Bergen, Allen And More To Star In A TALE OF TWO CITIES

People's Light & Theatre Company presents the East Coast Premiere of Dwayne Hartford's new adaptation of A TALE OF TWO CITIES from the classic novel by Charles Dickens. A TALE OF TWO CITIES runs from March 11 - May 3, 2009, on the Main Stage. Co-Founder Ken Marini directs. People's Light & Theatre is located at 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern. For tickets call 610-644-3500 or visit www.peopleslight.org. A TALE OF TWO CITIES is part of the Target Family Discovery Series and is part of the U.S. Airways New Plays Festival for Families.

A TALE OF TWO CITIES is the classic tale of justice and revenge set against the backdrop of the French Revolution in late eighteenth-century Paris and London. It premiered last spring at Childsplay in Tempe, Arizona. The clever two-hour adaptation tames the massive historical novel, and moves frequently between Paris and London from 1759 to the end of the eighteenth century. Hartford streamlines events and tightens details to make the show accessible to both Family and Adult audiences.

'When we began producing adaptations of children's literature for our Family Series," says Abbey Adams, Artistic Director of People's Light, "we discovered that young audiences feel a stronger connection to the work on stage when they see stories that they already know. We think the same will hold true for our Adult audiences. Presenting this version of A TALE OF TWO CITIES allows us to introduce young audiences to the work of Dickens while giving our Adult audiences the chance to revisit this classic work."

A TALE OF TWO CITIES is a regional premiere presented as part of Imagination Begins With US - The US Airways New Plays Festival for Families. This 18-month festival, encompassing six productions in three US Airways hub cities, will provide more than 30,000 children, parents, and grandparents with the opportunity to experience new and innovative plays of the highest artistic quality. The Festival concept promotes both the creation of new works and the exchange of expertise among the partner theatres.

A TALE OF TWO CITIES previews on Wednesday, March 11th and Thursday, March 12th at 7pm. The show opens on Friday, March 13th at 7pm and runs through May 3, 2009. Tickets range in price from $29 - $48 with special discounts available for groups of 10 or more, seniors and students.

Subscriptions to the 2008/2009 Season are still available at a significant savings. You can see three shows for as little as $66. Shows are: A Tale of Two Cities (March 11 - May 3, 2009); Doubt: A Parable (June 3 - 28, 2009); and End Days (July 8 - August 2, 2009). For information, tickets and subscriptions, please call the box office at 610-644-3500 or visit www.peopleslight.org.

Subscriptions to the TARGET Family Discovery Series are still available. Subscriptions for children ages 17 and under are $28 or $32 - a savings of up to 34% off single ticket prices! The two-show subscription includes: A Tale of Two Cities (March 11 - May 3, 2009); and Eggs (April 23 - May 24, 2009).

Special performances and discounts, in addition to discount meal packages and talk-backs with the artists, are available for groups of 10 or more. For more information or to purchase group tickets, call 610.647.1900, ext. 134 or email group@peopleslight.org.

KEY BIOS

Ken Marini (Director) has directed over 30 productions, including The Glass Menagerie, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Humble Boy, Man from Nebraska, The Problem and How We Talk in South Boston for 30Fest, Around the World in 80 Days, Born Yesterday, A Delicate Balance, Dimly Perceived Threats to the System, Sacco and Vanzetti: A Vaudeville, and Sign of the Lizard. Other PLTC credits include The Life of Galileo and an internationally acclaimed production of Louis Lippa's adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie. He was the Artistic Director of the Cheltenham Center for the Arts for six seasons, directing Kindertransport, The Glass Menagerie and many others. Other credits include How His Bride Came To Abraham at Playwrights' Theatre of New Jersey, When Real Life Begins at Chain Lightning Theatre, Richard III for the National Shakespeare Company, Amadeus, Sleuth and Romeo & Juliet for Hedgerow Theatre, Pete 'n Keely at Act II Playhouse and All's Well That Ends Well for the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. He has directed A View from the Bridge in Russia and Psycho Drama in Edinburgh.

Dwayne Hartford (Playwright) grew up in a small town in Maine and now lives in Arizona where he is a resident actor, director, and Artistic Administrator with Childsplay Theatre in Tempe. Childsplay creates productions specifically for young people and families. All of Hartford's plays have been produced there, including Eric and Elliot, The Imaginators, and A Tale of Two Cities, which premiered in 2008 as part of the "Imagination Begins with US" festival of new plays for families sponsored by US Airways (the festival also includes the People's Light production of A Tale of Two Cities and last season's Getting Near to Baby). Hartford fell in love with Dickens' novel when he was in high school. When asked about adapting the story for the stage he said, "Charles Dickens wrote epic novels with countless interweaving subplots. The challenge in adapting such a work for the stage is in creating a coherent, two-hour dramatic piece that speaks to young audiences today, without losing Dickens' very distinct voice."

