Zoetic Stage And Arsht Center Present World Premiere Of CAPTIVA-Final Day

ZOETIC STAGE AND THE ADRIENNE ARSHT CENTER

FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

PRESENT

THE WORLD PREMIERE OF

CAPTIVA

A New Work from Carbonell Award-Winning Playwright

Christopher Demos-Brown 

A new comedy exploring family, fear and the future,

kicking off Zoetic Stage's 2011-2012 season

as part of the Arsht Center's Theater Up Close Season 

Now Through November 20, 2011

Tickets $40

Carnival Studio Theater
in the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House

Zoetic Stage and The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County proudly present the world premiere of Christopher Demos-Brown's CAPTIVA, a funny dark comedy about weathering family, November 3 - 20, 2011, in the intimate Carnival Studio Theater (Ziff Ballet Opera House). Following Zoetic Stage's highly acclaimed 2010 debut of South Beach Babylon, this new production launches the company's adventurous 2011-12 season as part of the Arsht Center's Theater Up Close season.  

Captiva, directed by Zoetic Stage's Artistic Director Stuart Meltzer, will transport audiences to an island getaway for a weekend family reunion where hopes of celebration and re-connection go awry when the group is marooned by a late-season hurricane. The family is turned upside down when pent-up insecurities, family secrets, rivalries and frustrations surface. Ultimately, the family members are forced to face each other with honesty - and many, many bottles of wine. Written by 2011 Carbonell Award recipient for Best New Work (When the Sun Shone Brighter) and Zoetic Stage co-founder Christopher Demos-Brown, Captiva will blow you away.  

Tickets to Captiva are on sale now. Tickets are $40 and may be purchased through the Adrienne Arsht Center box office by calling (305) 949-6722 , or online at www.arshtcenter.org.  

Zoetic Stage, comprised of South Florida's most celebrated playwrights, directors and actors, returns to the Arsht Center to co-present three exciting productions in the 2011-2012 season, featuring stellar casts, including Broadway actors and Carbonell Award winners. Following its season opener, Zoetic Stage's series will continue with THE SANTALAND DIARIES, December 8-23, 2011, a funny holiday rant based on David Sedaris' New York Times best seller Holidays on Ice; and MOSCOW, March 29-April 15, 2012, Michael McKeever's world premiere comedy about the changing tides in 1963 Miami. Zoetic Stage's season is part of the Arsht Center's 2011-2012 Theater Up Close season which features artistic collaborations from stellar local theater ensembles and nationally acclaimed theater companies. 

"It is with great excitement that the Arsht Center welcomes back this flourishing new ensemble to offer South Florida audiences thought-provoking plays that span a variety of styles and cultures, reflecting our ever-changing society and humanity" said M. John Richard, president and CEO of the Adrienne Arsht Center. "Zoetic Stage is one of Miami's most important emerging theater companies and we are proud to co-present three productions, including two world premieres this season, showcasing the best of Miami's local theatrical talent."  

"It is a thrilling time for me as Artistic Director of Zoetic Stage to work with such an amazing cast, said Stuart Meltzer. "I am even more excited to have the opportunity to work with playwright Demos-Brown on a play that is deeply personal yet vastly universal. Captiva is a play about the American family and the broken American Dream, both of which make for a great American play." 

Miami-based playwright Christopher Demos-Brown is playing an integral role in the Magic City's playwriting tradition. His credits include When the Sun Shone Brighter (2011 Carbonell Award for Best New Work; 2010 Silver Palm Award for Outstanding New Work; Nominee - American Theatre Critics' Association's Steinberg Award; Finalist - National New Play Network's Smith Prize) and So I Was Wondering... (Heideman Award Finalist). His play Our Lady of Allapattah will receive its world premiere at The Caldwell Theatre Company in Boca Raton, Florida in April, 2012. Demos-Brown is a Zoetic Stage co-founder and company member.

Director Stuart Meltzer served as Artistic Director of City Theatre in Miami for two years, where he oversaw and expanded the Summer Shorts Festival, introducing the company's wildly successful adult-themed undershorts. His directing credits are extensive, spanning theaters in New York and Miami, and includes mounting acclaimed works such as Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf; Aristophanes' Lysistrata; and Tony Kushner's Angels in America. A Miami native, Meltzer also directed the world premiere of celebrated South Florida playwright Michael McKeever's South Beach Babylon at the Arsht Center last season. He has served on the faculty of New World School of the Arts and was Head of Theatre at Gulliver Preparatory. Meltzer earned his M.F.A. in Directing from The Actors Studio and his B.F.A. from New World School of the Arts.

CAPTIVA features a talented cast of South Florida's rising stars and seasoned actors whose credits range from local Miami theater and off-Broadway shows to Broadway stages and national television: Amy Ione Alvarado (Teresa Flores) was seen in the east coast premiere of Tony Caruso's Last Broadcast in Washington, D.C. and has appeared in local musical theater performances, including the southeastern premiere of Birds Without Wings and Desmond Child's new musical Cuba Libre. Four-time Carbonell Award winner Barbara Bradshaw's (Emily Cestar) 40-year career highlights include numerous acclaimed productions in South Florida with The Actors' Playhouse, Florida Stage, and the Kravis and Broward Centers for the Performing Arts, as well as Atlanta's ALLIANCE THEATRE and Los Angeles' Westwood Theatre. The recipient of Sarah Siddons Chicago's Leading Lady Award, Kati Brazda (Valerie Cestar) has been seen on Broadway in A Moon for the Misbegotten and countless off-Broadway shows, including David Cromer's critically-acclaimed Obie Award-winning play Our Town at Barrow St. Theater. In January 2012, she will perform in the remount of Our Town at Santa Monica's Broad Theatre, starring Helen Hunt. Carbonell Award winner Todd Allen Durkin's (Matthew Cestar) credits include A Moon for the Misbegotten,The Zoo Story, the title role in Hamlet and Lenny Bruce in Lenny. Named "Best Actor" three times by New Times, his TV/film credits include Burn Notice, The Glades, and Ghost Stories, and in early 2012, he will appear as Assistant D.A. on STARZ Network in Magic City. Amy McKenna (Nikki Cestar) returns to the Arsht Center this season, having been seen in Zoetic Stage's inaugural Arsht production, South Beach Babylon. She has also graced local stages, including the Actors' Playhouse and South Beach Comedy Festival, as well as performed nationally at the renowned La Jolla Playhouse in Boy and The Green Bird, and in King Lear and Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Houston Shakespeare Festival. Multiple Carbonell Award winner Nicholas Richberg (Luke Cestar) co-starred in the critically-acclaimed Caldwell Theatre Company production of Michael McKeever's world premiere play, Stuff. His local credits include Melt at The Miracle Theatre, Ten Unknowns at GableStage, and several productions at New Theatre. Bill Schwartz (Thomas Cestar) has been acting professionally for more than 30 years, including performances with Sarasota's renowned ASOLO touring theatre, as well as Florida Stage, where he appeared in Christopher Demos-Brown's multiple award-winning play, When the Sun Shone Brighter.

CAPTIVA features the music of acclaimed Miami-based jazz musician Peter J. Yanowich; set design by Carbonell Award winner Sean McClelland; lighting design by Carbonell Award nominee Patrick Tennent; properties by Jodi Dellaventura, costumes by Kerry Shiller; and sound design by Stuart Meltzer.

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