Tony-Winning HISTORY BOYS Makes S. Jersey Premiere, Now thru 4/6

The Road Company Theater Group continues its inaugural season in the new Grand Theatre with the 2006 Tony Award-winner for Best Play, The History Boys, directed by Elizabeth Rodriguez. This show runs tonight, March 21 - April 6, 2013 on Thursdays at 7pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm.

Tickets for Thursday and Sunday performances are $22, Friday and Saturday performances are $25. The Grand Theatre is located at 405 S. Main Street, Williamstown, NJ. For tickets and information, visit www.roadcompany.com or call 856-728-2120.

The History Boys is a comedy set in the 1980s in Cutlers' Grammar School, a fictional boys' grammar school in Sheffield, England. The focus is on an unruly bunch of bright, funny boys who are studying for their entrance examinations in history for Oxford and Cambridge under the guidance of three teachers - Hector, Irwin and Mrs. Lintott - all of whom have contrasting styles. Hector, an eccentric teacher, delights in knowledge for its own sake, but the headmaster ambitiously wants the school to move up the academic league table; Irwin is hired to introduce a rather more cynical and ruthless style of teaching. "I loved the story and I loved the writing. The script is excellent and extremely funny. The subject matter also is one close to my heart because I love the question of 'what is the purpose of education?' Is it to simply pass tests and 'win' or is to enrich our lives?" said Elizabeth Rodriguez, Director of The History Boys.

The play premiered at The National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in London in May 2004 and played to sold-out audiences for an extended run after which it premiered on Broadway in April 2006. It has received more than 30 major awards, including Britain's Olivier Award for Best New Play and six Tony Awards, including Best Play.

Author and actor Alan Bennett was born in Armley in Leeds, Yorkshire in 1934. He attended Leeds Modern School and learned Russian at the Join Services School for Linguists during his National Service, during which he attendEd Cambridge University. He applied for a scholarship at Oxford University from which he graduated with a first-class degree in History. After some time teaching and studying at Oxford, in 1960 Bennett, along with Dudley Moore, Jonathan Miller, and Peter Cook, achieved instant fame by appearing at the Edinburgh Festival in the satirical revue Beyond the Fringe. His first stage play, Forty Years On, was produced in 1968. Many television, stage and radio plays followed, along with screenplays, short stories, novellas, a large body of non-fictional prose and broadcasting, and many appearances as an actor. Bennett received worldwide recognition with his screen adaptation of his play The Madness of King George III, which was nominated for an Academy Award. He followed this success with The History Boys, which won thee Olivier awards and six Tony awards.

Visit www.roadcompany.com for more information.

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