Boxing champ Jack Dempsey is in a pickle; he wants a fight, but crooked promoters, conniving reporters, and shady dames keep him from the fight he wants. He ends up fighting for his championship and pride in a tiny cowtown in Montana in the world premier of the new hard punching comedy by D.W. Gregory, "Molumby's Million." The Centre Theater brings this true story to life with all the force of a knockout blow.
In the 1920s Jack Dempsey was the biggest entertainment draw in the world. His fights brought in million dollar gates and he was the biggest name in sports until Muhammad Ali. Originally a bar brawler in the Rockies, Dempsey was nicknamed "The Manassa Mauler" by writer Damon Runyon for his ferocious fighting style.
In 1923 he was at the top of the world, making movies in Hollywood, and enjoying his millions. In tiny Shelby Montana, a group of city fathers raised enough money to lure the champ to their town on the high plains to fight local boxer and World War One hero Tommy Gibbons. Dempsey was worried about fighting a veteran since he was widely seen as a coward and slacker having skipped service in the war.
Based on a true story, the play tells the story of how Hollywood Jack Dempsey, the world champ and biggest name in the world, ends up fighting for everything in front of Blackfeet Indians in the middle of nowhere.
"Molumby's Million" opens November 5 and runs through November at the Centre Theater, Norristown's professional theater at 208 DeKalb St. in downtown Norristown. Showtimes are 8 p.m. with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are 22 and can be purchased online at
www.ticketleap.com. Call 610-279-1013 for information or visit the web at
www.ironagetheatre.org.
"This play is in the tradition of the screwball comedies of the 1930s, " said Director John Doyle. "But it is also a very poignant look at people trying to be true to their beliefs in a cutthroat world." The added themes of service to ones country, the culture of celebrity, and the omnipresent power of money to corrupt honest men adds depth to the story. "While you are laughing you can explore the themes of the play and still watch a wonderful story of love and redemption." stated Doyle.
Doyle added the intense physicality of the show fits with Iron Age's muscular performance style. The boxing scenes throughout the play will culminate in the big championship fight at the end. Fight choreography for the show is being done by Dave Mason.
To support the production, Iron Age is posting a regular production blog. Actors, the directors, local experts on the issues of the play and the playwright will share their thoughts on the rehearsal process, the themes of the play and background for the production. This resource will enhance the audience's experience, "It is like a living talk back," said Director Doyle.
The Centre Theater will host Speaker Nights during the run, one by the playwright D.W. Gregory and other experts on boxing and the 1920s.
D.W. Gregory is a critically acclaimed writer whose plays have been presented throughout the United States and abroad. She writes comedies and dramas that draw on her working-class roots. Often set in rural America, her plays explore the disconnect between the dream and reality of American blue-collar experience. She is originally from the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area and currently lives outside of Washington D.C. The New York Times has called Ms. Gregory "a playwright with a talent to enlighten and provoke" for Radium Girls, a drama about watch dial painters poisoned on the job. The Good Daughter, about a farm family in World War I Missouri, earned her a Pulitzer Prize nomination when it premiered at New Jersey Repertory Co, where Ms. Gregory is a resident playwright. She is a national core member of the Playwrights Center in Minneapolis and a member of Playground, a playwrights' development group at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Co., in Washington, D.C.
"Molumby's Million" has a stellar cast of Philadelphia actors. Howie Brown stars as the famed boxer Jack Dempsey, a tough guy with a heart of gold. Brown has worked at Act II, Montgomery Theater and the Kimmel Center. He is up to Dempsey's fighting weight of 188 pounds and is training intensively for the boxing action of the play.
Luke Moyer plays the wise-cracking, hard-nosed sports reporter Damon Runyon. Ray Saraceni plays Dempsey's master of "ballyhoo" manager Doc. Anthony M. Giampetro plays the honest oil man Molumby and Rachel Semigran plays the lady reporter Neysa McMein.
The cast is rounded out by Iron Age veterans Adam Altman, Krissy Johnson and David Fiebert.
Working together the Centre Theater and Iron Age Theatre have been one of the most critically acclaimed companies in the area for over fifteen years. The Philadelphia City Paper called the companies, The area's most under appreciated professional theater. Receiving Barrymore nominations for a number of their productions the companies have also premiered seven plays in the past two years including "Citizen Paine," "Waiting for the Ship from Delos," Philadelphia playwright Chris Braak's "The Life of John Henry," and Jeffrey Hatcher's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Coming soon will be the world premier of "Red Emma" about Emma Goldman.
The Centre Theater is in the Montgomery County Cultural Center at 208 DeKalb Street in Norristown. It is easily reached via routes 202, I-76, I-476 and Ridge Pike. There is plenty of free parking and the theater is one block from Septa's Norristown Transit Center on the Manayunk/Norristown line.
Call 610-279-1013 for tickets and information or visit the web at
www.ironagetheatre.org.
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