Theatre NOVA Opens Season With Michigan Premiere Of ADMISSIONS

Theatre NOVA, Ann Arbor's professional theatre with an exclusive focus on new plays and playwrights, presents the Michigan premiere of "Admissions" by Joshua Harmon.

Bill and Sherri are white, progressive, and proud. Respectively the headmaster and dean of admissions of a New Hampshire boarding school, they've dedicated their 15-year tenure to diversifying the school's mostly white population.a??But when their high-achieving son's Ivy Leaguea??dreams are crushed,a??the family's reaction betrays a schism between their public values and their private aspirations. An incisively funny look at privilege, power, and the perils of whiteness.

Directed by David Wolber, "Admissions" features Joe Bailey, Sarah Burcon, Diane Hill, Jeremy Kucharek, and Cynthia Szczesny. The production and design team includes Daniel C. Walker (scenic design), Jake Jedele (lighting design), Carla Milarch (sound design), Monica Spencer (set builder/dresser/painter), and Briana O'Neal (stage manager, props).

"Admissions" will run Sept. 20 through Oct. 13, 2019, at Theatre NOVA (410 W. Huron, Ann Arbor), a downtown performance space. Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday matinees are at 2:00 p.m. Theatre NOVA features free parking for patrons, as well as quick access to the city's restaurants, bars, bakeries, and coffee shops.

Tickets are $22, and Theatre NOVA continues its commitment to making theatre accessible by offering pay-what-you-can tickets for those who need them. For tickets, visit TheatreNOVA.org, call 734-635-8450 or buy them in person at the box office one hour before showtime.

Theatre NOVA is Ann Arbor's resident professional theatre company. Its mission is to raise awareness of the value and excitement of new plays and playwrights and provide resources for playwrights to develop their craft by importing, exporting, and developing new work.

Joshua Harmon's play "Bad Jews" received its world premiere at Roundabout Underground and was the first production to transfer to the Roundabout's Laura Pels Theatre (Outer Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel Award nominations, Best Play). It has since become the third most-produced play in the United States this season and transferred to London's West End after sell-out runs at Theatre Royal Bath and the St. James Theatre. His newest play "Significant Other" opened at Roundabout this summer. His work has been produced and developed by Manhattan Theatre Club, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Hangar Theatre, Ars Nova, and Actor's Express, where he was the 2010-2011 National New Play Network Playwright-in-Residence. He has received fellowships from MacDowell, Atlantic Center for the Arts, SPACE at Ryder Farm, and the Eudora Welty Foundation. Joshua is a recent graduate of Juilliard and at work on commissions for Roundabout Theatre Company and Lincoln Center Theater.

David Wolber (Director) is a freelance actor, director, and a Producing Artistic Director at Theatre NOVA. He was the Artistic Director at Performance Network (2007-2014). Recently, he appeared in "Williston" by Adam Seidel and "Evidence of Things Unseen" by Katie Forgette at Detroit Repertory Theatre and "The Snow Geese" by Sharr White at Meadow Brook Theatre. This past season he directed "Stargazers" by Reina Hardy and "The How and the Why" by Sarah Treem at Theatre NOVA. He also directed and co-devised "Dream Deferred: Detroit, 1967" at Matrix Theatre. In 2018 he received a Wilde Award Best Play for directing "The Revolutionists" by Lauren Gunderson at Theatre NOVA. In 2017 he received three Wilde Awards: Best Teamwork for "Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery" at Meadow Brook Theatre, Best One Person Show for directing "2.5 Minute Ride" at Matrix Theatre, and Best Actor as Winston in "1984" by George Orwell - adapted by Michael Gene Sullivan at Williamston Theatre. David has performed and directed at many professional theatres across Michigan, including Tipping Point Theatre, Jewish Ensemble Theatre, Performance Network Theatre, Boarshead Theatre, as well as at the Edinburgh Fringe in Scotland. David is an alumnus of Wayne State's theatre program, a member of Actors' Equity Association, and an Associate Producer on Jasmine Rivera's short film "American Prophet." davidwolber.com

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