Actors Theatre's Artistic Director Les Waters Makes Directing Debut with LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, 10/11

Artistic Director Les Waters and Managing Director Jennifer Bielstein have announced that Waters will stage his inaugural production as Artistic Director with Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill. O'Neill's epic drama will play a limited engagement of 24 performances in the Pamela Brown Auditorium at Actors Theatre of Louisville as part of the Brown-Forman Series. It opens tonight, October 11 and runs through October 28.

Single tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at ActorsTheatre.org or by calling 502-584-1205. Long Day's Journey into Night is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.

"It's a titanic play for a quartet of extraordinary actors. It's the greatest play about family of all time, a play about love's struggles and confusions and failed promises," said Waters, an Obie award-winning director. Adding, "For me, it's a play about absence, about a mother who cannot be there in the way that her family needs her to be--as well as their guilt and anger that they are part of the problem, and their loving confusion about how to be part of the solution."

In his first production as Artistic Director, Les Waters directs this epic yet powerfully intimate, Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a family confronting a sea of regret and longing, haunted by the past. Over the course of one fateful summer day, renowned actor James Tyrone, his troubled wife Mary and their two sons wrestle with resentment so deep-and a love so fierce-that it threatens to consume them. O'Neill's play is both a poem of forgiveness to his own family, and one of the legendary achievements of American drama.

Waters has attracted a slew of talent to Louisville for his maiden production as Artistic Director and has assembled a powerhouse of a cast all making their debuts at Actors Theatre. Long Day's Journey into Night will feature Michael Bakkensen as James Tyrone, Jr., John Brummer as Edmund Tyrone, David Chandler as James Tyrone and Lisa Emery as Mary Caban Tyrone.

Actors Theatre is thrilled to welcome performer Lisa Emery to Actors Theatre for the first time. An Obie award-winning actress, Emery is a highly sought after talent, with an impressive resume that spans more than three decades. A three time Lortel and Drama Desk nominee, her appearances on Broadway include Relatively Speaking, The Women and Present Laughter. Numbering among her many award-nominated Off-Broadway roles are The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Iron and Marvin's Room. Her resume also boasts a host of film and T.V. gigs including guest-star roles on Law & Order, Fringe, Damages, Sex and the City, Ed and Third Watch, and appeared in the films Rodger Dodger, A Map of the World, and Unfaithful, among others.

Chandler and Brummer most recently appeared in Waters' production of John Logan's Red at Berkeley Repertory Theatre where they played Mark Rothko and Ken respectively. Chandler's other credits include Heartbreak House (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), on Broadway; American Clock, Death of a Salesman and Lost in Yonkers, and he was seen in A Question of Mercy at London's Bush Theatre. He also appears frequently on film and television, at regional theatres, and at prestigious off-Broadway venues such as La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, MCC Theater, New York Shakespeare Festival, New York Theatre Workshop, Playwrights Horizons and Second Stage Theatre. In addition to appearing alongside Chandler in Water's feverish production of Red at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Brummer-- a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina's M.F.A. program-- was a company member at PlayMakers Repertory Company where he played Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest and George in All My Sons, among many other roles.

Bakkensen makes his debut at Actors Theatre having previously appeared at regional theatre throughout the country including; Arena Stage, Guthrie Theater, Center Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, ALLIANCE THEATRE, American Conservatory Theatre, Hangar Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival and New Jersey Shakespeare Theatre. Broadway credits include Feston, Noises Off and The Man Who Came to Dinner, and off-Broadway in The Paris Letter and Waxing West. For Film and T.V., he's appeared in Law & Order, Guiding Light and Stage on Screen.

The Creative Team includes Antje Ellerman (Scenic Designer), Lorriane Venberg (Costume Designer), Matt Frey (Lighting Designer) and Richard Woodbury (Sound Designer).

Actors Theatre last staged O'Neill's masterpiece in 1973 as part of its tenth Anniversary season. The production was directed by Jon Jory and featured Jory's parents, Victor Jory and Jean Inness, as James and Mary Tyrone.

During the run of Long Day's Journey into Night audiences can also enjoy many special events:

Long Day's Journey into Night Tech Event: Saturday, October 6, 2012 at 7 p.m. Audiences can enjoy a unique sneak peek of the performance during this invited technical rehearsal. (free, but ticketed)

Opening-night festivities: Celebrate opening on Thursday, October 11 with a post-show champagne toast.

Cocktails with the Cast: After the 8 p.m. performance on October 18, 2012. Grab a drink and mingle with the cast at this free informal event.

Conversation with the Artists: Following the 2.30 p.m. performance on October 21, 2012. Enjoy an engaging dialogue led by our staff with the performers and behind-the-scene artists.

Now in its 49th season, Actors Theatre of Louisville, the State Theatre of Kentucky, has emerged as one of America's most consistently innovative professional theatre companies. For almost 40 years, it has been a major force in revitalizing American playwriting. Its annual Humana Festival of New American Plays is recognized as the premier event of its kind and draws producers, journalists, critics, playwrights and theatre lovers from around the world for a marathon of new works. More than 350 plays from Actors Theatre have been published, making them available to producers and readers, and creating a significant addition to the nation's dramatic literature. Actors Theatre's programming includes a broad range of classical and contemporary work, presenting more than 500 performances each season. The company performs annually to nearly 200,000 people and is the recipient of the most prestigious awards bestowed on a regional theatre: a special Tony Award for Distinguished Achievement, the James N. Vaughan Memorial Award for Exceptional Achievement and Contribution to the Development of Professional Theatre, and the Margo Jones Award for the Encouragement of New Plays. Actors Theatre's international appearances include performances in 29 cities in 15 foreign countries. Currently, there are 40 books of plays and criticism from Actors Theatre in publication and circulation. For more about the theatre, visit www.actorstheatre.org.

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