CEO Theatre Presents THE COMPLAINT 10/27-11/13

CEO Theatre (formerly Cockeyed Optimists Theatre Company) proudly presents their newest production, The Complaint. Directed by Bryn Boice (Navy Pier; Orange Flower Water, InProximity Theatre), Randy Noojin's (writer/performer Hard Travelin' with Woody, FringeNYC) unexpected new comedy opens at 45th Street Theatre Thursday, October 27 and runs through Sunday, November 13, 2011.

A Hispanic actor files a complaint on a police officer for using excessive force during a marijuana bust. A rookie female cop is put to the task of trying to entrap him, but ... who is she really? The Complaint is a play about good cops, bad cops, stoners and lovers. It is a play about The Importance of Being Earnest, and ... the importance of being earnest. The Complaint is a modern day fairy tale about following your dreams, even when what's standing in the way of your dreams is yourself.

"The Complaint is a rare mix of quirk and substance," says director Bryn Boice. "The play is attractive to this group because it takes on tough topics like racism, drug use, Internal Affairs investigations, identity, impending matrimony, lies, even the theatre, for God's sake. All of this really serious subject matter, and spins it into something entirely charming, meaningful, and entertaining. Randy Noojin has written a gem, and we are ecstatic that he is sharing his work with CEO Theatre."

Written at The University of Iowa's Playwrights Workshop, The Complaint won the Maibaum Award for socially conscious work. It was produced at the University of Iowa and at The Bloomington Playwrights Project in Bloomington, Indiana. Randy Noojin's work has also been produced at Actor's Theatre of Louisville, Ensemble Studio Theatre and Circle Rep Lab.

The Complaint features a stellar ensemble cast, including: Josh Adler* (Precarious, The Drilling Company), Amanda Ladd* (Hans: A Case Study, The West End Theatre), Nicholas Alexiy Moran* (The Odyssey, Handcart Ensemble), Randy Noojin* (writer/performer Hard Travelin' with Woody, FringeNYC) and Michael Poignand* (Dia De Los Muertos, Teatro LaTea; Navy Pier, Theatre Row). *Appearing courtesy of Actors Equity Association

Bryn Boice (Navy Pier; Orange Flower Water, InProximity Theatre) directs The Complaint. The producer is Michael Mattie (Associate Director, CEO's Almost Maine) for CEO Theatre.

The Complaint opens Thursday, October 27 and runs Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm through Sunday, November 13, 2011. There is a special pay what you can performance on Sunday, November 6 at 7pm. All performances take place at The 45th Street Theatre, 354 W. 45th Street, 2nd floor between 8th & 9th Avenues. A, C or E to 42nd Street.

Tickets to The Complaint go on sale October 1. Tickets are $18, and are available online at ceotheatre.org, or by calling SmartTix at 212-868-4444.

CEO Theatre was founded as Cockeyed Optimists Theatre Company in 2007 by three performers who shared a mutual desire to create powerful artistically fulfilling theater that presents hopeful possibilities for the art form, and for humanity as a whole. The ensemble produced Almost, Maine by John Cariani in 2008, followed by One Thing I Like to Say Is (called "delightfully loopy...an unqualified success." by nytheatre.com) by Amy Fox in 2009. CEO Theatre has also produced numerous staged readings, cabarets, and other events. The Complaint marks CEO Theatre's third mainstage production.

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