Sophie Hayden and Jeff Binder Appear At Hive Theater's Benefit Reading Of PANAMA

The Hive Theatre Company is pleased to present The Hive Exposed Series; staged readings of new and underexposed plays. The first in this series is a benefit staged reading of Mike Folie's PANAMA at the cell theatre on Tuesday, November 9th at 7pm.

A cross between Monty Python and Samuel Beckett, PANAMA is an absurdist comedy about life, love and cheese.

The Hive is pleased to have such distinguished actors for this benefit staged reading including Sophie Hayden (Tony nominated for her role in The Most Happy Fella), Jeff Binder (Mary Poppins, Lion King and Side Man on Broadway), and Shira Gregory (Frost/Nixon on Broadway).

"[Panama's] off-the-wall humor is hysterically funny. Like a snowball rolling downhill, the

laughter starts slowly but picks up steam, until it sweeps through the audience like an avalanche.

--Long Beach Press Telegram

"Folie is lavishly gifted, firing off non sequiturs and references like Eugene Ionesco rifling

through Al Franken's mail . . . a gut-busting agit-prop fracas."

--The Los Angeles Times

PANAMA tells the tale of a middle-aged man who becomes so enraged when his doctor tells him he will die someday that he embarks on a cross-country crime spree while desperately searching for a scientist who claims he can make people live forever. Along the way he and his wife pick up a pair of young hitchhikers and an old couple who may or may not be the man's parents. They all find what they are looking for at ‘Happy Days', the new Samuel Beckett theme park at Disneyland, when they come face to face with the scientist who promises to make them immortal.

Admission is FREE and tickets will be distributed at the door on the evening of the performance on a first come, first served basis. All proceeds are to benefit the Hive Theatre Company's mission to foster the creative growth of new and underexposed playwrights.

Cast includes:
MAN - Jeff Binder
WIFE - Sophie Hayden
YOUNG MAN - Chris Critelli
YOUNG WOMAN - Shira Gregory
GRANDPA - Gordon Stanley
GRANNIE - Jan Owen
JESUS - Robyn Lee

DOCTOR/COP/DIRECTOR/HOLLYWOOD PRODUCER/SCIENTIST - Fernando Gambaroni

All performers appearing courtesy of Theatre Authority, Inc.

PANAMA

An absurdist comedy by Mike Folie

Directed by Diana Glazer

Produced by The Hive Theatre Company (Matthew A.J. Gregory, Artistic Director)

Lighting Designer: Nick Gonsman

Stage Manager: Robyn Lee

the cell (www.thecelltheatre.org)
338 West 23rd Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues)
Tuesday, November 9th, 2010 at 7pm

Jeff Binder (Man)- Seen most recently as George Banks in Broadway's Mary Poppins. Other Broadway credits include James Hanley in The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Zazu in Lion King, and Clifford in Side Man. Jeff has also appeared widely in regional theatres around the country including The Westport Country Playhouse and Arena Stage. In addition, Jeff has appeared in a variety of television programs including Law and Order, Guiding Light, As the World Turns and All My Children.

CHRIS CRITELLI (Young Man) - Chris can be seen in the Lincoln Center Songbook Series. Off-Broadway: The New Hopeville Comics (Perfect Man) Off-Off: The Hypochondriac (Clay) NYC: Kidnapping Laura Linney (Steve) REG: All Shook Up (Chad - opposite Sally Struthers), Tinyard Hill (David Kingsley - World Premiere), Tales From the Bad Years (Man 2 - Workshop), Othello (Cassio), Urinetown (Bobby Strong), A Man of No Importance (Robbie Fay), Star Quality (Bryan Snow) etc. Chris is a founding member of The Hive.

MIKE FOLIE (Playwright) - Dramatist Guild Magazine named Mike Folie as one of "Fifty Playwrights to Watch." His plays have been produced Off-Broadway, regionally around the U.S. and internationally, winning several awards. Alfred Kinsey: A Love Story, commissioned by Broadway and film producer George W. George, was workshopped in February, 2008, as part of the Harriett Lake New Play Festival, and the Orlando Shakespeare Festival. The Adjustment toured several cities in Great Britain with Stefanie Powers in the lead. In its original production at the Alliance Repertory Company in L.A., The Adjustment played to packed houses for six months and won several awards; The L.A. Times called it "The kind of play the American Theatre desperately needs." The Adjustment was subsequently produced Off- Broadway at Jewish Repertory Theatre in New York, and regionally around the U.S. Naked by the River, a romantic comedy, was presented in a staged reading featuring actors Tim Allen and Dana Delany at the Coronet Theatre in L.A. and has been adapted by Mike as a screenplay. Naked by The River has won five national playwriting competitions and has been produced at several theaters in the U.S. Panama, a comedy, premiered at NJ Rep and was subsequently produced at the 2003 Dublin Fringe Festival; it was also a critical and box-office hit at the Edison Theatre, Long Beach, CA and several other theaters. His comedy, Love in the Insecurity Zone has been produced often, most recently at CenterStage/NY by Boomerang Theatre Company. Mike has presented workshops on playwriting at several colleges and was the Playwright Mentor for ‘Tomorrow's Promise', a program funded by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