Charles Dickens (Author) was born on February 7, 1812 and had a comfortable childhood until the age of 12 when his father was imprisoned for debt. While the rest of the family went to debtor's prison, Dickens was left to live on his own, working long days at a boot-blacking factory to try to pay off the debt. The experience lasted less than a year, but had a profound impact on him. At 15, Dickens began working in a law office, first as a court stenographer, then as a political journalist. These experiences familiarized him with the inequities faced by the lower classes in life and law, themes that would appear throughout his writing. He began publishing at the age of 21 and became an unprecedented success soon after with Pickwick Papers. A Tale of Two Cities was published when he was 47. Like most of Dickens' works, it originally appeared in a series of installments, leaving his readers to wait for a week or even a month in order to find out what happened next. This system also allowed him to judge the public's reaction before writing the next installment. Some of his most famous novels include Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which was left tantalizingly unfinished when he died in 1870.

Michael Stewart Allen (Charles Darnay/Ensemble) is making his debut at People's Light. New York credits include, Off-Broadway: Starbuck in Moby Dick Rehearsed, Caliban in The Tempest, Speed in Two Gentlemen of Verona and Orlando in Love Shakespeare (The Acting Company), and the title role in Don Carlos (Prospect Theatre). Recent credits include: King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing (North Carolina Shakespeare Festival) and Doubt at The Hippodrome State Theater. Other credits include The Tempest (The Folger Theater in Washington, D.C.), Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath (Arkansas Repertory Theater). He has performed at theaters all over the country, including Arkansas Repertory, The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, The North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, PlayMakers Repertory, Contemporary American Theater, 12 Miles West, and he spent 11 seasons as a company member at The Shakespeare Theater of NJ. Film and television credits include Law & Order: SVU and voice work on Cold Mountain. Member: AEA and SAG.

Kevin Bergen (Sydney Carton/Ensemble) began his affiliation with People's Light ten years ago when he played Orlando in As You Like It. Since then he has appeared in over twenty People's Light productions, including The Persians, The Glass Menagerie, and Twelfth Night. Kevin was nominated for a Barrymore Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play for his portrayal of Harry Brown in Man from Nebraska. Other Philadelphia region credits include: The Wilma Theatre, Arden Theatre Company, Bristol Riverside Theatre, and InterAct Theatre Company. Kevin has acted at numerous other Regional Theatres, including American Repertory Theatre, Commonwealth Shakespeare, The Studio Theatre (D.C.), and the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival.

Peter DeLaurier (Defarge/Ensemble) was seen this fall at PLTC in The Persians. Last season: Sherlock Holmes & The Case of the Jersey Lily and the Director in Six Characters in Search of an Author (Barrymore Nomination). An Artistic Associate at PLTC, he has been with the Theatre since 1981. Other PLTC productions: Around the World in 80 Days, The Forgiving Harvest, Holes, A Delicate Balance, In the Blood, Sister Carrie and the international tour of Kabuki Achilles. Nominated for the Outstanding Actor Barrymore Award for Man from Nebraska, he won for Underneath the Lintel at the Lantern (where he just directed Sizwe Bansi is Dead). He played Matthew Cuthbert at PLTC in his stage adaptation of Anne of Green Gables (nominated for Outstanding New Play). He has directed at PLTC and at theatres around the country, serving as Artistic Director of New Stage Theatre in Jackson, MS.

Mark Lazar (Gaspard/Ensemble) is a company member celebrating his twelfth year with PLTC. In addition to spending the last five holiday seasons in a dress as The Dame in the annual People's Light Panto, he includes Sherlock Holmes & The Case of the Jersey Lily, Twelfth Night, The Foreigner, The Crucible, The Miser, Arthur's Stone, Merlin's Fire, Born Yesterday, The Little Foxes, Camping with Henry and Tom, and Hearts among some of his recent favorites here. He is an eleven-season veteran of The North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, residing there throughout the 1990s as a Resident Company Member, while spending many off-seasons at The Charlotte Repertory Theatre. Earlier, as a founding member and ten-year veteran of the acting company at The Madison Rep, Mr. Lazar performed regularly with nearly all of Wisconsin's professional theatres.

