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Sarab Kamoo and More Star in BECKY SHAW at Performance Network Theatre, Now thru 7/28

By: Jun. 20, 2013
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After its smashingly successful run on Broadway in 2009, the Pulitzer Prize Finalist and comedic play, "Becky Shaw" by Gina Gionfriddo makes its Michigan Premiere tonight, June 20 through July 28, 2013 with an all star cast and high-end designers at Performance Network Theatre, Michigan's most award winning professional theatre. Tickets can be purchased online at performancenetwork.org or by calling the theatre at 734-663-0681.

Directed by Phil Powers ("Brill", "God of Carnage", and "Drowsy Chaperone") "Becky Shaw" stars Keith Kalinowski, Sarab Kamoo, Maggie Meyer, Dorry Peltyn, and Performance Network's Artistic Director David Wolber after a six year hiatus from the stage. The design of the show is created by award winning, Michigan based, female artists Monika Essen and Mary Cole. Essen will construct an abstract set along with the costumes and props, and Cole will elegantly reveal the story with her innovative lighting designs.

Open-to-the-public previews run today, June 20 - 27, 2013 and give the creative team an opportunity to present the piece in front of an audience before critics view the show. Comment cards are handed out to audiences after every preview performance which are then reviewed by the director, cast, and designers for the final week of rehearsals. Performance Network Theatre is offering Pay-What-You-Can Tickets to every preview performance for Students and Members of the Actor's Equity Association. The theatre will celebrate with an Opening Night Ceremony on June 28, 2013 that will include a complimentary champagne toast and hors d'oeuvres buffet with the actors, designers, and staff of the theatre. Traditional performances of the hot new play will take place June 29 - July 28, 2013.

"Becky Shaw" takes place in the epicenter of a dysfunctional family as they navigate through the endless challenge to manage each other's bad behavior. The show opens with Suzanna (Sarab Kamoo) as she grieves over the loss of her father and the financial strain she inherited after a life of luxury. Her brother, Max (David Wolber) is more than willing to provide pro-bono financial advising, but abruptly backs away from lending emotional support. When big sister sets up her little brother on a blind date with Becky Shaw, chaos ensues on the worst blind date ever. Complete with hidden pasts, perplexing sexual desires, and a robbery, "Becky Shaw" is a side-splitting and shocking comedy that will leave audiences examining their love lives and family dynamics.

Sarab Kamoo's career as a professional actress has led her to the silver screen and endless Michigan theatres. She has been seen alongside A-list celebrities in films such as "The Giant Mechanical Man" with Jenna Fischer from "The Office", Mitch Albom's "Have a Little Faith", "Conviction" with Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell, and "Stone" with Robert Di Nero. Kamoo has performed at Performance Network Theatre (most recently "God of Carnage", "Sonia Flew", and "9 Parts of Desire") as well as the Purple Rose Theatre Company, Meadow Brook Theatre, Williamston Theatre, the Jewish Ensemble Theatre, and Tipping Point Theatre. Kamoo and Wolber join the stage together for the first time since the theatre's inaugural production at the current location (120 East Huron Street) of "The Maiden's Prayer" by Nicky Silver in 2006.

David Wolber returns to the stage after a six-year hiatus since his performance in " The Retreat from Moscow" by William Nicholson in 2006. He has been busy acting as Performance Network Theatre's Artistic Director since 2007 and director of award-winning productions. At the Network, he has directed the world premiere of "Brill" by David Wells and the box office smash "Good People" by David Lindsay-Abaire as well as "Dead Man's Shoes" by Joseph Zettelmaier (Best New Script - Wilde Award 2012, and a co-production with Williamston Theatre) "The War Since Eve" by Kim Carney (Best New Script 2011- Wilde Award), "Sonia Flew" by Melinda Lopez (a co-production with the Jewish Ensemble Theatre) and "A Doll's House" by Henrik Isben. As an actor, Wolber has performed at the Network in "The Home Team" (Favorite Male Performer-Comedy - Wilde Award), "Three Days of Rain" by Richard Greenburg (Best Actor - Ann Arbor News, Best Ensemble Awards - Oakland Press) and many more. Wolber has also performed with the JET, Detroit Repertory Theatre and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland.

The complete ensemble with Maggie Meyer (graduate of American Musical and Dramatic Arts Academy and actress in "Dead Man's Shoes" at Performance Network Theatre, "Crimes of the Heart" and "Rabbit Hole" at Tipping Point Theatre Company, and "Panache" and "Home" at Williamston Theatre), Keith Kalinowski ("The Seafarer" at Performance Network Theatre, "Photograph 51" at the Jewish Ensemble Theatre, and "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)" at Tipping Point Theatre), and Dorry Peltyn ("Not Waving" at Performance Network Theatre, "Sex and the City", "Angels in America" [HBO miniseries], and "Law and Order") create an all-star cast for this witty, sexy, and crazy comedy.

Ticket reservations to "Becky Shaw" are $22 - $41 (with 10 Pay-What-You-Can tickets available every Thursday) and can be made at the Performance Network Box Office at 734-663-0681, online at performancenetwork.org, or at Performance Network Theatre (120 East Huron St., Ann Arbor, 48104) Monday - Friday 10am-6pm, and Saturday 11am-6pm.

Founded in 1981, Performance Network Theatre has grown from a fledgling company to Ann Arbor's resident professional theatre. The Network reaches 40,000 theatre patrons and children each year through the year-round Professional Series and the Children's Theatre Network. Performance Network also presents the Fireside New Play Festival and a series of classes on theatre-related topics. The Network provides uncompromising artistic leadership in the region and produces works that engage, challenge and inspire audiences and artists.



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