PICT Theatre to Present LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN, 7/11-27

Renowned Oscar Wilde expert Alan Stanford, PICT's interim Producing Artistic Director, will direct his adaptation of the great Irish playwright's comedy, Lady Windermere's Fan. Wilde's play, first produced in 1892 in London, satirizes the morality of Victorian society. Stanford has moved the setting forward in time to 1947; in post-World-War II London, Wilde's language and ridicule of high-society still resonate. Oscar Wilde was not so much a writer of polite English comedy, but rather a biting Irish satirist who lampooned the social absurdities and prejudices of the English upper classes, prejudices that lasted well into the Twentieth Century. This production, which runs July 11 through July 27, is PICT's third show of the season, and features a cast of 17 actors.

Stanford continues to build his reputation as a skilled interpreter of the plays of Oscar Wilde. He has been the principal interpreter of Wilde at the renowned Gate Theatre of Dublin as both an actor and director. He has, at various times, directed and appeared in all of the major plays of Wilde, including the role of Lady Bracknell at Ireland's Abbey Theatre and here at PICT. Stanford just finished directing PICT's second show of the season, The Kreutzer Sonata. His previous directing credits include works by Shakespeare, Molière, Noel Coward, Shaw, and Brecht. He directed PICT's record-breaking production of the Sherlock Holmes's mystery The Mask of Moriarty in 2011. Following Lady Windermere's Fan, he will direct Don Juan Comes Back from the War which PICT will present in August.

Nike Doukas returns to PICT to play Mrs. Erlynne, a mysterious woman whom Lady Windermere believes is seducing her husband. Doukas most recently appeared on the PICT stage in David Ives' The School for Lies in December 2012. She played Anna in Ivanov as well as directing and acting in the short plays of Funny Chekhov during PICT's Chekhov Celebration last summer.

Also returning from the Chekhov Celebration is Leo Marks, who is playing Lord Windermere in his fourth season at PICT. His past PICT credits include Betrayal, The Hothouse, The Importance of Being Earnest, House and Garden and Three Sisters. His 2012 PICT performances in The Bear, Ivanov and The School for Lies were recognized with a Post-Gazette Performer of the Year award.

John DeMita returns to PICT to play Lord Darlington after his 2011 performance in Race. Other theatre credits include the Andak Stage Company, The Hollywood Bowl, Geffen Playhouse, American Conservatory Theater, Intiman Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the Pacific Resident Theatre, where he is a founding member. DeMita is a graduate of Yale University and the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.

Jodi Gage will begin her first season with PICT playing the suspicious Lady Windermere, who believes her husband is having an affair. Other Pittsburgh credits include The REP, Pittsburgh CLO and the Theatre Factory. Gage is a Performing Artistic Affiliate, as well as Managing Director of Mozawa, an international company that creates original works of interdisciplinary art.

PICT welcomes back Martin Giles, Helena Ruoti, James FitzGerald and David Whalen.

Martin Giles is in his 12th season with PICT, with credits including The School for Lies, Ivanov, The Mask of Moriarty, House & Garden, The Importance of Being Earnest, The History Boys, What the Butler Saw and The Gigli Concert, which helped earned him a Post-Gazette Performer of the Year award. Most recently he wowed audiences with his one-man tour de force performance in PICT's The Kreutzer Sonata. Giles will direct A Skull in Connemara for PICT in September, and in December, he'll reprise his role as Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes & The Crucifer of Blood.

Helena Ruoti is in her seventh season with PICT. Previous PICT credits include Ivanov, School for Lies, Afterplay, House and Garden,Antony & Cleopatra, The Seagull, Hamlet, Heartbreak House, King Lear, Rock N Roll and What the Butler Saw.

James FitzGerald is in his 6th season with PICT. Other Pittsburgh credits include the Pittsburgh Public Theater, Quantum Theater and Bricolage. He was acknowledged by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for his work in the Best of Pittsburgh 2011 and 2012. With many credits in Chicago, FitzGerald is also the recipient of Chicago's Joseph Jefferson Award, a Jeff Citation and an After Dark Award.

David Whalen is in his 8th season with PICT. He has performed in more than twenty productions for PICT, including the Chekhov Celebration, Pinter Festival, Julius Caesar, Stuff Happens, Doubt, Salome, King Lear, Pride & Prejudice and The Lieutenant of Inishmore, a role he reprised at The Repertory of St Louis, winning the Kevin Kline Award for Best Actor. His Pittsburgh credits include Pittsburgh Public Theatre, City Theatre, Quantum, The REP and Barebones Productions. In 2012, he was named the MVP Performer by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as well as being recognized as Performer of the Year for 2007. Whalen will be appearing in PICT's productions of Don Juan Comes Back from the War in August, and he will reprise his role as Sherlock Homes in Sherlock Holmes & The Crucifer of Blood in December.

Returning after her PICT debut last year, Colette Freiwald performed in Three Sisters and Ivanov. A graduate of Point Park University, she performed in Room Service and The Hostage, and she recently performed with Prime Stage in Walk Two Moons.

