Burning Coal Theatre Company Presents THE SEAFARER 2/4-21

Burning Coal Theatre Company of Raleigh, NC will present Conor McPherson's The Seafarer February 4 - 21, 2010 at Meymandi Theatre at the Murphey School, 224 Polk Street, Raleigh.  

The play is about Sharky (Holden Hansen), a basically decent though troubled handyman, and his older brother, Richard (Peter Haig), who has drunk himself blind. They gather on Christmas Eve in their dilapidated house in Dublin to play poker with a couple of friends, the ever-ebullient Ivan (David Dossey) and the shifty Nicky Giblin (Stephen LeTrent). But on this night, Nicky has brought along a man he met in a nearby pub, Mr. Lockhart (Randolph Curtis Rand). Lockhart has come to claim something promised him twenty years before. The play premiered at London's National Theatre in 2006 and moved to a very successful Broadway run thereafter.

Conor McPherson has written The Seafarer, Shining City, Port Authority, Dublin Carol , The Weir, St Nicholas and This Lime Tree Bower. His plays have appeared on Broadway, at London's National Theatre Royal Court Theatre, Bush Theatre and Gate Theatre, among others. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play in 2006 for Shining City; nominated for the 2002 South Bank Show Award for Best Play for Port Authority; received the 1999 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Play, the Evening Standard Most Promising Playwright, the Critics Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright and was a finalist for the Lloyds Bank Playwright of the Year Award for The Weir; and was the joint winner of 1997 George Devine Award and the winner of the Meyer Whitworth Award for St. Nicholas. Mr. McPherson's screenplays include I Went Down for BBC/Treasure Films (Best Screenplay, San Sebastian 1997, selected at Cannes Festival, Edinburgh Festival and Sundance Festival) and MacIntyre (for Treasure Films).

Jerome Davis is Burning Coal Theatre Company's founding Artistic Director. He has directed for Burning Coal Rat in the Skull, Pentecost (twice), Winding the Ball, The Steward of Christendom, Night and Day, The Weir, Company, The Road to Mecca, Juno & The Paycock, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Hamlet, Inherit the Wind, The Prisoner's Dilemma, Hysteria and 1960. 'Mecca' and 'Prisoner's' were recently selected by the Independent Weekly as among the Best Productions of the Decade. Davis is originally from Tennessee. In New York City, he studied with Julie Bovasso, Nikos Psacharapolous, Uta Hagen, Oliver Platt, Hope Davis and Amanda Peet. He has worked at New Jersey Shakespeare, Trinity Repertory Company, People's Light & Theatre Company, Columbia University, Phoenix Theatre at SUNY/Purchase, Mint Theatre, Soho Rep and the Barrow Group with artists like Richard Jenkins, Steve Harris, Ralph Waite and Diane Paulus.

Robert John Andrusko (scenery) has designed The Prisoner's Dilemma, Pentecost, Night and Day, The Steward of Christendom, Accidental Death of an Anarchist and The Weir for Burning Coal. He was Associate Designer for the Broadway production of Aaron Sorkin's The Farnsworth Invention, the national tour of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and Rugrats on Broadway. He is on the adjunct faculty at SUNY Purchase and at Syracuse University.

Lynda Clark (costumes) has designed costumes for King Lear and A Doll's House (Best Costume Design/Independent 2007) at Peace College; Hamlet for Temple Theatre; Life x 3 at Theatre in the Park; and Summer and Smoke for Deep Dish.

Matthew Adelson (lighting) previously worked with Burning Coal on The Prisoner's Dilemma, Inherit The Wind, Pentecost, Einstein's Dreams (1998 and 2006 productions) Miss Julie, James Joyce's The Dead, The Man Who Tried To Save The World, Travesties, The Doll's House, and Romeo and Juliet. Other credits include: Berkshire Theatre Festival, Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Florida Studio Theatre, Shakespeare & Company, Portland Stage, Merrimack Rep, Miniature Theatre of Chester, Yale Rep, American Music Theatre, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Berkshire Opera, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, The Joyce Theater, Hopkins Center, Lincoln Center and New York City Center, among many others. Matthew is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama; and is also the Lighting Designer for the Dance Department at Williams College.

The production stage manager is Jessica McGloin, a recent graduate of App State and a Raleigh resident. Properties Design is by Jan Morgan or Raleigh. Steve Burnett of Raleigh will design sound. Rachel McCrain of Chapel Hill is Assistant to the Director. Raleigh's Mark Peelman is Technical Director and Simmie Kastner is graphics designer. Shelby Smith and Marissa Boisvert of Raleigh and Kylie McCormick, recently of Fairbanks, Alaska are ASMs.

The cast of The Seafarer will include David Dossey of Bethesda, MD, Peter Haig of Hollywood, FL, Holden Hansen of Wilmington, NC, Stephen LeTrent of Raleigh, NC, and Randolph Curtis Rand of Brooklyn, NY. Dossey has appeared with Burning Coal in Twelfth Night, Inherit the Wind, Henrie the Fourth Parts 1 & 2, The Road to Mecca, Watership Down and Rat in the Skull. Hansen teaches at UNC-Pembroke. He has appeared with Burning Coal in 90 in 90, A Map of the World, Hamlet and Inherit the Wind. Rand wrote and directed Uncle Tom's Cabin and The History of King Henrie the Fourth for Burning Coal and appeared in Pentecost and Love's Labours Lost. LeTrent most recently worked with Burning Coal on Howie the Rookie, The Prisoner's Dilemma, Twelfth Night and Inherit the Wind. Peter Haig has appeared at theatres across North America, including work with George C. Scott and Joseph Papp.

Reservations recommended. For further information, please contact Burning at 919.834.4001.

Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm. Tickets are $20 or $15 for students, Seniors and Active Military. Thursday tickets are $10. Sunday, December 6 at 2 pm is Audio Described for the Hearing Impaired and ‘Pay What You Can' day. For reservations, please call 919-834-4001 or visit us at www.burningcoal.org.

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