Freshwater Theatre Stages 5th Anniversary Remounts of 'TABLE 12' and 'ADULT SHEL SILVERSTEIN'

Freshwater Theatre Company celebrates five years as a company by going back to where it all began, with Ruth Virkus' hit screwball comedy TABLE 12: A PLAY AT A WEDDING, and a sampling of pieces from John and Lacey Zeiler's 2010 Minnesota Fringe hit An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein.

An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein kicks off the evening, as we revisit the darkly comic adult world of Shel Silverstein, where nothing is as it seems, and the most innocent conversation can turn menacing in an instant. Then, TABLE 12: A PLAY AT A WEDDING, brings the laughs as we spend the evening with the misfit table at a Minnesota wedding. If you're at Table 12, the bride and groom have a good reason not to want to talk to you...but they've been forced to invite you. Zany, smart, hilarious and instantly relatable, Table 12 is sure to bring a little warmth to these cold Minnesota nights.

Freshwater Co-Artistic Director Ruth Virkus wrote TABLE 12: A PLAY AT A WEDDING. An accomplished writer, she has previously written Mrs. Charles, Going Down on the Queen of Minneapolis, and Turn Signals, for Freshwater Theatre, and recently had a reading of her latest work, Disorderly Houses, as part of History Theatre's Raw Stages new play series. Ruth is also co-creator of the middle-grade Tyme book series, along with author Megan Morrison. The first book in the series, Grounded, is a fascinating re-telling of the Rapunzel fairy tale, and is currently available everywhere through Scholastic. The second book, Disenchanted, a retelling of the Cinderella tale, will be released in October 2016.

Table 12 will be directed by Nicole Wilder, an MFA in Directing from Miami University, who's been making all kinds of art here in the Twin Cities with theatre companies (20% Theatre Company, Theatre Unbound, and Freshwater, to name a few) and bands (Spencer McGillicutty, Fred Savage and the Unbeatables, and Daisy & Hubert). An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein features prolific local husband and wife John and Lacey Zeiler. John is known by many for his portrayal of Hans Gruber in Mainly Me Productions' annual holiday treat: A Very Die Hard Christmas. He has also recently been seen as Arthur Fonzarelli in Happy Days (Minneapolis Musical Theatre), the Engineer in Elephant's Graveyard (Theatre Pro Rata), and Our American Assassin (Mainly Me Productions). Lacey's recent credits include Minnesota Fringe hits Couple Fight, The Sex (Ed) Show, and Our American Assassin, Defying Gravity (Swandive Theatre) and A Great and Happy People (American Civic Forum). An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein will be directed by Freshwater company member Ariel Leaf.

The cast includes: Michael Terrell Brown, Rachel Flynn, Ben Layne, Scot Moore, J. Merrill Motz, Mame Pelletier, Michael David Postle, Katie Starks, John Zeiler and Lacey Zeiler. Stage managed by Megen Ealain, set by Leazah Behrens, lights by Ariel Leaf, sound by Scot Moore, and props by Sarah Salisbury.

Running in rep, Freshwater Theatre will present another of our Ivey Award winning anthology series, called We Just Clicked, a festival of plays about online dating. Featuring pieces by Greg Abbott, Ruben Carbajal, Michael Hentges, Matthew Everett, Scot Moore, Anthony Newman and Ruth Virkus, directed by Amy Abrigo, Denzel Belin, Shalee Coleman, Franklin Heller, and Callie Meiners, we explore the highs and lows of looking for love in the digital age.

Table 12/Shel
March 19, 24, 26, 28, 31 and April 1 & 2 at 7:30pm
March 20 and April 3 at 3:00pm

We Just Clicked
March 20, 21, 25, 27, and 30th at 7:30pm

All performances at Phoenix Theatre, 2605 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55408. Table 12/Shel - Tickets: $18, $15 with Fringe Button, Student/Senior discount. We Just Clicked - Tickets: $15, $12 with Fringe Button, Student/Senior discount. Reservations and information available at www.freshwatertheatre.com or call 612-816-8479.

Founded by the husband and wife duo of Ruth Virkus and Ben Layne, Freshwater Theatre was born from a love of Twin Cities theatre and a passion to promote this brave and unique theatre community. We at Freshwater Theatre Companybelievethatartcomesfromaplace. Andwebelieve,unapologetically,thatourplaceisoneoftheverybest. We exist not only to create our own theater, but to facilitate and promote a vision of the Twin Cities as a major exporter of performing arts, producing and promoting quality work from the Midwest, with an eye not only on producing new work, but giving plays of merit new life beyond one world premiere. Freshwater Theatre ...come on in, the water's fine.

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