Garden Theatre to Stage Central Florida Regional Premiere of THE WHALE

The Garden Theatre is proud to present Beth Marshall Presents' production of The Whale showing March 18 - April 3, 2016. The Whale, a Central Florida regional premiere, is sponsored by Insight Credit Union.

The Whale is a gripping and big-hearted drama that tells the story of a six-hundred-pound recluse hiding away in his apartment on the outskirts of Mormon Country, Idaho, eating himself to death. Desperate to reconnect with his long-estranged daughter, he reaches out to her, only to find a viciously sharp-tongued and wildly unhappy teen.

The play is a new work by Samuel D. Hunter, an award-winning playwright and the recipient of a 2014 MacArthur Genius Grant Fellowship. He is a native of northern Idaho, the setting for the play, and he holds degrees in playwriting from NYU, The Iowa Playwright's Workshop and Juilliard. The Whale was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play. It won a Lucille Lortel Award for Best Play and won a Drama Desk Special Award for Significant Contribution to Theatre.

The Whale is produced by Beth Marshall Presents and is directed by Rob Winn Anderson, who serves as the Garden Theatre's Consulting Artistic Director. Marshall and Anderson have collaborated on projects for years, and they co-wrote Alice Lost in Wonderland which was part of the Garden Theatre's 2013-2014 Season.

Marshall was drawn to produce the play because of the father and daughter relationship, and describes The Whale as "raw, relevant, and about the human condition."

"This is a family in turmoil," says Anderson, "This is a family that is different from ours, and I believe we need to see that, despite the differences, there is a great deal that is the same."

The five-person cast includes: Michael Wanzie as Charlie, Rachel Comeau as his daughter Ellie, Jamie Middleton as Liz, Anthony Pyatt Jr. as Elder Thomas and Beth Marshall as Mary. This is Michael Wanzie's second appearance on the Garden Theatre stage, following his 2015 performance as Father Brendan Flynn in Beth Marshall Presents' Doubt, A Parable. As Charlie, Wanzie must wear a large and heavy costume, specifically made for him by Marcy Singhaus and D Squared, which includes cooling packs due to the extreme heat generated by the costume. Jamie Middleton's previous Garden Theatre roles included Edna Klein in Beth Marshall Presents' Children of a Lesser God, Luella Bennett in The Diviners and Mrs. Cratchit/Mrs. Dilber in 2010's A Christmas Carol. This represents Beth Marshall Presents' twelfth production with the Garden Theatre, and Marshall's second acting role, after playing Chick in 2009's Crimes of the Heart.

Tickets to The Whale are $24 for seniors and students, $28 for adults. There are special discounted prices for opening night and Thursday performances. Show times are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm. On Saturday, April 2nd there will be an additional 2pm performance. An Industry Night performance is available on Monday, March 28 at 8pm with $15 tickets. The show contains adult language and scenes and is recommended for mature audiences.

For tickets, visit gardentheatre.org or contact the Garden Theatre Box Office at 407-877-GRDN (4736). Groups of 10 or more are eligible for discounts of up to 25% by contacting group sales manager Jana Goupil at 407-877-4736 x208.

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