Paul Meshejian (Marquis/Ensemble) has been a company member with People's Light since 1989 and has been seen on most of the major stages in Philadelphia. He is the founding Artistic Director of PlayPenn, a national new play development conference located in Philadelphia, now in its fifth season. In its first four years, PlayPenn has developed 24 plays, including J.T. Rogers' The Overwhelming, Jordan Harrison's Act a Lady, Lucy Thurber's Scarcity and The Day of the Picnic by Russell Davis. Over the past thirty-five years he has directed, acted, designed, adapted and produced for the stage, having founded three organizations and served as Artistic Director for others. During the 1980s he was the founding Artistic Director of Stage One: Collaboration, an Equity professional theatre in St. Paul, MN devoted to new and rarely produced works. Film and TV credits include Alan Rudolph's Equinox, Terry Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys, Bruce Charlesworth's Private Enemy - Public Eye, The Final Patient, Homicide: Life on the Street and HBO's The Wire. Paul is on the Acting Faculty at University of the Arts in Philadelphia, also teaching at Arcadia University. He is a perennial reader for the Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference and serves on the Board of Directors of the International Institute for Theatre Research, is on the advisory board for Freedom Train Productions and is a member of LMDA, Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.

Stephen Novelli (Doctor Manette/Ensemble) most recently appeared at People's Light as Darius in The Persians. Last season, his roles included The Father in Eurydice at The Wilma Theater, as well as John Aycliffe in Crispin: The Cross of Lead and The Father in Six Characters in Search of an Author at PLTC. As Associate Artistic Director at PLTC, he has directed Tuesdays with Morrie, Camping with Henry and Tom, The Hope Zone, As You Like It, Measure for Measure, and Glengarry Glen Ross, among others. A member of the resident company since 1974, he has performed in many productions, including Around the World in 80 Days, Born Yesterday, Julius Caesar, Arthur's Stone, Merlin's Fire, Midons - or The Object of Desire, The Little Foxes, all three versions of A Christmas Carol, The Merchant of Venice, Sacco and Vanzetti: A Vaudeville, Sign of the Lizard, The Playboy of the Western World, Sister Carrie, Hamlet, Tartuffe, The Tempest, and Have It Your Way.

Marcia Saunders (Miss Pross/Ensemble) has been a member of the PLTC acting company for 33 years. She was seen recently in The Glass Menagerie, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Anne of Green Gables, Man from Nebraska (for which she received an Outstanding Lead Actress Barrymore nomination), The Crucible, and The O'Connor Girls. Previous PLTC credits include Claire in A Delicate Balance - receiving a 2004 Barrymore Award as Outstanding Supporting Actress, The Memory of Water, Macbeth, and Once in a Lifetime. A Barrymore nominee for her roles in A View from the Bridge, A Flea in Her Ear, Hard Times, Molly's Delicious, and My Mother Said I Never Should, Marcia was the recipient of two Emmy Awards for her narration of Teacher TV on the Discovery Channel. Marcia has also worked with The Philadelphia Theatre Company, The Arden, Two River Theatre Company, The Wilma Theatre, The Lantern Theater Company, The Walnut Street Theatre, and The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival.

Mary Elizabeth Scallen (Madame Defarge/Ensemble) has been a member of the Resident Ensemble of Artists since 1991 and is currently an Artistic Associate at PLTC. Recent appearances here include Getting Near to Baby, Theophilus North, Twelfth Night, The Imaginary Invalid, and Fabulation. Mary Beth has also worked with The Arden, PlayPenn, The Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival, North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, Weston Playhouse (VT), Gretna Theatre (PA) and Mill Mountain Theatre (VA). She teaches acting at People's Light and at the University of Pennsylvania, and serves as an interactive teaching/communications coach for FAIMER, a foundation for international medical education and research based in Philadelphia.

Tom Teti (Mr. Lorry/Ensemble) appeared recently at People's Light in Cinderella: A Musical Panto, Theophilus North, and Treasure Island. Earlier this year he appeared at Two River Theater in A Murder, A Mystery, and A Marriage and in Philadelphia's PlayPenn Festival. He also performed narration and wrote text for a concert for Chamber Music Now! in April. He is producer and director of the Reading Writer's event for the Center for Literacy. He teaches acting at Hedgerow Theatre.

Julianna Zinkel (Lucie Manette/Ensemble) is a company member at People's Light. Recently seen in Theatre Exile's Blackbird, Julianna has performed in the following People's Light productions: Theophilus North, The Crucible, The Member of the Wedding, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Miser. Also with The Wilma Theater in Big Love and Wintertime, The Arden Theatre in As You Like It, The Stinky Cheese Man, and Crime and Punishment, and with Brat Productions in the one-woman show written by Madi DiStefano, Honeypot: Estro-Jen. She explores meaning in movement with Workshop for Potential Movement, The Moss Play, and Cult 12, Fridge Fest: Diva Diva. For the past three years she has participated in the highly respected playwriting conference PlayPenn, headed by PLTC company member Paul Meshejian, in such plays as Scarcity by Lucy Thurber and There or Here by Jennifer Maisel.

 

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