HANDLE WITH CARE to Play B Street Theatre This Holiday Season

B Street is pleased to present the regional premiere of HANDLE WITH CARE as the Mainstage offering for the 2015 holiday season.

Broadway World says HANDLE WITH CARE "closely resembles comedies by Neil Simon and Woody Allen." This moving romantic comedy is sweet, funny and a perfect destination for everyone during the holidays. Handle with Care makes you laugh, think and feel good while reminiscing about romantic and familial relationships - those we have, those we've lost and the near misses in between.

Written by Emmy Award nominated writer and producer Jason Odell Williams, HANDLE WITH CARE was a New York Times Critics' Pick and ran Off-Broadway for 112 performances with screen legend Carol Lawrence. Since 2011, HANDLE WITH CARE has had more than 15 regional productions in the U.S. and Canada. The play was also recently optioned for a film.

A romance for the holidays on B Street's Mainstage! Circumstances both hilarious and challenging bring together a young Israeli woman, who has little command of English, and a young American man, who has little command of romance. Is their inevitable love an accident...or is it destiny, generations in the making?

HANDLE WITH CARE runs November 22, 2015 - January 3, 2016, playing Tuesdays at 6:30 pm; Wednesdays at 2:00 pm and 6:30 pm; Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 pm; Saturdays at 5:00 pm and 9:00 pm; Sundays at 2:00 pm. Previews: Saturday, November 21 at 5:00 pm and Sunday, November 22 at 2:00 pm. Press Opening: Sunday, November 22 at 7:00 pm. All performances take place on the B Street Theatre Mainstage, 2711 B St., Sacramento. Tickets: $23-$35*, $5 Student Rush, $15* Preview tickets. For tickets and information, call (916) 443-5300, or visit www.bstreettheatre.org. *Please note this price includes a $5 Facility Fee. For details, visit bstreettheatre.org/next?stage/fee.

Playwrights - Jason Odell Williams Hebrew written by Charlotte Cohn:

Jason Odell Williams - Jason is an Emmy Award nominated writer and producer. In addition to the success of Handle With Care, his other plays have been produced at the DR2 (starring Vincent Piazza from HBO's "Boardwalk Empire"), the cell theater, Fells Point Corner Theatre and The American Globe Theatre. His work as been developed at Primary Stages, The Lark, The Blank and The Hudson Valley Writers' Workshop where he won first prize in the 2012 New Play Competition. Readings and workshops have starred Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz, Tony nominee Tovah Feldshuh, and film and TV star Matthew Lillard. Jason recently completed a three season run as a writer and producer of the National Geographic Channel's hit TV series Brain Games. He has also produced and developed series for A&E, Oxygen, Science Channel, The Weather Channel, Smithsonian Channel, Discovery ID, and Animal Planet. His first novel, Personal Statement, published by In This Together Media, was optioned for a three-picture deal, and Jason is currently writing the screenplay adaptation with his wife and collaborator, Charlotte Cohn. They live in Manhattan with their daughter, Imogen, and their rescued dog, Pepper.

Charlotte Cohn - Charlotte was born in Copenhagen and raised in Jerusalem. As a teenager in Israel, Charlotte served in the Israeli Army. Stationed on a tank commander's base, Charlotte swiftly climbed the ranks to Lieutenant. But her sights were set on another career. Soon after her release from the Army, Charlotte left Israel to study acting in New York City. While still a student at the New School's prestigious Actors Studio Graduate M.F.A. Program, Charlotte had the great fortune to work alongside Elliott Gould, in One Hundred Gates, at The Jewish Theatre of NY, Off-Broadway. A year after graduation, she made her Broadway debut in the first-ever Broadway production of Puccini's La Boheme, under the direction of Australian director, Baz Luhrmann. They began at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco and followed it to New York where it ran on Broadway to critical acclaim. She appeared in the show again in December 2003, when it kicked off an international tour at the Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, and where she performed the lead role of 'Musetta.' Charlotte has since performed in Coram Boy on Broadway and the lead in regional productions across the country. At Centerstage Theatre, Baltimore she worked with Irene Lewis in The Murder of Isaac, which later had a reading at The Public Theatre in NYC and she was honored to perform the lead role, Hallelujah Lil, in ACT's production of Happy End. Charlotte and her husband, Jason Odell Williams, are co-founders of their own production company Look At Me Films, and they are currently working on a new play entitled Baltimore in Black and White. Their first film, The Danish Play, made its NYC premiere in 2003, and their play At A Loss got its first New York reading at Primary Stages in 2008.

