Storm Theatre Opens Season With 'Time of Your Life' Starting 10/3

The Storm Theatre presents the first show of its 2008/2009 season – William Saroyan's THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE, beginning October 3, 2008 at The Storm Theatre, 145 W. 46th Street, NYC.  Tickets are $20 and are available at www.smarttix.com, 212-868-4444.

Set in the uneasy calm between the Depression and WWII, THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE follows the patrons of a San Francisco waterfront bar over the course of a single day in 1939.  Uniquely American, Saroyan's twenty-seven characters exude a clear-eyed confidence and resiliency as they face troubles head-on in this funny, dramatic and ultimately touching celebration of existence.  THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE won both the 1940 Pulitzer Prize for drama and the 1940 New York Drama Critics Circle Award.  Peter Dobbins, artistic director of The Storm Theatre, directs.

"THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE is ultimately about freedom and about rebellion from all forms of coercion, either from within or without, that keeps individuals from expressing their true selves.  As we face our present uncertain times, there is certainly much to be learned from these delightful and rambunctious characters' determined efforts to make America live up to all that it promises," said Mr. Dobbins.

Mike Mendiola plays independently wealthy bar patron, Joe, who spends his time drinking, doing favors for others and sending his simple friend Tom (Matthew DeCapua) on strange errands.  Bar owner Nick is portrayed by Ross DeGraw.  Other patrons of the establishment – prostitute Kitty Duval, Arab, Kit Carson, longshoreman McCarthy, officers Krupp and Blick, Wesley, Willie, Harry, The Drunkard, A Street Walker, A Society Gentleman and A Society Lady, The Newsboy, Ma, Elsie, Mary L., Lorene, Dudley, Anna, A Street Walker Sidekick, A Sailor, and Cop – are played respectively by Daniela Mastropietro, Jose Sanchez, Ken Trammell, Ted McGuinness, Joe Danbusky, Dan Berkey, Geoffrey Barnes, Josh Vasquez, Robert Carroll, John Regis, Angelina Shippelina, Sheldon Stone, Holly Davatz, Matthew Wechsler, Rita Cronin, Jenn Zarine Habeck, Kate Chamuris, Jenny D. Green, Jonathan LaVallee, Aleyna Nicole Bartnick, Kamryn Larén DiBlasio, and Sawyer Mastrandrea.

Set design by Todd Ivins, costume design by Cheryl McCarron, lighting design by Michael Abrams and sound design by Scott O'Brien.  Stage management by Erlinda Garcia.  Produced by Peter Dobbins and Chance Michaels.

 
ABOUT THE Storm Theatre

Since 1997, when it was established as a not-for-profit company, The Storm Theatre has drawn upon the resources of its founders, some acting friends and a growing cadre of professional associates whose commitment to theatre has been enhanced by the creative freedom fostered here; as a consequence, utilizing established classics, under-acknowledged gems from the world repertory and vigorous, new visions of life today, The Storm Theatre has succeeded in offering audiences compelling documentation of what it means to be human.  In 1997, The Storm Theatre was selected as one of nytheatre.com's "People of the Year."

Storms are variously identified with disturbances of the natural atmosphere as well as the landscape of the soul.  They can encompass explosions of both an electrical and a passionate nature and have been represented as assaults, sometimes violent, upon fortified citadels or secret, internal retreats.  A storm grows from elemental forces and, inevitably, explodes one reality in to another; it is a journey through catharsis to regeneration. Just as the Globe and The Rose portrayed the breadth and complexity of the lives Shakespeare uncovered on those stages, so The Storm was an apt choice to reflect the theatre experiences they hoped to project for their audiences; a reawakening to the awe-inspiring truths of our shared humanity, its beauty and potential.

Peter Dobbins (director) is a cofounder and Artistic Director of The Storm Theatre, and has directed such Storm productions as T.S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral, Dion Boucicault's The Shaughraun, and Arrah na Pogue, John Regis's Stavrogin's Confession, Stewart Parker's Spokesong, William Shakespeare's As You Like It, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Twelfth Night, Karol Wojtyla's The Jeweler's Shop, Jeremiah, and Our God's Brother, the North American Premiere of House of Desires by Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, and the world premieres of The Last Starfighter by Skip Kennon and Fred Landau and Linnea by John Regis.  As an actor, he has been seen as T. E. Lawrence in Terence Rattigan's Ross, Alfred Evelyn in Edward Bulwar Lytton's Money and Lolo in Pirandello's Henry IV and has played many leading roles in various regional theatres. He received a B.A. in Communications and Theatre from Temple University and attended Southern Methodist University's Professional Actors Training M.F.A. program.

THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE will performed from October 3 – November 1, 2008 at The Storm Theatre, 145 W. 46th Street, NYC, with performances Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm and Saturdays at 2:00pm.  Additional performance Monday, October 6 at 7:30pm.  Tickets are $20 and are available at www.smarttix.com, 212-868-4444.

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