Photo Flash: Dark Comedy LAURA BUSH KILLED A GUY Premieres At The Flea

Roger Sanders and Dana Scott Galloway present the New York premiere of The Klunch's production of Laura Bush KILLED A GUY by Ian Allen. Directed by John Vreeke, the production stars Lisa Hodsoll, who received a 2018 Helen Hayes Award nomination for her portrayal of the former First Lady in the acclaimed Washington DC premiere. Previews begin June 14 at The Flea Theater with opening night slated for Thursday, June 21.

Laura Bush is an enigma wrapped in another enigma. She is shy, bookish, beautiful, and in 1963, she blew through a stop sign and killed a guy. It was probably just an accident. Perhaps it was simply youthful recklessness. Or maybe, just maybe... it was murder! In Laura Bush KILLED A GUY, join Mrs. Bush for an evening of real-life reminiscences: of her childhood in Texas (untrue?), of her marriage to George W. Bush (a sham?), and of their rapid ascent to the very pinnacle of world power (an abomination?).

Laura Bush KILLED A GUY is an alternately silly and surreal comedy that looks to shine light on the intersection of fact and fiction - a topic more timely now than ever - as memories fade, and Laura Bush and her husband's administration start to look like, well, maybe they weren't so bad after all.

The production features lighting by David C. Ghatan, set by Kim Deane, costume by Rhonda Key, sound by Lucas Zarwell, and stage management by Elizabeth Ramsay.

Lisa Hodsoll (Laura Bush) previously worked with John Vreeke as Maeve in Theater J's The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures. Other credits include Jane/Dot in Theater Alliance's The Wonderful World of Dissocia (Helen Hayes nominated for best supporting actress); and Miller at Studio Theatre's Edgar and Annabel. She performed the one-woman show Medea's Got Some Issues in Chicago for the Chicago Theater Sweatshop, having previously performed it as part of the DC Fringe Festival and A Fool's Paradise: 30 Shakespeare Scenes in 60 Minutes at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Other recent credits include Mother in Constellation Theater's production of Caucasian Chalk Circle and Madame in WSC Avant Bard's production of Emilie du Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight. Movie credits: Slave Cry, Leia's Army, Pipe Dream, Buffurducken, Kosmopolites, and A Million Dollars and No Sense. Comedy/Improv (Chicago): Brouhaha, ComedySportz.

Ian Allen (playwright) is the artistic director of The Klunch, and former artistic director of Cherry Red Productions. His playwriting credits include The Queens Chef, Tiger Mouth, Natural Duck, Savage Pieta, Angel S___, Talk Show, Baked Baby, Thumbsucker, and "Kenneth, What Is the Frequency?" (co-written with Monique LaForce). His one-act Twelve Days of Christmas won the Source Theater Festival's Literary Prize, and his short Why Women Lie, and full-length 09/11/XX, were selected to be read at the Kennedy Center's Prelude Festival. Angel S___ was produced at the Gene Frankel Underground in 2010, and, Lovesick Susan and Li'l Care Bear 'Crash' (co-written with Emily Rems) were staged at Richard Foreman's Ontological-Hysterical Theatre. His journalistic writing has appeared in Harper's, The Nation, BUST, Brightest Young Things, and NPR's hit podcast, "The United States of Anxiety." In 2016, he was awarded a 30-day residency at Blue Mountain Center, to work on his new project, How to Win a Race War, a three-play satire of white supremacist literature, which will premiere at The Klunch this fall. ianallen.net

John Vreeke (director) is a Woolly Mammoth Theatre company member, and perhaps best known for his directorial and development work on new plays and second productions of plays, many of which have gone on to become staples in the regional theater circuit, including Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph (and his Describe the Night, upcoming in 2019), Boom by Peter Nachtrieb and A Bright New Boise by Samuel D. Hunter. He has worked in DC area theater for the past fifteen years: The Round House, Theater J, Metro Stage, Olney Theater, Forum, the former Washington Shakespeare Company, Theater Alliance, Everyman, the Kennedy Center and the Helen Hayes Awards. He began his career at the famous Alley Theater in Houston where he worked as the staff director for seven years before moving to Seattle where he worked as a casting associate and associate producer on the hit CBS TV series Northern Exposure. johnvreeke.com

The Klunch is a Washington DC-based collective of diverse performers, playwrights, directors, and designers. Members include Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Dominic D'Andrea, Jeff Goode, Wendy MacLeod, Kathleen Akerley, Bridget Kathleen O'Leary, Emily Rems, Jeff Talbott and Justin Tanner. Past productions include the DC premieres of Elaine May's Adult Entertainment and The Last Class: A Jazzercize Play and the World premiere of Laura Bush Killed a Guy.

Laura Bush KILLED A GUY runs June 14 - July 8, Monday & Wednesday - Saturday at 7pm and Sunday at 3pm. Running time is appx 80 mins, no intermission. Tickets start at $15 with the lowest priced tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis. The Flea Theater is located at 20 Thomas Street between Church and Broadway, three blocks north of Chambers, close to the A/C/E, N/Q/R/W, 4/5/6, J/M/Z and 1/2/3 subway lines. Purchase tickets by calling 212-226-0051 or online at www.theflea.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.