MAYTAG VIRGIN at DezArt Performs At Pearl McManus Theater

He's a handsome Catholic widower, and she's got "good legs for a Baptist", also recently bereaved. Together, this down-home odd-couple of next door neighbors generate sparks, laughs and more than a bit of Faulknerian introspection in Audrey Cefaly's Maytag Virgin, the season closer for Dezart Performs. Directed by Deborah Harmon, this "Southern love story" is the ultimate offering of the critically acclaimed and almost completely-sold-out 11th Season from the award winning Palm Springs ensemble. The play runs April 5 - 14 at the Pearl McManus Theater (at the historic Palm Springs Woman's Club / 314 S Cahuilla Road, Downtown Palm Springs).

"This is such a wonderfully evocative and nuanced script," said Shaw, founding artistic director for Dezart Performs. "It grows on you like a deep South twilight, with flashes of humor and melancholy, like fireflies on the page. These two characters reveal ultimate truths about the human condition in such a touch manner. It brings to mind the works of Truman Capote and Eudora Welty. Southern charm has come to the desert in this play."

Alabama high-school teacher Lizzy Nash is on a leave of absence after the sudden death of her husband when a mysterious new neighbor moves in next door. Jack and Lizzy, both hiding a world of secrets and pain, excite and confound each other. Maytag Virgin explores the ideas of moving forward and self-enlightenment, and the bridge between the two. "Unflinchingly honest. Cefaly's writing is richly-layered, creating compelling characters that must balance love and heartache, the safe with the unfamiliar." (DC Metro Theatre Arts) "It's the emotional journey of Maytag Virgin that gives it such a wallop. Cefaly writes with sympathy and a finely-sharpened wit." (BroadwayWorld.com)

"Directing a two-character play is an incredibly intimate experience," said Harmon, well known to area audiences for her work on stage, most recently inthe Dezart Performs production of Perfect Arrangement. "There's nothing between the actors and the audience except truth and emotion. Like Audrey Cefaly says in her author's note, 'when we love fully, we lose a piece of ourselves.' This play delivers on that promise."

The cast for Maytag Virgin is Joel Bryant as Jack Key and Kay Capasso as Elizabeth "Lizzy" Nash.

Dezart Performs, one of the Coachella Valley's preeminent theatre companies, recognizes that the performing arts enrich the life and culture of a community, promote greater understanding and provoke insightful discussion. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit theatre company, its mission is to provide an artistic home for bold and cutting-edge plays, creating an atmosphere of artistic growth for actors, writers, and directors who uniquely contribute to the diverse theatrical environment in the Coachella Valley.

Sponsors of Dezart Performs' 2018/19 Season include The Riviera Palm Springs, Desert Care Network, Eight4Nine Restaurant & Lounge, Acqua at the River, TRIO Restaurant, Hotel Zoso and the Desert Sun.

Showtimes for Maytag Virgin: Fridays and Saturdays @ 7:30pm, Saturdays and Sundays @ 2pm. Ticket prices are $45 Opening Night with Post Show Reception; $35 Evening; $30 Matinee. Performances take place at the Pearl McManus Theater (at the historic Palm Springs Woman's Club) 314 S Cahuilla Road, Downtown Palm Springs. Tickets may be purchased by calling (760) 322-0179 or online at www.dezartperforms.org

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