The Studio Theatre Stages Eric Bogosian's SUBURBIA, Now thru 4/5

Theatre and Dance at Wayne revives Eric Bogosian's 1994 classic, SubUrbia, today, March 27 through April 5 at The Studio Theatre. Last produced by Wayne State Theatres in 1995-1996, SubUrbia depicts the anxiety and aimlessness of 20-somethings drifting through their unremarkable existence in suburban New Jersey. Tickets are $10 - $12 and are available by calling the theatre box office at (313) 577-2972, online at www.wsustudio.com, or by visiting the box office in the Hilberry Theatre located at 4743 Cass Avenue on the corner of Hancock.

Suburbia centers on a group of aimless twenty-year-olds who hang out by a convenience store. Tragedies and comedies have bound together these nine young lives and changed them forever. Based on the author's own experience, Eric Bogosian sketches a generation of dazed and confused middle-class young people, who find themselves unable to cope anywhere outside their own town, and do little more than live at home and hang out at the mall.

Eric Bogosian is an author and actor known for his plays, including SubUrbia, Talk Radio, and Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll. Bogosian based the story on his own experiences growing up in Woburn, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. "The characters are there within me. They are the archetypes I 'need' to conceptualize my inner world," states Eric Bogosian. "In the case of SubUrbia the cast of characters derived almost directly from the cast of characters who, in my mind, represent my friends from my high school days. In some cases, the characters are transpositions of myself. There are parts of myself in Jeff, Pony, Sooze and Nazeer."

SubUrbia was first presented in 1994 as part of Lincoln Center Theatre Company's festival of New American Plays. In 1997, a movie version of SubUrbia, directed by Richard Linklater, was released on the big screen. Even with a heavy topic of the perplexed life, Eric Bogosian still manages be edgy and funny with his material, he has created a perfect balance with this masterpiece.

The cast includes (in alphabetical order): Hannah Butcher (Taylor, MI) as Erica, Zyle Cook (Marcellus, MI) as Norman, Jordan Fritz (Detroit, MI) as Buff, Shannon Grant (Livonia, MI) as Bee-Bee, Tayler Jones (Detroit, MI) as Pakeeza, Sydney Machesky (Shelby Township, MI) as Sooze, Nelson Shane (Windsor, Ontario) as Jeff, Brad Smith (Waterford, MI) as Pony, and Donnevan Tolbert (Detroit, MI) as Tim.

The production team includes: Bilha Rivlin (Director), Jamie Spinelli (Stage Manager), Sarah Bloch (Costume Designer), Lisa Charlotte Berg (Scenic Designer), Mike Hallberg (Lighting and Sound Designer), Sarah Bloch (Costume Designer), Mike Waldrup (Properties Master), Garett Harris (Live Music Composer), Chris Braz (Choreographer), Alec Barbour (Stage Combat), Melissa Hall (Costumes Mentor), and Felix Li (Publicist).

The Studio Theatre is an intimate, 110-seat, open-stage theatre in the lower level of the Hilberry Theatre on Wayne State University's campus that is often used for experimental, student, and classroom productions. Annual programming includes the PhD Directors' Series, the Student Stage, and the Louise Heck-Rabi Dramatic Writing Competition. For nearly fifty years the Studio Theatre has presented great theatre featuring WSU undergraduate students. With generous support from patrons and donors, the Studio Theatre recently underwent renovation. For box office hours and information on performances, tickets, and group discounts, please call the box office at (313) 577-2972 or visit the theatre's website at www.wsustudio.com.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution offering more than 370 academic-programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 29,000 students.

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