Lisa Ann Goldsmith was last seen on the PICT stage in Jane Eyre, and other PICT credits include The Shaughraun and Pride & Prejudice. Pittsburgh credits include Unseam'd Shakespeare, Pittsburgh CLO, Quantum Theatre and The REP.

Dylan Marquis Meyers is returning to PICT after his performance in The Importance of Being Earnest in 2011. He is in his junior year in the drama department at the University of Pittsburgh.

Six actors will be making their PICT debuts: Lily Davis, Jordan Ross Weinhold, Heidi Friese, Casey Jordan, Hannah Morris, Luke Halferty.

Lily Davis is a recent graduate of Point Park University this May, where she performed in The School for Scandal and The Crucible. Her performance as Jane in 800 Words: The Transmigration of Philip K. Dick with Caravan Theatre Group earned her a mention in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2012.

Jordan Ross Weinhold is recently graduated with a BA in Musical Theatre at Point Park University, where he performed in The Producersand played opposite Lily Davis in The School for Scandal. Lily and Weinhold play opposite each other again in Lady Windermere's Fan.

Heidi Friese is also a recent graduate of Point Park University, where her credits include Evita, Peter and the Wolf, A Chorus Line, M33 andThe Producers.

A recent graduate of Wright State University, Casey Jordan's university credits include The Merchant of Venice, Anything Goes, and The Phantom of the Opera.

Hannah Morris is in her junior year at Point Park University.

Also in his junior year at Point Park University, Luke Halferty appeared there in The School for Scandal, and he just completed his debut performance with the St. Vincent Theatre in Latrobe.

The play, the first of Wilde's quartet of social satires, was first presented in 1893. It proved an instant success and established Wilde as a major playwright. Although greeted as a delightful comedy by the West End society of late Victorian London, it is in fact a thinly-veiled attack on the hypocrisy of what was called Good Society.

In this play, as in others from his pen, Wilde took the relatively unusual step of centering the plot around two female characters and proved himself every bit as adept at this as his contemporaries, Shaw and Ibsen.

The plot is simple enough. A young wife, married to an aristocrat of previously blameless character finds that he has been financially supporting a woman of dubious reputation. His refusal to explain drives her to take desperate steps. And yet, the safety of her own reputation in this world of privilege and prejudice and the avoidance of a scandal that could ruin her life hangs on the behavior of the very woman she suspects.

PICT Theatre (Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre) was founded in 1996 to diversify the region's theatrical offerings by providing Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania audiences with high-quality, text-driven, affordable productions of classical theatre and the works of classical and contemporary Irish playwrights and to significantly improve employment opportunities for local talent in all facets of theatrical presentation and production. PICT is a Small Professional Theatre (SPT) affiliated with Actors' Equity Association, and a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. PICT is the Professional Theatre in Residence at the University of Pittsburgh and PICT productions at The Charity Randall and Henry Heymann Theatres are presented in cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh - Department of Theatre Arts.

Adapted by Alan Stanford, this Pittsburgh Premiere is directed by Alan Stanford and runs at The Charity Randall Theatre in the Stephen Foster Memorial, 4301 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Cast: John DeMita, Nike Doukas, Jodi Gage, James FitzGerald, Martin Giles, Leo Marks, Helena Ruoti, Lily Davis, Colette Freiwald, Heidi Friese, Lisa Ann Goldsmith, Luke Halferty, Casey Jordan, Dylan Marquis Meyers, Hannah Morris, Jordan Ross Weinhold, David Whalen

Design Team: Michael Essad (scenic design); Joan Markert (costume design); Cat Wilson (lighting design); Steve Shapiro (sound design); Johnmichael Bohach (properties)

Subscription Packages: $222 - $258 (Standard prices; flex plans available). Single Tickets: $25-$48 ($20 under age 26 with valid ID). Prices do not include Handling Fees. Pick, purchase and print your tickets online at www.picttheatre.org, or call 412-561-6000.

Performance Schedule:

First Week: Thursday and Friday, July 11 & 12, 8:00 pm - Previews

Saturday, July 13, 8:00 pm - Opening Night

Sunday, July 14, 2:00 pm - Talkback following performance

Second Week: Wednesday* - Saturday, July 17-20, 8:00 pm

Sunday, July 21, 2:00 pm

Third Week: Tuesday, July 23, 7:00 p.m. (Early Tuesday** performance)

Wednesday-Friday, June 24-26, 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, July 27, 2:00 pm - Matinee performance

Saturday, July 27, 8:00 pm - Final performance

*Pre-show lecture begins at 7:00 pm in The Charity Randall Theatre.

**Early Tuesday includes 6:00 pm happy hour - free food buffet + drink specials -- hosted at Joe Mama's Restaurant, 3716 Forbes Ave. 15213)

PICT Special Events (Free of Charge)

Talkback: Sunday, July 14, following the 2:00 p.m. performance includes director Alan Stanford and the cast of Lady Windermere's Fan

Pre-Show Lecture: Wednesday, July 17, 7:00 p.m.