BEDROOM FARCE Alan Ayckbourn Comedy At Florida Rep

Florida Rep Crosses the Pond with Comedy, BEDROOM FARCE!

Florida Repertory Theatre announced the opening of Bedroom Farce, a wickedly funny comedy from England's favourite playwright, Alan Ayckbourn.

"This is one of the most intelligently written comedies of all time," said Producing Artistic Director and the play's director, Robert Cacioppo, "and it takes a really funny look at four couples at different stages of marriage. I know audiences will relate to each of the characters, and to the marital woes they are forced into dealing with by one inconsiderate couple."

Bedroom Farce is a comedy about the blithe inconsideration of the suffering. Trevor and Susannah are a couple whose marriage is headed for the rocks, and over the course of one endless Saturday evening, played out in three bedrooms, the two of them blaze a path of destruction through the married lives of six of their nearest and dearest friends. Chaos ensues as the two of them lay waste to three seemingly happily married couples: Nick and Jan, Malcolm and Kate - and even Trevor's own parents - Earnest and Delia.

Bedroom Farce features an ensemble cast of Florida Rep company members including Chris Clavelli, Carrie Lund, Jason Parrish, Michelle Damato and Brad DePlanche, as well as three actors making their Florida Rep debuts, Eric Mendenhall, Brandy Zarle and Amy Hutchins.

Both long-time company members, Calvelli and Lund were seen most recently in Florida Rep's nationally acclaimed production of God of Carnage in Janaury, and Parrish appeared last in Florida Rep's third annual production of David Sedaris' The Santaland Diaries. Also familiar Florida Rep faces, Damato and DePlanche were seen last playing opposite one another in this season's Rumors, and are reunited as one of the couples under duress in Bedroom Farce.

An Atlanta based actor, Eric Mendenhall has worked extensively on film and on television and has appeared onstage with the ALLIANCE THEATRE, Horizon Theatre, Georgia Ensemble - all in Atlanta - and with Florida's Hippodrome State Theatre and Florida Stage. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, actress Brandy Zarle comes to Florida Rep from New York City, and has worked extensively in New York and with regional theatres across the country, including Portland Center Stage, The Huntington, and Baltimore Center Stage. Also making her Florida Rep debut, New York based Amy Hutchins comes to Florida Rep with years of experience working with regional theatres like Cincinnati Shakespeare, Arkansas Rep, Pennsylvania Shakespeare, and Off-Broadway with Pearl Theatre Company.

Producing Artistic Director, Robert Cacioppo, directs the production, and is joined by an expert team of designers, including set designer Ray Recht (39 Steps; Sylvia), lighting designer David M. Upton (Rumors, August: Osage County), Florida Rep's resident costumer Roberta Malcolm (God of Carnage; It's a Wonderful Life), resident sound designer Kate Smith (The Year of Magical Thinking), and production stage manager Audrey M. Brown (The Santaland Diaries).

Alan Ayckbourn's Bedroom Farce plays Jan. 31-Feb. 25, with previews on Jan. 31 at 8pm, Feb. 1 at 2pm and Feb. 2 at 8pm, and tickets are going fast. Regular performances are Tues. - Sat. at 8pm, with matinees on Wed., Sun., and selected Saturdays at 2pm with a 7pm twilight performance on Sun., Feb. 5.

Single tickets are now on sale through the box office at 239-332-4488, online at floridarep.org, and are $45/$40 and $25/$20 for discounted previews. Subscriptions for the 2011-2012 Season offer the best savings, and packages start as low as $100 for 5 shows.

Florida Repertory Theatre performs in the Historic Arcade Theatre on Bay St. between Jackson & Hendry with ample free parking in the Fort Myers River District.