Open Fist Theater Company Presents MOON OVER BUFFALO

The Open Fist Theatre Company has announced the next production in their 2012 season, MOON OVER BUFFALO, written by Ken Ludwig and directed by Bjørn Johnson, featuring fight choreography by B.H. Barry. MOON OVER BUFFALO will begin previews on Friday, January 13, 2012 at 8pm; and will open on Friday, January 20 at 8pm and run through Saturday, March 10 at the Open Fist Theatre, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood.

In the madcap comedy tradition of Lend Me A Tenor comes the hilarious Moon Over Buffalo which centers on George and Charlotte Hay, fading stars of the 1950's. At the moment, they’re playing Private Lives and Cyrano De Bergerac in rep in Buffalo, New York with 5 actors.

On the brink of a disastrous split-up caused by George’s dalliance with a young ingénue, they receive word that they might just have one last shot at stardom: Frank Capra is coming to town to see their matinee, and if likes what he sees, he might cast them in his movie remake of The Scarlet Pimpernel. Unfortunately for George and Charlotte, everything that could go wrong does go wrong, abetted by a visit from their daughter’s clueless fiancé and hilarious uncertainty about which play they’re actually performing, caused by Charlotte’s deaf old stage-manager mother who hates every bone in George’s body. Moon over Buffalo marked Carol Burnett’s triumphant return to Broadway after 30 years (for which she received a Tony Award nomination) and has been universally embraced by critics near and far.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM AND CAST

Ken Ludwig (Writer) Ken Ludwig is an internationally acclaimed playwright whose many hits on Broadway, in London's West End and throughout the world have made his name synonymous with modern comedy. He has had six shows on Broadway and six in the West End, and he has won the Laurence Olivier Award, England’s highest theatre honor, as well as three Tony Award nominations and two Helen Hayes Awards. His work has been commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and has been performed in thirty countries in over twenty languages. His musical Crazy For You ran for over four years on Broadway and in London. After a hit revival at The Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park, it transferred to the West End for an open-ended run. Lend Me A Tenor, originally produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber and recently revived on Broadway with an all-star cast, was called “one of the two great farces by a living writer” by The New York Times. Other plays and musicals include Moon Over Buffalo (Broadway & London’s Old Vic, starring Carol Burnett, Lynn Redgrave, Joan Collins & Frank Langella); Twentieth Century (Broadway, starring Alec Baldwin & Anne Heche); The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Broadway); Treasure Island (London, Theatre Royal, Haymarket; 2009 AATE Distinguished Play Award for Best Adaptation); Shakespeare in Hollywood (commissioned by The Royal Shakespeare Company, Helen Hayes Award as Best Play); Leading Ladies; Be My Baby (starring HAl Holbrook and Dixie Carter); The Beaux' Stratagem (adaptation with Thornton Wilder at the request of the Wilder Estate); The Three Musketeers (Bristol Old Vic); An American in Paris; Sullivan & Gilbert; The Fox on the Fairway; The Game’s Afoot, Midsummer/Jersey;The Hound of the Baskervilles; and his first children’s play, ’Twas the Night Before Christmas. His work has appeared in The Yale Review, and he is writing a book for Crown Publishing entitled How To Teach Your Children Shakespeare. He studied music at Harvard with Leonard Bernstein and theatre history at Cambridge University in England. For more information, please visit www.kenludwig.com.

BJØRN JOHNSON (Director) Bjørn Johnson won the LA Weekly Best Direction Award for Dutchman, and was honored to direct the critically acclaimed world premiere of Neil LaBute’s
The New Testament at Open Fist Theatre. Most recently Bjørn directed The Lady of Larkspur Lotion in the long extended production of Five Beauties: a selection of one acts by Tennessee Williams for The New American Theatre. Among his other productions, Bjørn has been celebrated for his crackerjack direction of two riotous comedies: Light Up the Sky and Room Service. As a performing artist, Bjørn continues to push himself and his actors to tackle projects that are challenging and scary – projects that force self-discovery and growth. Bjørn has been running his popular acting studio in Hollywood for 11 years and counting.

B.H. Barry (Fight Choreography) Broadway's premier fight-director, B.H. Barry has been awarded both a Drama Desk and an Obie Award for Sustained and Consistent Excellence in Stage Combat. His copious credits include: Treasure Island, Kiss Me, Kate, The Life, Crazy for You, An Inspector Calls, City of Angels, Moon Over Buffalo and Voices in the Dark. He is the co-founder of Shakespeare and Company and Blue Light Theatre Co. In 2010 B.H. was the recipient of a Tony Award Honor for Excellence for his numerous contributions to the stage.

DYLAN MADDALENA (Producer) Dylan grew up in the Pacific Northwest, moving from Alaska, to Seattle, to Southern California. He has worked and trained in theatre along the way and in 2004, joined The Open Fist Theater Company. His recent film career piqued between acclaimed student spec commercials and dead corpses on crime dramas, so things are looking up! Past Producer credits include Proof for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as well as Blue Night in the Heart of the West, and The idiot Box for The Open Fist Theatre Co. Dylan graduated with a BFA in Acting from USC and is a member of the Screen Actors Guild.

CHARLOTTE CHANLER (Producer) Charlotte’s OFTC credits include Machinal and A Wolf Inside the Fence (LA Weekly nomination Best Supporting Actress.) Other Theatre Credits:
The Children’s Hour, Proof, Reckless, West Side Story, Guys and Dolls, Born Yesterday, Demoliton Downtown, Run for your Wife, Macbeth, Noises Off, Goodnight Desdemona Good Morning Juliet,
The Miracle Worker, Twelfth Night, Grease, Much Ado About Nothing, Into the Woods. Film: A Quiet Little Marriage, The Gig, What a Pain, Knots, Toodles. TV: BBC The Birth of Hollywood, 2 ½ Men. Training: BFA The College of Santa Fe, Vancouver Film School’s one year Acting for Film and Television Program, Canada’s National Voice Intensive, Upright Citizens Brigade and Williamstown Theatre Festival.

The cast of MOON OVER BUFFALO includes JOHN BOBEK, BENJAMIN BURDICK, NORMA CAMPBELL, KATIE COSTICK, JOHN LAMAY, LAETITIA LEON, David Peterson & WENDY PHILLIPS.

MOON OVER BUFFALO features an award-winning design team. Fight Choreography by B.H. Barry. The Set Design is by JAMES SPENCER; The Lighting Design is by Sammy Ross; The Sound Design is by Peter Carlstedt; The Costume Design is by JEFFREY SCHOENBERG; and The Prop Design is by Colin Campbell, with assistance from Bruce Dickinson & INA RUSSELL.

MOON OVER BUFFALO production team:
DYLAN MADDALENA & CHARLOTTE CHANLER, Producers; AMANDA WEIER, LAETITIA LEON & BETH ROBBINS, Production Managers; KEVIN McCORKLE, Technical Supervisor; MAIA ROSENFELD, Graphic Design; TIM DAVIS, Stage Manager.
SCHEDULE AND PRICING

MOON OVER BUFFALO will preview on Jan. 13th, 14th and 19th at 8pm and will open on Friday, January 20th at 8pm and will run through Saturday, March. 10th at The Open Fist Theatre, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood.

Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm. and Sundays at 2pm. Ticket prices are $25; tickets for the opening night gala are $35. Special group rates available for parties of 10 or more. For information, to view complete schedule & purchase tickets, please visit the website for details at www.openfist.org.

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