Village Green Productions to Bring THE BOOMERANG EFFECT to Zephyr Theatre, 6/6-7/27

Village Green Productions has announced the return of THE BOOMERANG EFFECT, written by Matthew Leavitt, produced by Del Shores and directed by Dámaso Rodriguz. THE BOOMERANG EFFECT will mark the final production Mr. Rodriguez will direct in Los Angeles prior to his becoming Artistic Director of the Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland. THE BOOMERANG EFFECT will preview on Thursday, June 6 & Friday, June 7 at 8pm and will open on Saturday, June 8 and will run through Saturday, July 27 at the Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Ave., in West Hollywood.

THE BOOMERANG EFFECT is a comedy consisting of five interrelated short plays that peeks into the sex lives of five different couples in various bedroom scenarios. It explores the many universals that occur in every relationship, while examining the trickier issues that can test a couple's durability such as secrecy, infidelity, power struggles, miscommunication, and sexual incompatibility. While wrestling with their individual predicaments, each couple also unknowingly ends up exacerbating the tensions of the other relationships, until their seemingly innocuous interferences come back to smack them in the face. As one of our characters puts it, "Every decision we make becomes just another link in this endless chain of well-intentioned disasters we call life."

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM:

DÁMASO RODRIGUEZ (Director) is the incoming Artistic Director of Artists Repertory Theatre, Portland's longest-running professional theatre company. He is a Co-Founder of L.A.'s Furious Theatre, where he served as Co-Artistic Director from 2001-2012. From 2007-2010 he served as Associate Artistic Director of the Pasadena Playhouse, where he directed main stage productions and oversaw programming for The Playhouse's Second Stage, including its Hothouse New Play Development Program. His directing credits include work at the Pasadena Playhouse, Intiman Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Laguna Playhouse, A Noise Within, The Theatre@Boston Court, Odyssey Theatre, The Blank Theatre, The Road Theatre and Furious Theatre. Recent productions: West Coast premiere of Jeffrey Hatcher'sTen Chimneys in Portland at Artists Rep, the world premiere of Matthew Leavitt's The Boomerang Effect at the Odyssey Theater, Ruth & Augustus Goetz' The Heiress (starring Richard Chamberlain), Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes(starring Kelly McGillis), Austin Pendleton's Orson's Shadow (starring Sharon Lawrence) and the reading of Ellen Simon's Aunt Stossie's Coming for Five Days (starring Marsha Mason & Mary Steenburgen) at the Pasadena Playhouse; the reading of Steven Drukman's The Prince of Atlantis for the Pacific Playwrights Festival at South Coast Repertory, Clifford Odets' Paradise Lost at Intiman Theatre; Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, Tennessee Williams' The Eccentricities of a Nightingale, Eugene O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms, Bernard Shaw's The Doctor's Dilemma at A Noise Within. Furious Theatre credits include the Los Angeles premieres of Craig Wright's Grace, Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's Boom and Hunter Gatherers, Bruce Norris' The Pain and the Itch, Yussef El Guindi's Back of the Throat,Richard Bean's The God Botherers, Neil LaBute's The Shape of Things, and the world premieres of Alex Jones' Canned Peaches in Syrup and Matt Pelfrey's An Impending Rupture of the Belly and No Good Deed, among many others. Upcoming productions: the west coast premiere of Dan LeFranc's The Big Meal, the U.S. premiere of Dawn King'sFoxfinder and a revival of J.M. Synge's The Playboy of the Western World at Artists Rep.

Dámaso is a recipient of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, the Back Stage Garland Award, the NAACP Theatre Award, and the Pasadena Arts Council's Gold Crown Award. In 2010 Furious Theatre Company was named to LA Weekly's list of "Best Theatres of the Decade." In 2012 he was honored as a Finalist for the Zelda Fichandler Award. He is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

MATTHEW LEAVITT (Playwright) has been commissioned by the LA Opera to write the libretto for a new opera as part of its Education and Community Program. A collaboration with classical and film composer Nathan Wang, the opera is a modern retelling of the ancient Greek Orpheus myth. Leavitt studied playwriting at Pomona College, and as a teenager was a semifinalist in the Young Playwrights Festival National Playwriting Competition, founded by Stephen Sondheim. Soon after graduating, he became completely immersed in Shakespeare, and began directing his own adaptations of Shakespeare's comedies around Los Angeles. Productions included Twelfth Night, The Taming of the Shrew and The Tempest. He also recently directed the world premiere of The Ladies of State. The Boomerang Effect, which enjoyed a successful run last spring at the Odyssey Theatre, marks his return to playwriting.

Del Shores (Producer) STAGE: "Cheatin'" (1984) "Daddy's Dyin' (Who's Got The Will?)" (1987), "Daughter's of the Lone Star State" (1993), "Sordid Lives" (1996), "Southern Baptist Sissies" (2000), "The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife (2003) and Yellow (2010). Awards and nominations: Los Angeles Drama Critics' Circle, Ovation, GLAAD, Back Stage West Garland, NAACP and LA Weekly (2006 Career Achievement Award).

FILM: "Daddy's Dyin'... Who's Got The Will?" Writer/Executive Producer, (MGM), "Sordid Lives" Writer/Director/Producer (Regent Entertainment), "The Wilde Girls" Writer/Director/Executive Producer (Showtime) and "Blues For Willadean" Writer/Director/Producer (Kestrel Films).

TELEVISION: "Ned and Stacey", "Dharma and Greg", "Queer As Folk" (Writer/Producer) and "Sordid Lives: The Series" (Writer/Director/Procucer).

STAND-UP NATIONAL TOURS: "Del Shores: My Sordid Life" (2010), Del Shores: Sordid Confessions (2011), "Del Shores: Naked.Sordid.Reality" (2012). "My Sordid Life" and "Sordid Confessions" filmed for DVD Release (Breaking Glass Pictures).

The cast of THE BOOMERANG EFFECT will feature (in alphabetical order) Katherine Bailess, Malcolm Barrett, Joel Bryant, Vanessa Celso, Emerson Collins, Kim Hamilton, Charles Howerton, Tiffany Lonsdale, Luke McClure and Jonathan Slavin.

THE BOOMERANG EFFECT has assembled an award-winning design team. The Scenic Design is by John Iacovelli. The Sound Design is by Doug Newell. The Lighting Design is by Brian Gale. The Costume Design is by T. Ashanti Mozelle. The Casting is by Rich Delia. The Stage Manager is Deidre Works.

THE BOOMERANG EFFECT will preview on Thursday, June 6 & Friday, June 7 at 8pm and will open on Saturday, June 8 and will run through Saturday, July 27 at the Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Ave., in West Hollywood. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm.

Ticket prices are $20 for Thursday evenings; $25 for Friday and Saturday evenings; Previews are $20. Special group rates available for parties of 8 or more. For tickets, call 800-595-4849 for details or visit www.tix.com to purchase tickets online or to view complete schedule.

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