Sam Shepard's TRUE WEST Plays At 12 Miles West 2/26-3/22

12 Miles West Theatre Company's season is about to move into high gear with its upcoming production of Sam Shepard's funniest and most brutal play True West. A classic of the contemporary American stage, True West will be on stage at 12 Miles West Theatre Company, in residence at Playwrights Theatre in Madison, February 26th through March 22nd with an opening night "Meet the Artists" reception on Friday, February 27th.

Considered by many as Shepard's masterwork, True West had its world premiere in 1980 at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco where Shepard was the resident playwright. It opened at Joseph Papp's Public Theater in December of that year and has sparked two powerful revivals on Broadway since-the 1982 Steppenwolf production with Gary Sinise and John Malkovich, and the more recent 2000, Tony award-nominated, Circle in the Square production with Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly. In True West, Austin, the "favored," successful younger brother in a turbulent and troubled family, is house-sitting for his mother and swinging a big movie deal when his older and disturbed brother Lee makes a surprise visit. Lee interjects himself and throws Austin's life into a tailspin. They are forced to work together in a make or break situation that will change their lives forever. The conflict spurs a surprising role reversal in the brothers, and as Shepard describes, "I wanted to write a play about double nature, one that wouldn't be symbolic or metaphorical or any of that stuff. I just wanted to give a taste of what it feels like to be two-sided. It's a real thing, double nature. I think we're split in a much more devastating way than psychology can ever reveal. It's not so cute. Not some little thing we can get over. It's something we've got to live with."

Directing True West for 12 Miles West is Lenny Bart (Summit), now in his eighth season as Artistic Director for the company. Lenny has received critical acclaim for his 12 Miles West productions of The Price, Happy Hour, The Ride Down Mount Morgan, The Elephant Man, The Robber Bridegroom, The Glass Menagerie and Inside Out. The artistic team for the 12 Miles West production is rounded out with Set and Lighting Design by Mr. Bart, Sound Design by Jeff Knapp (Randolph), Scenic Artwork by Shawna Williams (Landing), Technical Direction by James Sullivan (Madison), Costume Design by Maggie Baker (Philadelphia), and Production Stage Manager Dawn M. D'Arrigo (Jersey City). Starring in the production are Paul Molnar (Brooklyn, NY) as Lee, and Nathaniel Kressen (Long Island City, NY) as Austin, with Paul Mantell (Kinnelon) and Gloria Falzer (Montclair).

For its patrons with special needs, 12 Miles West is offering an Open Captioned performance on Friday, March 13. This open captioned performance is made possible by the New Jersey Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in partnership with the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State. And every Thursday performance of the run is Buy One/Get One! as part of Family Week at the Theatre. A symposium with the cast and director will follow these performances as well. This event is part of Family Week at the Theatre, a program of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, co-sponsored by The New Jersey State Council on the Arts and Discover Jersey Arts. To receive a full schedule of events for Family Week at the Theatre, please call 1-800-THE-ARTS or visit www.familyweek.com.

12 Miles West Theatre Company's production of True West by Sam Shepard will be presented Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 8pm and Sunday afternoons at 3pm, February 26-March 22, 2009. Tickets are $26 general admission/$21 for seniors and students. All tickets $15 for a Preview performance on Thurs., February 26 only. Discover Jersey Arts cardholders receive buy one/get one free tickets to any Thursday evening performance. 12 Miles West Theatre Company is in residence at Playwrights Theatre located at 33 Green Village Road, Madison, NJ 07940. For reservations or additional information, call the theatre at (973) 259-9187 or purchase tickets on-line at www.12MilesWest.org.