Azuka Theatre to Open 14th Season with DUTCH MASTERS, 9/11-22

Azuka Theatre's 14th Season begins with the Philadelphia Premiere of Dutch Masters by Greg Keller. The show is set to run as part of the Neighborhood Fringe in the 2013 Fringe Arts Festival September 11 - 22, 2013; Opening Night is Saturday, September 14 at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $20-$25 and are available online at www.fringearts.com or at the Fringe Box Office. All shows are performed at the Off Broad Street Theater at 1636 Sansom Street. Subscriptions and more information are available at www.azukatheatre.org.

Dutch Masters takes a frank and deeply human look at race and class issues in the United States. It's 1992. Los Angeles is still smoldering, the Crown Heights riots are a recent memory. A chance encounter leads to a head-on collision between a young white man and a young black man who meet on a D train to the Bronx and strike up a conversation that culminates in events that neither of them could expect. Greg Keller's play takes us from Rockefeller Center to 145th St., exposing the raw nerves and vulnerabilities of both young men. Azuka Theatre's Producing Artistic Director Kevin Glaccum directs this astute and sharp new piece of theatre.

This production will mark the debut of Azuka In-Depth, which will enhance audience experience by offering a chance to delve deeper into the themes, processes, and worlds of Azuka productions. The Azuka In-Depth series for Dutch Masters will include a panel discussion on race and class with local professionals and academics, an evening with playwright Greg Keller, and a one night presentation of a play reading or film that complements the play. Details will be released online.

The two person cast includes Brendan Dalton and Brandon Pierce. Dalton was last seen as John N. Fail in Azuka's critically acclaimed Failure: A Love Story. Pierce delighted audiences this summer as Valentine in Two Gentleman of Verona at the Delaware Shakespeare Festival, this will be his Azuka Theatre debut.

The Dutch Masters design team is full of returning Azuka Theatre favorites. Meghan Jones (Act A Lady, Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom) is designing the set. Barrymore Award winner Shelly Hicklin (Pookie Goes Grenading) is designing the lights. Amanda Sharp (recent New Professionals Alumna and Failure: A Love Storycostume designer) is creating the costumes and Andrew Nelson (Nerve, Hedwig and the Angry Inch) is designing the soundscape.

"Dutch Masters captures the complexity of the tensions between these two young men from very different walks of life. There are these moments of incredible connection that shift seamlessly into power play conflict. You never know what's going to happen next, it creates a real edge of your seat experience that we're excited to share with our audiences," said Dutch Masters director and Azuka Theatre Producing Artistic Director Kevin Glaccum.

FringeArts (formerly Philadelphia Live Arts Festival & Philly Fringe) exists to commission, develop and present a range of high-quality contemporary performing and visual arts. Every September the Fringe Festival features boundary-breaking work created by some of the most renowned contemporary artists from our region and around the world, and serves as a collective home for artists to bring their artistic visions to audiences without any curatorial barriers. The community is enriched as art takes over neighborhoods, animating the spaces of Philadelphia from traditional theaters to corner bars and vacant storefronts.

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