THE AUDIENCE Kicks Off the 2016/17 Season at The Maltz Jupiter Theatre

A riveting new play that swept Broadway last season will open the Maltz Jupiter Theatre's 2016/17 season, Let Us Entertain You!

The Audience will thrill theatregoers as it takes audiences behind the walls of Buckingham Palace and into the private chambers of Queen Elizabeth II during 60 years of private weekly meetings between Queen Elizabeth II and her Prime Ministers. In these intimate and sometimes explosive conversations, theatregoers will see glimpses of the woman who wears the crown and witness the moments that shaped the queen.

Onstage October 23 through November 6, you won't want to miss the show that New York Magazine called "dazzling fun" and Variety dubbed "royally entertaining!" As Entertainment Weekly raved: "This is an audience worth seeking."

"We are honored to be one of the first regional theatres to produce The Audience following its Broadway run," said Andrew Kato, the Theatre's producing artistic director and chief executive. "This play is absolutely enthralling and one our audiences won't soon forget. Queen Elizabeth II is a fascinating subject, and watching her move and grow through decades provides a mesmerizing history lesson."

Written by Peter Morgan, The Audience premiered in the West End in 2013 at the Gielgud Theatre. Its revered Broadway production opened in 2015 starring Dame Helen Mirren, as well as a West End revival in LonDon Starring Dame Kristin Scott Thomas. While the story itself is historical fiction, Morgan conducted much research and obtained advice regarding the political and historical content of the weekly audiences from Professor Vernon Bogdanor (Emeritus Professor of Government at Oxford University), who served as a tutor to former Prime Minister David Cameron.

"The Audience provides us with a wonderful poetic reality that gives us a chance to know the Queen as human being, as a very real person," said Lou Jacob, the director of The Audience. "She is so authentic - so engaged with her Prime Ministers as people - that we are gifted with a special time-spanning 'Audience' of our own that only theatre can provide."

Jacob has directed plays and musicals throughout the United States, Europe and Asia (including the Theatre's production of Red in 2012). Currently Director of the MFA Directing Program at the New School for Drama in New York City, his Off-Broadway productions include the U.S. premiere of The Glass Cage by JB Priestley (Time Out magazine Top Ten productions 2008 and Lortel Award for Outstanding Revival), Sam Shepard's The God Of Hell, starring Tim Roth and Randy Quaid and Coyote On A Fence starring Paul Sparks (two Drama Desk Award nominations, Village Voice Top Ten).

The show features Karen MacDonald as Queen Elizabeth II. She is from Broadway's Tony nominated revival The Glass Menagerie and is a Boston based actress who has worked on many national and international stages including the title role in Mother Courage and her Children,Kate Keller in All My Sons, Arkadina in The Sea Gull, Mary Tyrone in Long Day's Journey into Night, and the title role in The Drowsy Chaperone. Karen received the Robert Brustein Award for Sustained Achievement in the Theatre and the Eliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence in 2010. She is accompanied by an amazing ensemble of local and national artists such as Skye Alyssa Friedman, a local resident and Goldner Conservatory of Performing Arts student as young Elizabeth, Gabriel Zenone is Equerry and was last seen in Les Miserables as the Bishop. Peter Smith Hilton was recently seen as David Frost in last year's Frost/Nixon also by Peter Morgan and will be playing the role of Tony Blair and David Cameron. Colin McPhillamy is returning as Winston Churchill and was the Inspector in Dial M for Murder. Mark H. Dold is playing John Major, Henny Russell is returning as Bobo MacDonald and Margaret Thatcher having been last seen inSame Time, Next Year and Rod McClachlan will be playing Harold Wilson and was most recently seen in The Audience as Gordon Brown on Broadway with Helen Mirren.

The production will showcase the designers known for their recent work at the Theatre: scenic designer Anne Mundell (Frost/Nixon, Glengarry Glen Ross, Other Desert Cities), lighting designer Cory Pattak (Other Desert Cities),costume designer Wade Laboissonniere (Other Desert Cities) and Sound Designer/Composer Marty Mets (recent Carbonell Award winner for Les Miserables, this is his sixth season).

Both 2016/17 season tickets and single tickets are currently on sale. Season tickets begin at $202, with two convenient purchasing options: the four-play and the five-play. Season ticket holders save 10 percent to 15 percent on single ticket prices, and also get one fee-free ticket exchange per ticket per show and advance notice and ability to purchase tickets to limited engagements and other special events. Patrons may upgrade to the Green Room Club Level Lounge and seating area, and groups of 20 or more receive an additional discount.

The Audience is sponsored by the John McDonald Company. Single tickets start at $56. For tickets, call (561) 575-2223 or visitwww.jupitertheatre.org/shows/theaudience. For more information on bringing your group to the Theatre, contact group concierge Shannon Murphy at (561) 972-6117.

About the Maltz Jupiter Theatre
The not-for-profit Maltz Jupiter Theatre has become one of Florida's preeminent professional theatres, committed to production and education through its collaborations with local and national artists. Currently the state's largest award-winning regional theatre, the Theatre draws 100,000 people annually, serves a subscription base of more than 7,732 and has world-class classroom facilities in support of its Goldner Conservatory of Performing Arts, which serves hundreds of youth and adults. The Theatre is a member of the prestigious League of Resident Theatres and has earned numerous Carbonell Awards, South Florida's highest honor for artistic excellence, including the prestigious Bill Von Maurer Award for Theatrical Excellence. For more information about the Theatre's upcoming shows and Conservatory, visit www.jupitertheatre.org or call the box office at (561) 575-2223.

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