Ricky Jay Brings Brand New Mamet Directed Show To Geffen Playhouse's Main Stage

The elusive Ricky Jay will be bringing his brand new show Ricky Jay: A Rogue's Gallery - An Evening of Conversation and Performance to the main stage of the Geffen Playhouse for two weeks only from December 29, 2009 to January 10, 2010.

Ricky Jay has long been considered one of the world's great sleight of hand artists and his career is further distinguished by the remarkable variety of his accomplishments as an author, actor, historian and film consultant. His one man shows Ricky Jay & His 52 Assistants and Ricky Jay: On the Stem were award winning critical and commercial theatrical events.

The Geffen Playhouse is the only theater in Los Angeles to host the internationally lauded performer in the last decade - the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater hosted Jay's first performance in LA in more than ten years for a soldout run of Jay's hit show Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants in November 2006, and a subsequent sold-out run of the same show in the summer of 2008. Los Angeles audiences will have a chance to see this innovative new production before it heads to New York.

Mr. Jay will again join forces with David Mamet who directed his last two shows. Ricky Jay: A Rogue's Gallery is both more personal and more improvisational than his previous outings. The audience often directs the course of action and no three performances are the same. The usually reticent Jay offers a more intimate look into his life and career by opening his personal cabinet of curiosities. Using advanced technology, he displays posters, playbills and artifacts from his world famous treasure trove on deception and unusual entertainments. All the while, he astounds and entertains with mind-boggling feats never twittered about or viewed on YouTube.

In addition, Mr. Jay will be creating a magical New Year's Eve at the Geffen Playhouse with a performance of A Rogue's Gallery at 8pm, complete with pre-show desserts and champagne.

For the regular run ticket prices range from $65 to $125, and for the New Year's Eve event tickets range from $90 to $125. Geffen Playhouse subscribers will receive a 10 percent discount on ticket purchases for this show. Please note, no one under 17 will be admitted into the theater for this production.

As an actor, Mr. Jay has been seen in David Mamet's films: House of Games, State and Main, Heist and Red Belt. He has appeared in many other movies including Tomorrow Never Dies, The Prestige and The Great Buck Howard. His consulting company, Deceptive Practices, has supplied "Arcane Knowledge on a Need to Know Basis" for more than a score of films including Forrest Gump, The Illusionist, and Oceans 13. He is the author of Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women, Cards as Weapons, Jay's Journal of Anomalies, Dice: Deception, Fate and Rotten Luck, and Extraordinary Exhibitions. His Grammy Nominated boxed set Ricky Jay Plays Poker, an album of classic and esoteric gambling tunes and a DVD of his of sleight of hand performance, is available from Sony BMG. For more information, please visit www.rickyjay.com.

Tickets range from $65 to $125 during the run and from $90 to $125 on New Year's Eve. All tickets are on sale now at the Geffen Playhouse box office, online at GeffenPlayhouse.com, via phone 310.208.5454, and at all Ticketmaster outlets.

The Geffen Playhouse has been a hub of the Los Angeles theater scene since opening its doors in 1995. Noted for its intimacy and celebrated for its world-renowned mix of classic and contemporary plays, provocative new works and musicals, the Geffen Playhouse continues to present a body of work that has garnered national recognition. Named in honor of entertainment mogul and philanthropist David Geffen, who made the initial donation to the theater, the company is helmed by Producing Director and President of the Board Gilbert Cates, Artistic Director Randall Arney, Managing Director Ken Novice and Chairman of the Board Frank Mancuso. Proudly associated with UCLA, the Geffen Playhouse welcomes an audience of more than 130,000 each year, and maintains an extensive education and outreach program, designed to engage young people and the community at large in the arts. For more information, please visit geffenplayhouse.com.

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