Azuka Theatre Kicks Off POOKIE GOES GRENADING World Premiere on Halloween Tonight, 10/31

Azuka Theatre opens its season with the World Premiere of Pookie Goes Grenading. The show will be performed at Azuka's new home at the Off-Broad Street Theater at First Baptist Church, 1636 Sansom Street. The show starts previews on Halloween, tonight, October 31, at 8 p.m. It opens Saturday, November 3 at 7 p.m., and closes Sunday November 18. Tickets cost $18-$27. Discounts are available for students with a valid I.D. Tickets are available online at www.azukatheatre.org or by phone at (215) 563-1100.

Lee originally wrote the opening sequence of Pookie Goes Grenading as an audition piece for a friend. The piece went over very well for the actress and people started asking if they could read the rest of the play (which didn't exist). Lee went to work creating his full story. "I had been seeing LOTS of terrible theatre at the time; some really self-indulgent, confusing and abstracted stuff that people kept calling "art" so other people couldn't say it was bad. I just thought this 14 year-old girl was the perfect prism through which to parody all that was wrong in the theatre. Hence Pookie was born," recapped Lee.

Pookie Goes Grenading centers around Pookie: an uber-motivated smart 14 year old girl with dreams bigger than most girls her own age. From the other side of the Delaware River, in Camden, she sets out with her friends and an arsenal of weapons grade explosives to make the most epic play in history. Determined to not let her guidance counselor get in the way, Pookie is joined by her best friend Dynamo, Benny the most popular gay kid in school, and Greta the best techie this side of the Schuylkill. Together they set out on a larger than life journey of art, revolution, and the pursuit of more Facebook friends.

"The play was sent to us by JC's agent as almost an afterthought" says Azuka Theatre's Producing Artistic Director Kevin Glaccum. "They said they had just received this play and it sounded like something we would like. Boy were they right! Everyone at Azuka who read the play instantly fell in love with it and the decision was quickly made to put Pookie in our theater."

Lee grew up in New York City, but summered in New Jersey. That experience has shaped the plays he has set in the Garden State. "Growing up in New York City, my mother would send me to Jersey for the summer and call it 'going to the country,' and the insanity of what suburban kids did while their parents were away continues to haunt and traumatize me to this day. I always thought I was pretty bad-ass, but I was an Amish prude compared to these Jersey kids, who'd joyride at 110mph down the highway with pills and booze in one hand and a voodoo doll in the other. I think writing plays set in New Jersey has helped me work through those experiences and saved me money on therapy."

Lee is an NNPN Playwright in Residence at the Marin Theatre Company and a recent writing fellow at The Playwrights Realm. For several years he was the Founding Artistic Director of the Omicron Theatre Project and a member of the Theatre Faculty at the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Performing Arts (Bethlehem). His plays have been seen/staged/developed throughout the United States including South Coast Repertory, The Magic Theatre, The Williamstown Theatre Festival, the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, and many others. He's a recent graduate of the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program at The Juilliard School and a current member of the Just Theatre Lab.

Mary Tuomanen is cast in her first Azuka Theatre show as Pookie. She recently played Clara in New Jerusalem at Lantern Theatre Company. Eric Scotolati also makes his Azuka debut as Dynamo. He has worked with Curio, Commonwealth Classic, and A Play, A Pie And A Pint, with Inis Nua Theatre Company. Jamison Foreman is playing Benny. Foreman appeared in a dress last season as one of the actors in Act A Lady with Azuka. Brandi Burgess, who made her professional debut at Azuka in Hazard County, returns as Greta. Brian McCann, who is in Inis Nua's season opener, will appear as the guidance counselor, Larry.

Azuka Theatre Producing Artistic Director Kevin Glaccum directs this production. Roman Tatarowicz is designing the New Jersey suburban wasteland of the play. Tatarowicz recently designed My Occasion of Sin Off-Broadway at Urban Stages. Shelley Hicklin is designing the lighting and Maggie Baker is designing the costumes. Daniel Perelstein who just received a Barrymore Award for his work on Knives and Hens with Theatre Exile is designing the sound.

Azuka Theatre was founded in 1999 and quickly built a reputation for accessible, thought-provoking and socially minded theatre. Over the past 13 seasons, Azuka Theatre has produced 23 plays, including ten world premieres, received a Lambda Award from The Philadelphia Gay News, and been nominated for multiple Barrymore Awards. Barrymore wins Christopher Colucci's Sound Design for The Long Christmas Ride Home and Outstanding Leading Actress in a Musical for Kim Carson in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Azuka Theatre is a member of the Off-Broad Street theater consortium.

Pookie Goes Grenading by J.C. Lee will be directed by Kevin Glaccum.

Cast:

Brandi Burgess…………………………………………..…….Greta
Jamison Foreman…………………………………………..…..Benny
Brian McCann…………………………………………………Larry Ragonesse
Eric Scotolati…………………………………………………..Dynamo
Mary Tuomanen………………………………………………Pookie

Design Team
Roman Tatarowicz…………………………………………….Scenic Designer
Shelley Hicklin …………………………………………………..Lighting Designer
Maggie Baker……………………………………………………..Costume Designer
Daniel Perelstein………………………………………………….Sound Designer
Avista Custom Theatrical Services, LLC …………………………Properties
Lauren Tracy……………………………………………………..Stage Manager

Performances:

Previews
Wednesday, October 31, 2012, 8:00PM
Thursday, November 1, 2012, 8:00PM
Friday, November 2, 2012, 8:00PM

Opening
Saturday, November 3, 2012, 7:00PM

Regular Run
Sunday, November 4, 2012, 7:00PM
Wednesday, November 7, 2012, 6:30PM
Thursday, November 8, 2012, 8:00PM
Friday, November 9, 2012, 8:00PM
Saturday, November 10, 2012, 8:00PM
Sunday, November 11, 2012, 2:00PM
Sunday, November 11, 2012, 7:00PM
Wednesday, November 14, 2012, 6:30PM
Thursday, November 15, 2012, 8:00PM
Friday, November 16, 2012, 8:00PM
Saturday, November 17, 2012, 8:00PM
Sunday, November 18, 2012

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