fri. at 8:00 p.m., Sat. at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sun. at 2:00 p.m. Talkbacks with the performers are scheduled after Wednesday evening performances (except for the first preview).

Tickets for SEE ROCK CITY may be purchased in person through the Rubicon Theatre Company Box Office at the corner of Main and Laurel in Ventura (Laurel entrance and downstairs). To charge by phone, call 805.667.2900 or visit Rubicon online at www.rubicontheatre.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.