Toni Rae Salmi Leads The Hub's ACT A LADY, Beg. Tonight

Casting has been announced for The Hub Theatre's summer production of Jordan Harrison's gender-bending comedy, ACT A LADY. The men of a small 1920's Mid Western town have decided to put on a 'real fancy dress up' play in full drag. The cast is led by a trio of amazing actresses - Helen Hayes nominated actress TONI RAE SALMI as Dorothy, the no nonsense, accordion playing head of her household; Helen Hayes Award Winner and Hub veteran Jenna Sokolowski as Lorna, the object of men's affections and expert makeup artist; andNORA ACHRATI as Zina, the passionate and powerful theatre director accompanies her 'from the continent.'

The ladies are joined by equally incredible actors. Hub company member DAVID ZIMMERMAN returns to The Hub after his sizzling turn as Nikos in last summers hit production of Big Love. Zimmerman takes on the role of True, the masculine and rough tanner who dons a countess' gown with aplomb. He is joined by newcomers to The Hub MATTHEW PAULI as Miles, a small town business man, and CYLE DURKEE as Casper, the local photographer. Both Miles and Casper also join in the cross dressing antics with flourish.

MATTHEW R. WILSON directs this past paced, hysterical jaunt. This is Wilson's debut at The Hub. Matthew is Founding Artistic Director of Faction of Fools Theatre Company, DC's Helen Hayes Award-winning commedia dell'arte company. For Faction of Fools, he has directed A Commedia Christmas Carol (HHA nomination, "Outstanding New Play"), Hamlecchino: Clown Prince of Denmark, Machiavelli's The Mandrake, The House with Two Doors, A Commedia Romeo & Juliet, and others. InNew York City he has directed at John Houseman Theatre Center, American Theatre of Actors, The Red Room, The Producer's Club, and Theatre-Studio, Inc. Matt is also a proud union actor (AEA & SAG-AFTRA) who has performed with the Kennedy Center, Folger Theatre, Constellation, No Rules, dog & pony, and Taffety Punk. He will appear in season two of the Netflix original series House of Cards starring Kevin Spacey. A passionate teacher, Matt has taught commedia dell'arte classes around the world and currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at both GMU and GWU. He holds a BA from Columbia University and MFA from the Academy for Classical Acting, and he is a PhD candidate in Theatre & Performance Studies at the University of Maryland. Upcoming directing projects: Don Juan, A Commedia Christmas Carol, andTitus Andronicus with Faction of Fools and The Molière Impromptu at University of Maryland.

Jordan Harrison's play Maple and Vine recently ran Off-Broadway at New York's Playwrights Horizons and at San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater after premiering in the 2011 Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Jordan's other plays include Doris to Darlene (Playwrights Horizons), Amazons and their Men(Clubbed Thumb), Act a Lady (2006 Humana Festival), Finn in the Underworld(Berkeley Repertory Theatre), Futura (Portland Center Stage, NAATCO, Theater @ Boston Court), Kid-Simple (2004 Humana Festival, SPF), The Museum Play(Washington Ensemble Theatre), Standing on Ceremony (Minetta Lane Theatre), andFit for Feet (2003 Humana Festival). His children's musical, The Flea and the Professor, won the 2011 Barrymore Award for Best Production after premiering at Philadelphia's Arden Theatre, and his grown-up musical, Suprema, was workshopped at the O'Neill Music Theatre Conference. Jordan is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Hodder Fellowship at Princeton University, a Theater Masters' Innovative Playwright Award, the Kesselring Prize, the Heideman Award, the Loewe Award for Musical Theater, Jerome and McKnight Fellowships from The Playwrights' Center, and a NEA/TCG Playwright-in-Residence Grant. Maple and Vine and Act A Lady were nominated for GLAAD Media Awards for Best Production. Jordan is currently working on commissions for Playwrights Horizons and South Coast Repertory. A graduate of Stanford University and the Brown University MFA program, he is a proud alumnus of New Dramatists.

In ACT A LADY, the men of a small Prohibition-era town decide to stage a play. As the play within this play comes together, gender lines blur, eyebrows raise, identities explode, and life and art are forever entangled. ACT A LADY is a thoughtful and exuberant Midwestern fable about the woman in every man, the man in every woman, and the power of theater to uncover both. "Miles is a burly small-towner, with a God-fearing, accordion-playing wife named Dorothy, a broad Midwestern accent and an aw-shucks manner. But get him into a flouncy wig and a voluminous satin dress, plunk him in a silly play about romantic rivalries in Revolutionary France, and a star is born." Seattle Times.

The Creative Team for ACT A LADY includes: Klyph Stanford (Scenic Design), ANDREW CISSNA (Lighting Design), MARIA VETSCH (Costume Design), Neil McFadden (Original Compositions & Sound Design), SUZANNE MALONEY (Props Design), and WILLIAM POMMERENING (Stage Management).

This production is suitable for ages 12 and up. It will play The Hub Theatre, in residence at The John Swayze Theatre at the New School of Northern Virginia, 9431 Silver King Court, Fairfax, Virginia 22031. Performance Dates: TODAY, July 12 - August 4, 2013; Curtain Times: Fridays: 8:00 pm; Saturdays: 2:00 & 8:00 pm; Sundays: 2:00 pm. Ticket Prices: $15 - $30. Tickets Available: www.thehubtheatre.org, www.boxofficetickets.com or call 800-494-8497.

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