The Director - Lyndsay Burch:

Originally from North Carolina, Lyndsay is a graduate of Elon University where she earned her BFA in Acting. Upon graduation, Lyndsay worked as a Directing Apprentice at Berkshire Theatre Group (BTG) where she assistant directed for the Mainstage production of Just So Stories and directed a staged reading of the classic musical Oh Boy!. Since working at BTG, Lyndsay has assistant directed for the nuVoices Play Festival at Actor's Theatre of Charlotte and directed Treasure Island: The Musical at the Onstage School for the Performing Arts. Lyndsay has studied directing through Yale University's Summer Directing Intensive, the Hangar Theatre Lab Company and the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. In October 2013, Lyndsay relocated to Sacramento to work as B Street Theatre's Directing Intern. During her internship, she directed Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day, A Steady Rain, and Wrong for Each Other. Upon her completion of the internship, Lyndsay was offered a full time position as an Artistic Associate. She recently directed the B3 Series production of The Curious Case of the Watson Intelligence, The Celebrated Jumping Frog for the Family Series, and the hit show Grounded, the most recent B3 Series show that was extended by over a month.

The Cast:

Ayelet: Stephanie Altholz - Stephanie was seen most recently in 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, The Explorers Club, Snow White and Rose Red, and Elemeno Pea. Other B Street credits include Gift of the Magi, Seminar, RX, Aliens with Extraordinary Skills, The Snow Queen, Extraordinary Things: Through the Eyes of Ann Frank, Cinderella; Junie B. Jones, Jingle Bells, Batman Smells, I Am a Camera, The Almost Perfect Party, Swiss Family Robinson and A Christmas Carol. Stephanie has been seen at Capital Stage in Reasons to be Pretty, Erratica and Clybourne Park. She has also performed in online videos with Dutchwest, College Humor and Smosh.

Edna: Eve Sigall - Eve is a two time Ovation Awards nominee for Joan's Trip and Three Tall Women. She has won two Drama-Logue Awards for best actress for Apartments and Dissident and as stand in for Kathleen Chalfont in Angeles in America at the Mark Taper. She's played opposite Alan Rosenberg in Partners at Delaware Repertory, starred in Lettice and Lovage in Palm Desert, and much more. Innumerable film and television credits including a starring role in Night Caller and as Melisa Leo's mother in Space Between, playing opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rod Steiger in End of Days. See IMBD. Extensive television credits including a recurring role on Pair of Kings.

Josh: Ryan Nichols - Ryan is thrilled to be returning to the River City and making his B Street debut. Recent New York theatre credits include: The Tempest (Classic Stage Co.), Stockholm Savings (FringeNYC), The Government Inspector (3LD), The Tooth of Crime (Connelley), Robot Songs (TheatreLab). Film: Sleepwalkers, Talking to God, Seven Lovers and The Bloody Indulgent. He also voices SAS operator Sledge in the upcoming video game, Rainbow Six: Siege. Training: Columbia University MFA 2014. Proud member of AEA.

Terrance: Actor TBA

More about B Street Theatre:

B Street Theatre is a non-profit, professional theatre company producing primarily new work for adults, families and children. The two-theatre playhouse on B Street in Midtown Sacramento is home to the Mainstage Series, B3 Series and Family Series, each created to feature intimate, quality theatre for audiences year-round. Recognized as one of the nation's top professional theatres, B Street Theatre has produced more than 100 new plays, 60 of which are world, national, West Coast or regional premieres.

B Street Theatre was originally founded in 1986 for the purpose of bringing the excitement of live performance to children through the B Street Theatre School Tour. This educational outreach program serves over 200,000 students in Northern California annually.

B Street Theatre programs include the Mainstage Series, B Street Theatre Family Series and Family Series Student Matinees (for school field trips), the B3 Series, B Street School Tours, Sketch Comedy, B Street Acting Conservatory and Studio for Young People, and the B Street Theatre Internship program for pre-professional and post-college training.

In 2014, B Street brought its most popular play ever, Around the World in 80 Days, to India. The original cast performed in 3 Indian cities, furthering the organization's mission by bringing high quality theatre to an international audience, while also raising money for Indian educational enrichment and schools and partnering with an overseas performing arts center with the hope of future international collaboration.

B Street Theatre has produced over 250 professional productions since 1986.

The mission of B Street Theatre is to promote education and literacy, social interaction, and cultural enrichment by engaging children and adults in the highest quality theatre arts and playwriting.

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