The Fountain Theatre Announces 2008 Season

The Fountain Theatre is pleased to present four premieres and one revival in 2008.  Following the currently running U.S. premiere of Victory by Athol Fugard (extended through March 23), the season continues with Zina Camblin's And Her Hair Went with Her, part of a "rolling World premiere" from the National New Play Network's Continued Life Fund.  Also set are the West Coast premiere of The Accomplices by former New York Times political reporter Bernard Weinraub; the Los Angeles revival of August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean helmed by the Fountain's Ben Bradley, director of last year's critically acclaimed Joe Turner's Come and Gone; and the World premiere of Don Juan in L.A., an "erotic Flamenco fantasia"created by Fountain co-artistic director Deborah Lawlor.

The line-up for 2008 at The Fountain is as follows:

EXTENDED THROUGH MARCH 23:
The United States Premiere of Victory, Athol Fugard's powerful and moving new play, which has received unanimous rave reviews, about the search for hope in the "New South Africa."  Two young blacks looking for cash break into the house of an elderly white man.  When the old man discovers them ransacking his home, an explosive, savage confrontation reveals the twisted emotional ties that bind them all. 

SPRING:
Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins (Jelly's Last Jam and Caroline or Change) stars in And Her Hair Went With Her, Zina Camblin's comedy tour-de-force for two actors about a collection of eccentric characters in a beauty shop. This celebration of the sisterhood in the salon highlights the many intricacies of black women and the importance placed on their hair - including a wild range of styles and trends like bushy afros, relaxed looks and not-so-natural colors. Part of a rolling World Premiere supported in part by the National New Play Network's Continued Life Fund, And Her Hair is directed by Center Theatre Group associate producer Diane Rodriguez.

SUMMER:
The West Coast Premiere of The Accomplices is the true story of Hillel Kook, written by veteran New York Times reporter Bernard Weinraub and directed by Deborah LaVine.  During World War II Kook (aka Peter Bergson) spearheaded an extraordinary campaign of public rallies, hard-hitting newspaper advertisements, and lobbying in Congress that forced America to confront the Holocaust.  The Accomplices, nominated for the 2007 New York Drama Desk Award following its Off Broadway production last year, is a blistering account of the fight to save millions and the conspiracy of silence and inaction that continues to haunt us to this day.

FALL:
The Los Angeles revival of August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean, directed by Ben Bradley (OVATION Award winner for Joe Turner's Come and Gone).  Set in 1904 Pittsburgh, Gem of the Ocean is the play that begins it all, chronologically the first work in August Wilson's decade-by-decade "Century Cycle" dramatizing the African American experience during the 20th century.  Aunt Esther, the drama's 287-year-old fiery matriarch, welcomes into her Hill District home Solly Two Kings, who was born into slavery and scouted for the Union Army, and Citizen Barlow, a young man from Alabama in search of redemption. Aunt Esther is not too old to practice healing; she guides Barlow on a soaring, lyrical journey of spiritual awakening to the City of Bones.

FALL/WINTER:
The World Premiere of Don Juan in L.A., created by Fountain co-artistic director Deborah Lawlorand starring world class dancer/choreographerTimo Nunez.  This contemporary version of the Don Juan story is set to the passionate rhythms of Flamenco in a Los Angeles nightclub, where Don Juan is the town's hottest DJ. 

Housed in a charming two-story complex in Hollywood, California, The Fountain Theatre is one of the most successful intimate theaters in Los Angeles, providing a nurturing, creative home for multi-ethnic theater and dance artists. Activities include a year-round season of fully produced new and established plays; a full season of multi-ethnic dance (The Fountain's Forever Flamenco! series, now in its 6th year, offers performances on the first and third Sunday of every month);a New Plays developmental series; Educational Outreach Programs; and off-site presentations/tours.  Fountain Theatre productions have won more than 160 awards for all areas of production, performance, and design, and The Fountain Theatre is the only intimate theater to win the Ovation Award for Best Production of a Play four times. Fountain projects have been seen in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Florida, New Jersey, Minneapolis and Edinburgh. Recent highlights include its Off-Broadway production of Exits and Entrances in New York, worldwide readings/productions/tours of What I Heard About Iraq, the Ovation Award-winning Joe Turner's Come and Gone, the three-city tour of Sonidos Gitanos, and the making of Sweet Nothing in my Ear into a movie for TV on CBS.  The Fountain has been honored with a Certificate of Appreciation from the Los Angeles City Council for demonstrating years of artistic excellence and "enhancing the cultural life of Los Angeles."

The Fountain Theatre is located at 5060 Fountain Avenue (at Normandie) in Los Angeles.For more information about the 2008 Season, call 323-663-1525 or go to www.FountainTheatre.com.  

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