Terrence McNally's Newest Play, The Golden Age to Premiere in Philadelphia

 Philadelphia Theatre Company will present the world premiere of Terrence McNally's newest play The Golden Age as part of its 2009-2010 season. Following its run in Philadelphia, the PTC production will move to the Kennedy Center as part of its "Terrence McNally's Nights at the Opera" Festival.

The Golden Age is supported by a $50,000 development grant from the Kennedy Center's Fund for New American Plays.

The Golden Age continues Philadelphia Theatre Company's twenty-year relationship with Terrence McNally, including the world premiere of Master Class which also played at the Kennedy Center before moving to Broadway to garner three Tony awards. PTC has also been responsible for birthing the premieres of Some Men and Unusual Acts of Devotion. Some Men was subsequently produced off-Broadway at Second Stage, and Unusual Acts of Devotion will be produced this spring at La Jolla Playhouse.

The Golden Age also represents PTC's third collaboration with the Kennedy Center which, in addition to Master Class, co-produced Citizen Tom Paine with Richard Thomas in 1987.
The Golden Age takes place backstage at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris on the evening of the premiere of Vincenzo Bellini's opera, I Puritani. Assembled are the composer and his faithful friend, Francesco Florimo, and the four singers for whom the opera was expressly composed known the world over as The Puritani Quartet. This opera, which Bellini thought would cement his supremacy over his rival, the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti, was ironically to be his last.

"The Golden Age, happily, will form the centerpiece of our 2009-10 season. It is particularly exciting to see Terrence return again to his passion for opera, especially bel canto opera with its exquisite singing," said PTC's Producing Artistic Director Sara Garonzik. "We are truly honored the Kennedy Center will be presenting our production as part of a festival which also includes our first McNally world premiere, Master Class. This extraordinary celebration of Terrence's work has managed to include both our past as well as our future!"

Philadelphia Theatre Company is Philadelphia's only non-profit professional theater dedicated exclusively to producing world and regional premieres of works by contemporary American playwrights. Sara Garonzik has been the company's Producing Artistic Director since 1982, and in October 2007, Diane Claussen became its Managing Director.

Philadelphia Theatre Company continues to experience ever-increasing national impact, having produced 34 world premieres of new American plays and musicals in its 32 seasons. Recent world premiere productions include: Unusual Acts of Devotion by Terrence McNally; The Happiness Lecture by Bill Irwin; Nerds://A Musical Software Satire by Jordan Allen-Dutton, Erik Weiner, and Hal Goldberg; Some Men by Terrence McNally (later produced at the Second Stage); Adrift in Macao, a musical by Christopher Durang and Peter Melnick (produced at Primary Stages); Bruce Graham's According to Goldman; Jeffrey Hatcher's A Picasso (later produced at Manhattan Theatre Club); Daniel Stern's comedy Barbra's Wedding (moved to the Westside Arts Theatre in 2003); John Henry Redwood's No Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs (later produced at Primary Stages); J.T. Rogers' White People; David Ives' Lives of the Saints; three-time Tony Award-winning Master Class by Terrence McNally, starring Zoe Caldwell; Bunny Bunny by Alan Zweibel (Lucille Lortel Award, 1997); and the American premiere of Birdy by Naomi Wallace, among others.

Philadelphia Theatre Company has received numerous "Best Theater Company" citations from media sources such as the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Magazine, Philadelphia Weekly, Philadelphia Style Magazine, and Philadelphia City Paper. Since 1995, Philadelphia Theatre Company has received 134 nominations and 36 awards from Philadelphia's Barrymore Awards.

PTC is in its second season in its new home, the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, designed by the award-winning firm of KieranTimberlake Associates LLP. This new state-of-the-art venue on Philadelphia's famed Avenue of the Arts was built as the result of an innovative partnership with Philadelphia developer Carl Dranoff. The project promotes the city's leading arts district both regionally and nationally and represents a model for civic development that capitalizes on the ability of the arts to reinvigorate urban districts for residential and commercial revival.

For further information on Philadelphia Theatre Company, call 215-985-0420 or visit PhiladelphiaTheatreCompany.org.

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