FERNANDO GAMBARONI (Doctor/Cop/Director/Hollywood Producer/Scientist) - Off-Broadway: Just Don't Touch Me, Amigo (written & performed by Fernando), The Imaginary Invalid, Mrs. Farnsworth (both at The Flea Theater and the Long Wharf); Like I Say (written and directed by Len Jenkin); Mac Wellman's Cellophane, Birdy and the Golden Putter, Whizzer's Island (Princeton Summer Festival). Film: Solidarity (winner of the Mayor's Award at the Heart of Gold Film Festival in Australia) & Underdogs. Fernando is a founding member of The Hive.

DIANA GLAZER (Director) - Diana Glazer is a New York based director, producer, casting director and creative consultant with expertise in new music theater works. She has worked on the Broadway productions of Chicago, La Cage Aux Folles and Soul of Shaolin and the Asian tours of Aida and Fame. Diana is the President & CEO of DiStar Productions and is the Casting Director at Prospect Theater Company. She currently works with Ira Weitzman, producing music theater projects at Lincoln Center Theater and also recently served as Artistic Coordinator at the Weisslers' office. Credits: Directing: Onward (59e59), Act IV Cabaret (Weston Playhouse), Birth Day (Hudson Guild), Assassins, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, & How To Wake Up. Producing: A Political Party! (Sage), green eyes (Fringe), Angels Twice Descending, Camp Out (the cell), A Mikvah (Fringe). Past: Nederlander Worldwide, MTC, Primary Stages, Harden-Curtis, Weston Playhouse, & Mason Street Warehouse. Diana's musical Birth Day, co-written with Larson Award winner J. Oconer Navarro, won the New Works prize at Emerson College. Currently: Chinglish (by David Henry Hwang), Petropolis (with Navarro), The Morning After/The Night Before (Lortel/Fringe 2010), MovingMidway and many more.

Shira Gregory (Young Woman) - Shira most recently worked with Ms. Glazer in The Morning After/The Night Before at the Lucille Lortel (Bridget) as part of the NY Fringe Festival 2010. Other acting credits include the original Broadway cast of the Tony-winning Frost/Nixon (Evonne Goolagong) and the short film, Birchwood (NYC Film Race) for which she received the Audience Award for Best Lead Actress and Best Co-Writer. Shira appeared last year in the Off Off Broadway hit, The Hypochondriac, which she also co-adapted. Shira is a founding member of The Hive.

Sophie Hayden (Wife) - Sophie is a Tony nominated actress who has appeared on Broadway, Off Broadway and in theatres around the country. Broadway: Edith Frank in The Diary Of Anne Frank, Amy in The Show Off, Rosabella in The Most Happy Fella (Tony Nomination), and Adriana in Comedy of Errors. She has also played at Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, the Goodman Theatre, and Indiana Rep among others.

Jan Owen (Grannie) - Jan has performed extensively in television, commercials and on stage. She has appeared on 30 Rock, Law and Order and several sketches on Saturday Night Live. She has dozens of commercials to her credit, and was a part of the Broadway company of An Inspector Calls.

Gordon Stanley (Grandpa) - Gordon has performed in dozens of productions on and off Broadway. Broadway credits include Cabaret at Studio 54 and Ragtime. He has appeared Off Broadway at Irish Rep, New World Stages, and Circle in the Square. Gordon has performed regionally at theatres including Barrington Stage, Goodspeed, and the McCarter Theatre. In addition, Gordon's voice can be heard singing in a slew of Disney animated films from Beauty and the Beast to Pocohontas.

About The Hive Theatre Company

The Hive Theatre Company (Matthew A.J. Gregory, Artistic Director) is an experiment in collaboration dedicated to building community through play. The Hive is committed to providing affordable productions that engage audiences as participants in an immersive theatrical event rather than simply spectators. Further, the Hive is committed producing original works created from the ground up by the full company, reinventing the classics, and fostering the work of new and under-exposed playwrights. To learn more about the Hive, go to: http://www.thehivetheatre.com

 

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