Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company Closes Season with Premiere of THE LAST WORD, 4/14-5/6

Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company will close its 17th season with an area premiere of the comedy The Last Word, April 14 – May 6, 2012. Henry Grunwald is an 80-year old Viennese Jew who fled the Nazis and became a successful New York advertising executive. Now retired and nearly blind, he's determined to fulfill his dream of being a playwright. Len Artz is a student and aspiring playwright who has come to Henry's office to interview for a job as his assistant. This new comedy reveals the challenging world of playwriting as it explores the colliding forces of classicism and modernism and a struggle with fear of failure and the pursuit of dreams.

The Last Word is directed by Hayley Finn. Hayley Finn (Director) is the Associate Producer at the Playwrights' Center. Twin Cities' credits include The Gospel According to Jerry (Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company), Hiding in the Open (History Theatre), Ady (Pangea World Theater), Doe (Workhaus Collective), and Permanence Collection (Walker Art Center). She's developed and directed new work at The Public Theater, Cherry Lane, The Flea, New Georges, New Dramatists, The Kitchen, and Vineyard Theatre. This summer she directed the premiere of WHY WE LAUGH based on an original cabaret from Terezin, which was performed in Terezin and at the Nine Gates Festival in Prague. She is an alumna of the Drama League Director's Program, recipient of the Ruth Easton Fellowship and TCG New Generations Future Leader grant, and has a BA and MA from Brown University.

The Last Word features Raye Birk and Skyler Nowinski. Audiences will recognize Raye from his many roles in Guthrie Theater Productions including Faith Healer, Old Wicked Songs, Macbeth, Third, A Delicate Balance, 1776, Hamlet, Pride and Prejudice, and Pygmalion. Other credits include Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, Seattle Repertory, and Yale Repertory. Skyler is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program. His stage credits include Mixed Blood Theatre, Minnesota Showboat, Hudson Valley Shakespeare, Theatre L'Homme Dieu, Walking Shadow Theatre, and Workhaus Collective.

Tickets for The Last Word are Wednesdays $18, Thursdays $19, Saturdays $26, Sunday afternoons $22. There is one Sunday evening performance on Sunday, April 15th at 7 pm, ticket price is $18. Student rush tickets are $12. Group discounts are available. All performances are at MJTC's theater home, Hillcrest Center, 1978 Ford Parkway, Saint Paul. For ticket reservations call 651-647-4315, Monday through Friday, 9 am – 4:30 pm, or e-mail info@mnjewishtheatre.org.

Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company is a non-profit organization now in its 17th year of presenting professional productions rooted in the Jewish experience and illuminating The Common humanity among us all. The audience for MJTC is almost equally divided between Jews and non-Jews. For further information about MJTC, call 651-647-4315 or visit www.mnjewishtheatre.org.

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