Walking Fish Theatre Presents HANDS ACROSS VERONICA, Now thru 11/30

HANDS ACROSS VERONICA, a biting comedy about women and their relationships to men, food and their bodies by Philadelphia playwright, Gin Hobbs, will have a newly staged production, tonight, November 6 - 30, 2013 at Walking Fish Theatre, 2509 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia PA. Ticket prices are $20.00 and can be purchased through the Walking Fish website, http://www.walkingfishtheatre.com, or at the door. In addition, every Wednesday of the run is Pay-what-you-can.

HANDS ACROSS VERONICA was first produced in Philadelphia by Theatre Catalyst /Eternal Spiral Project in 2003. Hilarious, irreverent and deeply poignant, J. Cooper Rob of the Philadelphia Weekly had this to say about its first incarnation:

"You have to love a play that combines the Violent Femmes and artificial limbs in a rollicking musical number. But that's just one of the many delights."

The play follows the exercise routines, eating habits and love lives of a pair of best friends who strive for self-love at the gym, only to find heartache in their refrigerators. Their personal journey is supported by a Greek chorus of three Phat Ladies who offer their own perspective on weight and femininity in rap, song and dance.

TALK BACK after the show: on Thursday, November 14, 8:00pm with Jennifer Harrison of South Philly Wellness. Come join Jennifer and the cast, director and playwright to discuss Women and their Bodies-do women see themselves as they really are?

Hannah Tsapatoris MacLeod, Director/Co-Producer of HANDS ACROSS VERONICA, said she wanted to bring back Ms. Hobbs' play because of the great impact it made on her 10 years ago.

"I want women to walk away from the play with a sense of empowerment and self-acceptance. I've talked to dozens of women, all shapes and sizes - and almost every one of them from size 2 to 22, hates her body. Why is that? I want to address it with this play"

Kirsten Quinn (Aubrey) holds an M.F.A. in acting from the University of Pittsburgh and has been working as a professional actress in Philadelphia for 14 years in addition to being an Associate Professor at Community College of Philadelphia. She is thrilled to play Aubrey again with B. Someday and Naked Feet Productions after originating the role in The Eternal Spiral Project's 2003 Shelli Pentimall Bookler (Veronica) was most recently seen in Mosiac Theatre's The Greatest Life That Never Was by Ed Shockley. Before that she played Josie in WTC View at Allen's Lane, and Fastrada in Pippin, and she entertained audiences as "Cartwheel Girl" with The MacKnight Foundation. Dan Tobin (Tony) The University of South Florida recently brought Dan down to perform the one-man show AN ILIAD as part of their National Poetry Month celebrations. Dan's next project is EXPRESS TRACKS at South Camden Theatre Company.

The Phat Lady Chorus is: Meryl Lynn Brown, was recently invited to perform at the DC Black Theatre Festival with First World Theatre Ensemble's Production of "for colored girls...." and is currently performing at Allens Lane Theater in their production of "Purlie Victorious" by Ossie Davis, Zarah Ivans and, Shelvy Paredes, a Senior acting major/musical theater minor at The University of the Arts. She recently appeared on the KimMel Center of the Performing arts stage as a soloist for the Broadway Dreams Foundation Circle under the direction of Tony award-nominee and NBC's 30 rock, Mr.Tituss Burgess. Shelvy is also the recipient of the Ira Brind acting.

Previous productions by playwright Gin Hobbs, include CLUCKS AND WHIRRS AND OTHER SOUNDS OF LOVE. In VERONICA, Miss Hobbs wants to address the problems of body image in America while also giving larger actresses an opportunity to work.

"Larger women don't always get as many opportunities as other actresses do in Philadelphia, in America. The female body sells clothes, cars, food, swimming pools, televisions, computers - everything. It is not us, but advertisers, who own our bodies and tell us what they should look like, what is 'ideal'."

This is Naked Feet Productions and B. Someday Productions' second co-production, the first being WOMEN OF FIRE AND BLOOD by Lili Bita in April 2012.

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