Tony Tanner Directs World Premiere of GIVE ME THE SUN

Acclaimed director Tony Tanner will world premiere Give Me the Sun, his riveting adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts, at The Lounge Theatre in Hollywood on September 15, 2018.

Give Me the Sun is a period play, taking place in late Nineteenth Century Norway. Helene Alving, a graceful mid-aged woman, welcomes her son Osvald back home from Paris, where he lives as a successful artist. It's not a simple visit; Osvald must recuperate from an illness that has disabled his talent and threatens his existence. Complicating Mrs. Alving's attempts to understand and ameliorate her son's condition are Pastor Manders, a friend and spiritual guide who holds her soundly accountable for missteps in her marriage to Osvald's father, and the maid Regina, to whom Osvald is attracted for reasons he has yet to uncover. Mrs. Alving must confront the past, accept the present, and face the future that all envelope her in Tanner's emotional response to Ibsen's work.

"Ghosts has large intentions and a relentless force. Ibsen had thrown open doors and windows and empowered new generations of playwrights and their audiences to address themes not hitherto argued on the stage. This filled me with admiration, even awe. It was the Victorian Age and he led the Drama out of it," expounds Tanner.

He continues, "I'm hoping that this adaptation, though it has my voice sounding through it, will bring the Master's genius to another generation for whom the themes that resonate within it still have relevance. Let them wonder as I do at his courage, his persistence, and his moral but liberating force."

Tanner came to America to take over the lead role in Half A Sxpence on Broadway. His other acting credits include starring with Harold Pinter in The Birthday Party, Robert Guillaume in Othello, the stage and film versions of Stop the World I Want to Get Off, and Charlatan, the acclaimed one-man show he performed at age 79. As a director, he staged and choreographed five shows on Broadway, including the Tony nominees Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Taste of Honey. His written works and adaptations have been produced in LA by West Coast Ensemble and his own company, LEO 9.

The cast of Give Me the Sun is: Christina Calph (Arthur, Tower Heist) and Jill Maglione (The Mindy Project, Picnic) as Regina, Stuart Howard (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Skylight), Joe Hulser (Henry IV, pt. 1, Three Sisters) as Engstrand, Alison Shanks (The Laramie Project, Measure for Measure) as Mrs. Alving, and David Shofner (Inside Private Lives, Corpus Christi) as Osvald.

Evan Bartoletti (Pie in the Sky, Strings Attached: The Ties That Make Us Human) is the production's set designer. Jim Smith is the light designer and Carin Jacobs is the costumier (The Mountaintop, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare). Justin Lane Ross (Frigid Bit*hes, A Dark Place) is stage manager.

Give Me the Sun is produced by SST Productions and LEO 9.

Give Me the Sun runs every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday beginning on Saturday, September 15 and ending on Sunday, October 7th. Friday and Saturday shows are at 8p and Sunday shows at 2p. Tickets, priced at $30/$20 (students with ID) are available at www.sstproductions.org/sun

The Lounge Theatre is located at 6201Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood CA 90038. Ample public parking is available around the venue as is public transportation.

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