Previews Of RANTOUL AND DIE Begin 5/14 At The Lillian Theatre

Producers Stephen Eich and Don Foster announced casting today for the world premiere of Mark Roberts’ Rantoul and Die, A Romantic Comedy Wrapped in Razor Wire at The Lillian Theater (1076 Lillian Way) in Hollywood. The new play stars Paul Dillon (originated the title role in Tracy Letts’ Killer Joe) as Gary, Cynthia Ettinger (Actors’ Gang’s I am not a racist, but . . .) as Debbie, Rich Hutchman (Buzzworks Theatre Company’s Invasion of the Minnesota Normals) as Rallis and Lisa Rothschiller (Chicago’s Defiant Theatre Company’s Action Movie: The Play) as Callie.  Two-time Tony award-nominee Erin Quigley (costume designs for The Grapes of Wrath and The Songs of Jacob Zulu) is set to direct. Preview performances begin May 14, 2009.

“For me, the process of casting is a nerve-wracking nightmare. I feel the actors' pain. I smell their fear. I've been there, and it still makes my knees shake to think about it. But casting Rantoul and Die proved inspiring. Every actor we saw showed us something wonderful and unique, due in large part to the fact that the play is rich with the kind of material that actors love. Mark Roberts has populated Rantoul and Die with four of the funniest, ugliest, heartbreakingly real characters ever, and crams them together in a grimy little world that makes the local Dairy Queen and Dante's Inferno seem one and the same, said director Erin Quigley.

She added, “The cast is crazy good. And they had to be both for Rantoul. We were looking for actors that could make the trip back and forth between funny and dangerous without missing a beat, and I couldn't be more thrilled with who we found.   The journey into the Central Illinois of Rantoul and Die with this amazing cast is a wild ride that I'm very much looking forward to, and I aim to bring that adventure to the audience with all the tools I can muster.”

In Rantoul and Die, Rallis (Rich Hutchman) and Debbie's (Cynthia Ettinger) marriage has reached its expiration date.  In fact, it's soured and stuck to the bottom of the carton.  She wants him to pack his stuff and hit the bricks, but he's clingin' to the past like a cat on a screen door.  How far will a man go to hang on to his lady fair?    It's a thin line between love and hate.  A kiss and a punch.  An ice cream cone and a beer bottle to the back of the head.

Joining the Rantoul and Die creative team are set and lighting designer David Harwell, costume designer Mary Quigley, sound designer Matt Richter, production stage manager Danielle Bearden-Mead and casting director Phyllis Schuringa.

The world premiere of Rantoul and Die is presented by Stephen Eich and Don Foster.  An original workshop production was produced at the Station Theatre in Urbana, Illinois.

Rantoul and Die begins performances May 14 through July 4, 2009, with the official press opening on May 16, 2009.  The world premiere production will play at The Lillian Theater, 1076 Lillian Way in Hollywood.  Performance schedule is Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday nights at 7:00 p.m.  Tickets range from $20.00 - $35.00.  Tickets are available by calling (323) 960-4424 or online at www.RantoulAndDie.com. For additional information go to www.RantoulAndDie.com or www.MySpace.com/RantoulAndDie.

Paul Dillon (Gary).  Born and raised in Joliet, Illinois, Paul was busy on Chicago stages before moving to Los Angeles in 1994.  He originated the roles of the Cabbie in Will Kern's, Hellcab at The Famous Door Theatre, and the titular Killer Joe in Tracy Letts' play at the Next Lab in Evanston.  He co-founded, together with other co-founding members Tracy Letts and Michael Shannon, the long-lived, Bang Bang Spontaneous Theater, antiform improv, at The No Exit Cafe.  In 1999, he first reprised Killer Joe, Off Broadway at The Soho Playhouse, appearing for six months. In 2005, he reappeared as the Dallas police detective in the Ovation award-winning, west coast premiere production at The Gardener Stages.  At Bang Bang, he produced and played the Cabbie in 1995's LA Weekly award-winning production of Hellcab at the Tamarind Theater. Those efforts, with great help and good fortune led to the independent feature film called Chicago Cab in its theatrical release and Hellcab thereafter.  Favorite roles also include the Dealer from In the Solitude of Cottonfields at A Red Orchid Theatre, the Professor from Heart of a Dog at The Lillian Theater, and Macheath from The Odyssey's latest Threepenny Opera.  Paul lately appeared as Alan in Rogue Machine's LA premiere of Brett Neveu's American Dead.  He earns his living from film and tv, and notable work has been as, Angelo, recurring on “The Pretender,” Paddy O'Brien in Austin Powers:IMOM, and Irvine in Fight Club.

Cynthia Ettinger (Debbie) most recently wrote and directed I am not a racist, but . . . at Tim Robbins’ The Actors’ Gang.  As founding member of The Actors’ Gang, Cynthia has performed in many of the company’s biggest productions through its twenty-five year history, including Carnage, Freaks, Medea Macbeth Cinderella, Four Roses, The Seagull; and perhaps most memorably in her critically-acclaimed performance in Self Defense (LA Weekly Award for Leading Female Performance).  Selected film credits include The Silence of the Lambs, Frailty, Thirteen, and Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny.  Cynthia was a series regular on HBO’s “Carnivale” and “Deadwood” and has guest starred on innumerable television series including “Seinfeld,” “Law and Order SVU,” "ER," "Without A Trace," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and "House M.D."  Cynthia volunteers with the Actors Gang Prison Project teaching inmates the power of creative self-expression through theater.

