Road Theatre Company to Present MELISSA ARCTIC, Begin. 9/21

THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY and Taylor Gilbert, Founder/Artistic Director together with Sam Anderson, Artistic Director, are thrilled to announce the first show of their 24th season, the West Coast Premiere of MELISSA ARCTIC written by Craig Wright and directed by Scott Alan Smith (Sovereign Body, That Good Night, Lady). MELISSA ARCTIC will preview on Sunday, September 21 at 2pm; Wednesday, September 24 at 8pm and Thursday, September 25 at 8pm and will open on Friday, September 26 at 8pm and run through Saturday, November 15 at The Road On Magnolia 10747 Magnolia Blvd. (inside the NoHo Senior Arts Colony) in North Hollywood.

MELISSA ARCTIC is Craig Wright's re-imagining of The Winter's Tale, where romance and joy are resurrected from grief through the redemptive power of art. Set against the backdrop of small town Minnesotan life, the lives of barber Leonard Mattson (Leontes) his wife Mina (Hermione), and their childhood friend and successful industrialist Paul (Polixenes) are forever changed when jealousy and suspicion arise and a series of coincidences occur. Original music and lyrics by Wright add a unique dimension to this story of tragedy and rebirth.

CRAIG WRIGHT (Playwright) Plays include The Pavilion (Rattlestick Theater-- Drama Desk Nominee for Outstanding Play, City Theatre, Florida Stage, Stages Rep), Orange Flower Water (The Edge Theatre, CATF, the Jungle, Steppenwolf), Recent Tragic Events (Playwrights Horizons, Woolly Mammoth) Molly's Delicious (Arden Theatre, Arizona Theater Company), Melissa Arctic(Folger Theatre-Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding New Play, Two Rivers Theater Company), Grace (Broadway at the Cort Theatre, Woolly Mammoth-Helen Hayes Nomination for Outstanding New Play, Northlight Theatre, Furious Theater- LA Drama Critics Award for Best Play, upcoming on Broadway), Lady (Northlight-2007 Jeff Award nomination for Best New Play, Stages Rep, Asolo Theater and the Road Theater in LA, where it was nominated for a 2008 Ovation Award), The Unseen (Actors Theatre of Louisville, Stages Rep, American Actors Company) and Mistakes Were Made (A Red Orchid, Hartford Stage, Barrow Street Theatre). His plays are published by Dramatists Play Service, Playscripts Inc., Dramatic Publishing, Samuel French and Smith & Kraus. He holds a M.Div. degree from United Theological Seminary. He has written for numerous television shows including "Six Feet Under" (Emmy nomination), "Lost", "Brothers and Sisters", "United States of Tara" and was the creator of the ABC series "Dirty Sexy Money" and the MTV series "Underemployed." He is the co-creator of "Tyrant" on FX and a consulting producer for "Rush" on USA.

