Lantern Theater Company Presents THE LIAR, 11/1-12/2

Early popular demand has prompted Lantern Theater Company to announce an immediate extension of the upcoming production of David Ives' The Liar, an adaptation of the 1664 French comedy classic by Pierre Corneille, directed by Associate Artistic Director Kathryn MacMillan. This Philadelphia premiere by the playwright of the Lantern's smash hit New Jerusalem, The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza at Talmud Torah Congregation: Amsterdam, July 27, 1656 will now run from November 1 – December 2, 2012 (press opening Wednesday, November 7, 7 p.m.). 

Incorrigible liar Dorante (Aubie Merrylees) arrives in Paris seeking pleasure and falls head over heels for the beautiful Clarice (Sarah Gliko). When he mistakes her name for her best friend Lucrece (Emilie Krause), Dorante's lies dig him into a world of trouble. Sophisticated and playful, The Liar showcases Ives' masterful approach to language with naughty humor skewering high class and young love.

"David Ives refers to The Liar as a translaptation, both translating and adapting from the original French. Similar to his approach to New Jerusalem, the play isn't reverent to the time period or form, but feels like where we are in this moment," says director Kathryn MacMillian.

Adds the Lantern's Artistic Director Charles McMahon, "the play is bursting with youth and vitality. There is a wonderful sense of chaotic improvisation that Ives has woven into the language, which infuses the entire play with a sense that anything can happen at any moment. It's really extraordinary the range of styles and subjects that Ives has tackled in the past several years, as Philadelphia theatergoers will have a chance to see this season. That works as diverse as The Liar, New Jerusalem, and Venus in Fur could all spring from the same mind is really remarkable."

Tickets for The Liar are $20 – $38 and are available online at lanterntheater.org or by calling the Lantern Box Office at 215-829-0395. $10 student rush tickets are available 10 minutes before curtain with valid ID; cash only. Additional discounts are available for seniors and groups of 10 or more. Lantern Theater Company is located at St. Stephen's Theater, 10th & Ludlow Streets in Center City Philadelphia.

The Lantern's production of The Liar includes a cast of new faces, including up and coming actor Aubie Merrylees (seen in last year's The Aliens with Theatre Exile and as Wilbur in Charlotte's Web at the Arden) as the titular liar Dorante. Also Making Their Lantern debuts are Sarah Gliko (Charlotte in the Arden's Charlotte's Web) as Clarice, Emilie Krause (New Paradise Laboratories' 27, the Arden's Charlotte's Web) as Lucrece, Emily Rogge (Philadelphia Artists' Collective's The Roman Actor) as twins Isabelle and Sabine, Peter Schmitz (local and national credits include the Walnut, Arden, and Wilma Theaters) as Geronte, and Matt Tallman (Mauckingbird Theatre Company's The Temperamentals and Much Ado About Nothing) as Philliste. Returning to the Lantern are Jake Blouch (previously Romeo and Juliet, New Jerusalem; coming up in Henry V) as Alcippe and Dave Johnson (Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Sylvestre/Leandro in Scapin) as Dorante's manservant Cliton.
Complementing the spirit of the play, the set design by Meghan Jones (Private Lives, Romeo and Juliet) and costume design by Maggie Baker (New Jerusalem) will have a modern feel and cheeky edge. Christopher Colucci (Private Lives) returns as composer and sound designer, with Shon Causer (New Jerusalem) as lighting designer and J. Alex Cordaro as Fight Director.

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