Rich Hutchman (Rallis) was born in Belfast, N. Ireland and moved with his family to Detroit as a child. Rich attended Kalamazoo College in Michigan and then moved to Chicago to pursue his acting. There he worked with Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, and Red Orchid among others.  Since moving to Los Angeles he has appeared in numerous commercials and some film and television. Television credits include: “Mad Men,” “Bones,” “Studio 60,” “Monk,” and a pilot for The Onion magazine.  Film credits include: Seven Pounds, Deja Vu, The Island, and Disney's Phantom of the Megaplex, among others.  Rich is the current Artistic Director for Buzzworks Theater Company, and has most recently performed in their productions of Invasion of the Minnesota Normals and Pete's Garage.

Lisa Rothschiller (Callie) recently relocated to Los Angeles from Chicago where she was a long-time member and one-time artistic director of the award-winning Defiant Theatre Company.  Lisa appeared in numerous shows with Defiant, some favorites of which include: Action Movie: The Play (Jeff Award for Outstanding Ensemble), The Skriker, Bluebeard, Dracula and Macbeth.  She also directed the American premieres of two Sarah Kane plays for Defiant:  Phaedra’s Love and Cleansed (After Dark award for Direction).   In addition she acted with many other great Chicago theatre companies including:  The Goodman, Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, Famous Door (Jeff Award for Best Ensemble for The Cider House Rules), Strawdog, The Factory, Mary Arrchie, Profiles (After Dark Award for Performance in Wonder of the World), and Rivendell (After Dark Award for Ensemble for Self-Defense or Death of Some Salesmen).  Lisa received her BA in Drama from the University of Washington and her MFA in Acting from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.  She has taught acting at the University of Arizona and taught and directed teenage actors as part of the Arizona Theatre Company’s Summer on Stage Program.

Mark Roberts (Playwright) became interested in the arts at an early age and started working at The Station Theatre, a small local performing space in a converted train station in Urbana, Illinois.   In his early twenties he moved to Chicago to pursue a career as an actor and writer, using stand-up comedy as a way to pay the bills. Comedy took him to Los Angeles, where Mark appeared on "The Tonight Show" several times and that led to guest starring roles on numerous television series, among them, "Seinfeld," "Friends," "The Practice," "The Larry Sanders Show," "The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air" and the films Next Of Kin and Bulletproof.  He also worked as a series regular for three seasons on "The Naked Truth" with Téa Leoni.  While working as an actor, Mark wrote and produced several plays in Los Angeles, eventually catching the attention of writer-producer Chuck Lorre, with his one-act comedy Couples Counseling Killed Katie at the Plymouth Theatre Company.  He and Lorre created an un-produced pilot based on the stage-play and in 2004 when the Lorre-penned "Two and a Half Men" was picked up by CBS, Roberts was immediately hired as a producer and has been there ever since, rising to the level of Executive Producer.  Roberts continues to return to the Station Theatre to produce his original plays, which include Welcome To Tolono, Whitey, Where The Great Ones Run, and Parasite Drag.   Several of his works have been picked up by Dramatists Play Service, Inc. and published into acting editions.

Erin Quigley (Director) began her theatrical career as the resident costume designer for Chicago’s famed Steppenwolf Theatre, during which time she garnered two prestigious Tony Award nominations for her work on Broadway. During the ensuing years, she designed the top-rated television sitcom “Roseanne,” “The Jeff Foxworthy Show,” along with many other stage, television, and film projects.  Later, Erin worked as a producer and development executive for 23 Red Productions, in collaboration with 20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers Television.  She most recently directed the drag musical Miss Desmond Behind Bars in Los Angeles and San Francisco.  Erin is an alum of CSULB and the Art Center College of Design.

Stephen Eich (Producer) is a producer, manager, teacher, and director with 30 years experience in both the commercial and not-for-profit professional theatre. From 1979 to 1995, he was the Managing Director of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company where he produced over 125 productions including the 1990 Tony Award-winning Best Play, The Grapes of Wrath. While there he oversaw the emergence of an internationally recognized award-winning theater, built a new $9.5 million dollar home for the company and secured the theater’s administrative future.  He produced Steve Martin’s award-winning Picasso at the Lapin Agile at Steppenwolf before taking it to Los Angeles’ Westwood Playhouse, then to New York, Chicago, San Francisco and England.  Mr. Eich was co-producer of Paul Simon’s Broadway musical The Capeman, and produced two concerts at Carnegie Hall in New York featuring the national voices of Puerto Rico.  Most recently from 2000-2008, Mr. Eich was the Managing Director of The Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.   He received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Directing from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Science in Theater Education from Illinois State University.

Don Foster (Producer) is a writer and executive producer for the CBS comedy “Two and a Half Men.”  He began his television career in 1990 as a staff writer on the ABC comedy “Roseanne.” He was associated with the show for four years and then served as a writer/producer on another ABC comedy “Dharma and Greg” for each of its five seasons before beginning his stint with “Two and a Half Men” in 2003.  For his work on these shows he has received Golden Globes, Emmy nominations, People’s Choice Awards and a Peabody.  Don studied with Tony Award-winning playwright Mark Medoff and graduated from New Mexico State University in 1981 with a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre. In the mid-80’s he was a member of the improvisational theatre troupe: Dudley Riggs’ Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis.

For more information, visit www.RantoulAndDie.com.

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