SCOTT ALAN SMITH (Director) Serves as the Associate Artistic Director of the award-winning Road Theatre Company and has been the Summer Playwrights Festival Director since it began in 2010. At The Road he has directed the critically acclaimed productions Sovereign Body (World Premiere), That Good Night (world premiere) and Lady by Craig Wright (4 Ovation nominations and 5 LA Weekly Award nominations with 2 wins) and assistant-directed Craig Wright's directorial debut at The Road with The Unseen. Scott also directed New York Mets (ADA nominated) and So Nice to See You (1 Dramalogue award) here at The Road. He is set to direct the west coast premiere of Melissa Arctic at The Road Theatre fall 2014. Other directing credits includeThe Petoskey Stones, Bus Stop (Pepperdine University), Proof (with Michael O'Neill), The Roads to Home, Bus Stop (at Spokane's Interplayers Theater - People's Choice Award), Tabak (The Met), Lynette at 3AM, Mr. Happiness, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Elizabeth Sampson's play Bringin' Home the Girl. He has assistant-directed Mother Courage, Light (Theater@Boston Court ) andTrue West (Deaf West Theater). Scott is co-author of King of the Moon which ran Off-Off Broadway, in Los Angeles at the Groundlings Theater and HBO Workspace and was made into a film for FOX Searchlab that premiered at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival. He directed Ed Harris for the L.A. Philharmonic's 2005 Season Opening Gala at Disney Hall, and Heart...Beat for the Boston Court's Music at the Court series. As an Associate Artist at the New American Theatre he directed The Adding Machine. As an actor, Scott's L.A. theatre credits include The Dinosaur Within (Theatre@Boston Court - Stage Scene L.A. Award), Apollo(Taper Too), Richard III (with Alfred Molina), King of the Moon, Kindertransport, Detachments, The Memorandum, The Water Engine, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Rose Tattoo. Scott has also appeared regionally at the Studio Theater, Scena and the Source Theater, as well as in New York at the Present Company where his two-man show, King of the Moon, ran to sold-out houses. His over 100 appearances in television and film include playing Kate Walsh's therapist on 'Private Practice' last season, appearing in 21 episodes. Other TV credits include Aaron Sorkin's new show for HBO, 'Newsroom' (with Jeff Daniels), 'Rizzoli and Isles', 'Murder in the First', 'Hung', 'CSI: Miami', 'CSI:NY', 'CSI', 'Medium', 'NCIS', 'NCIS:LA', 'Cold Case', 'Without a Trace', 'Next', 'Rules of Engagement', 'Bones', 'Three Rivers', 'True Blood', 'House', 'Chuck', 'The Closer', 'Veronica Mars', 'Big Love', 'Entourage', 'Justice', 'Philly' (recurring), 'NYPD: Blue', 'Boston Legal', 'Six Feet Under', '24', 'JAG', 'Alias', a recurring role as Dr. Jack Gannon on 'The Young and the Restless', and others. Scott's film credits include " A Matter of Faith", "Stargate", "Mousehunt", "D.C.9/11", "Magnolia", "Déjà Vu", "Bewitched", "The Ring", "X-Files:The Movie", and "Bounce". Scott trained at Arena Stage and the Studio Theater before earning his MFA from the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. He is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, SAG-AFTRA, AEA, SDC and the Actor's Studio Playwrights/Directors Unit, and is an adjunct professor of theater at Pepperdine University. He is also a proud alumnus of the Lincoln Center Theater Director's Lab West (Gold Medal Class of '05).

The cast of MELISSA ARCTIC will feature: Joe Hart (Best Little Whore House in Texas, Bonnie and Clyde-Broadway), Michael Dempsey, Stephan Smith Collins, Laurie Okin, Elizabeth Sampson, Hannah Mae Sturges, Lockne O'Brien, Coronado Romero, Tom Musgrave, and Samantha Salamoff and Alexa Hodzic who are alternating in the role of Time.

MELISSA ARCTIC features an award-winning design team. The Scenic Design is by 4 time Ovation award winner Desma Murphy. The Costume Design is by Mary Jane Miller. The Lighting Design is by Ovation award winning designer Derrick McDaniels. The Sound Design is by two time Ovation winner David B. Marling. The Projection Design is by Kaitlyn Pietras. The Prop Design is by Heather Moses. The Fight Choreography is by Matt Glave. Original words and music by Craig Wright.

MELISSA ARCTIC will preview on Sunday September 21 at 2pm, Wednesday September 24 at 8pm and Thursday, September 25 at 8pm and will open on Friday, September 26 at 8pm and run through Saturday, November 15 at the Road on Magnolia inside the NoHo Senior Arts Colony 10747 Magnolia Blvd. in North Hollywood.

Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm; Sundays at 2pm. Ticket prices are $34.00; Previews are $25. Economic Stimulus tickets are $10 on Sunday October 5 at 2pm (subject to availability). Special group rates available for parties of 8 or more. For tickets, call 866-811-4111 for details or visit www.RoadTheatre.org to purchase tickets online or to view complete schedule.

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