Staller & Dehnert Direct Final Shows Of Two River's Season

Two River Theater Company announces that directors David Staller and Amanda Dehnert will helm the final two shows of the company's current season, Shaw's Candida and the musical revue Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, respectively. David Staller is the founder and artistic director of the New York-based company the Gingold Theatrical Group, through which he produces Project Shaw, a concert-reading series devoted to the work and human-rights activism of George Bernard Shaw. Through this series, he is the first person ever to direct and produce every play that Shaw ever wrote-65 in all. The next Project Shaw event, Androcles and the Lion, will be produced with an all-critic and arts journalist company on January 24 at The Players Club.

Candida, one of Shaw's most popular comedies, will run March 22-April 10.

Amanda Dehnert most recently directed Peter Pan (A Play) for Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre; her production of Julius Caesar will open in March at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Among her numerous musical-theatre credits are Cabaret for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, My Fair Lady for Actors Theatre of Louisville and Cleveland Play House, The Fantasticks for Arena Stage and Long Wharf Theatre (for which she received a Helen Hayes nomination), and many productions at Trinity Repertory Company, including West Side Story and Annie.

Jacques Brel features conception, English lyrics, and additional material by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman, based on lyrics and commentary by Jacques Brel. Two River's production of the celebrated revue will run May 17-June 5.

"I'm pleased to welcome David Staller and Amanda Dehnert to our company this season," says Artistic Director John Dias. "David is a director, actor, producer-and a unique Shaw enthusiast who is one of the country's leading experts in Shaw's work and style. Amanda brings an exciting and original vision to how audiences experience the art form of the musical theater. Both of them are looking at these beloved classics, Candida and Jacques Brel, with fresh eyes and perspectives, and we look forward to sharing their passions about these productions with our audiences."

Two River Theater's next production, Herb Gardner's comedy A Thousand Clowns, directed by Davis McCallum, runs February 1-20, with an opening on February 5. For additional information about the season, visit www.trtc.org.

TWO RIVER THEATER COMPANY, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Dias, produces world premiere, classics, contemporary plays and innovative education programs in a state?of?the?art theater complex that opened in 2005. Founded in 1994 by Joan and Dr. Robert M. Rechnitz, Two River Theater is a member of the League of Resident Theaters (LORT), Theatre Communications Group (TCG), The New Jersey Theatre Alliance and ArtPride New Jersey.

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