NOT GOD Set For Luna Stage As Final Show In 08-09 Season, Previews 4/16-23

Luna Stage announces the final production of the 2008-2009 season - the World Premiere of Not God, a play in verse by Marc J. Straus. Previews are April 16-23, with the opening performances on April 24 and 25. The production runs through May 17, 2009.

Not God is a two-character poem-play which documents the shared journey through illness of a doctor and patient. The patient has unwillingly come to learn the language of the hospital: the rhythm of machines, counting of pills, measuring of words and even the cadence of the nurses' footsteps which signal that a patient down the hall has died. The doctor, an oncologist, struggles to distance himself as his hopes, struggles and anger come forth. The harrowing, eloquent poems form a remarkable dialogue revealing the delicate bond they share, their unspoken yet sacred relationship and the full range of secret dreams and fears, victories and defeats.

"We were drawn to this piece because of its unique perspective", says Jane Mandel, Artistic Director of Luna Stage. "Many plays about illness are solely from the point of view of the patient. Not God gives an audience the chance to also see and feel what it is like for the doctor who is facing life and death issues and is forced to grapple, sometimes, with how little can be done to change the inevitable. The poems in this piece are so beautiful and they give powerful expression to both points of view."

Marc Straus is a distinguished medical oncologist and published poet whose literary work has been performed in venues throughout the country. Dr. Straus' professional career includes serving as head of oncology at Boston University Medical Center, head of neoplastic diseases at New York Medical College, and research and clinical fellow at the National Cancer Institute. Straus began writing poetry in 1991 and two years later he was awarded a Yaddo Fellowship. His poems have been published in over 100 literary journals including The Kenyon Review, Tikkun and Ploughshares. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Robert Penn Warren Award in the Humanities from Yale University Medical School. Besides the published version of Not God, Straus has written two other volumes of poetry, One Word and Symmetry, both published by Northwestern University Press.

Nancy Robillard is the director for this production. She and Straus have been working together for the past year to guide his poems from the written into the theatrical form. She directed Luna Stage's critically acclaimed world premiere of Honor and the River by Anton Dudley two seasons ago and continues to work throughout the country on new and classic plays, including Rosemary and I, which she co-directed with Olympia Dukakis at MetroStage, Unsinkable Women at The Walnut Street Theatre and The Glass Menagerie at Bay Theatre Company.

The cast includes two newcomers to Luna's stage. Tuck Milligan plays the character of Doctor and Carol Lempert is Patient. The unique format of Not God is realized in the creative work these two actors bring to the piece. There is no direct dialogue between the two yet each is very much a part of the other's world.

Tuck Milligan is a veteran of stage and screen and most recently played Peter Cauchon, the Bishop of Beavais, in a highly acclaimed Saint Joan at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. He participated in the Negro Ensemble Company's 40th Anniversary celebration in the extended run of The First Breeze of Summer at the Signature Theatre Company this past summer and fall. He received the Helen Hayes Award for the seven roles he created in the Pulitzer Prize winning play, The Kentucky Cycle. Further credits include, among others -Gem of the Ocean and Equus on Broadway; on television,"Rescue Me" and "Law and Order"; and on film, "Kinsey", "The Russia House" and the just-released Russell Crowe movie, "State of Play".

Carol Lempert's one-woman hit show, That Dorothy Parker, was recently produced by Artistic New Directions at the Soho Playhouse and she won an Outstanding Actor citation from Talkin' Broadway for her work. She appeared in A Time Ripe and Rare at Theatre 54, The McCreary's at BMI in Somewhere Men Are Laughing directed by Bill Russell. On television, she can be seen in "Rockabye Bubble" on The Family Channel, and on film she appeared in "Bless the Child" and "Santa Who" with Leslie Nielson.

Luna Stage is honored to have a distinguished design team for Not God, including Paul Clay as Set and Video Designer, John Burkland as Lighting Designer, Deborah J. Caney as Costume Designer and David Margolin Lawson as Sound Designer. Deb Caney is the only designer from the team who has worked at Luna Stage before, having designed costumes for last season's Elliot, a Soldier's Fugue and this season's Fair and Decent. Paul Clay is a visual artist whose work spans many different fields. He worked with Marc Straus on lighting for Dr. Straus' New York art gallery. Mr. Clay is most well known for designing the set for the Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway musical, Rent and for the award-winning redesign of the marquee and exterior of the Nederlander Theater. John Burkland's lighting credits include work for Lincoln Center, LaMama ETC, NYC Fringe in New York, and regionally for The John F. Kennedy Center, Williamstown Theater Festival and The Actors Theater of Atlanta, among others. David Margolin Lawson designed sound for the Signature Theatre Co.'s The First Breeze of Summer. He worked at Juilliard on The Cherry Orchard and Under Milkwood and with Repertorio Espanol on Caridad Svitch's adaptation of Isabel Allende's La Casa de los Espiritos.

Luna Stage is planning to have talkbacks after selected shows. Says Managing Director, Mona Hennessy, "Because Not God addresses the subject of cancer, and because most people's lives have been affected either directly or indirectly by cancer, we felt it would be a community service to offer people the chance to engage in dialogue with others about this very difficult topic." Medical professionals and cancer survivors as well as family support groups are among the planned talkback guests. "There will also be open-mic nights after certain performances," says Ms. Hennessy, "so that any audience member who is interested will have the opportunity to read or perform a personal piece related to issues of illness." Information on the talkback and open-mic dates are available on Luna Stage's website: www.lunastage.org.

Luna Stage is located at 695 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair, NJ. Performances run Thursday (7:30pm); Friday and Saturday (8:00 pm); and Sunday (2:00 matinee.) Ticket prices are as follows: $20 (TH); $25 (FR/SUN); $30 (SA.) Tickets can be purchased by calling Luna Stage at 973-744-3309 or on-line at www.lunastage.org. Group, senior and student discounts are offered. Luna Stage is wheelchair accessible and assistive listening devices are available without prior notice. Pre-show tours for persons with sight impairment can also be arranged. Please call for information.

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