Ephie Aardema, Corey Allen, Lesley Fera and Mark Zimmerman Star in PTC's TWO DOLLAR BILL, Starting Tongiht

Pioneer Theatre Company presents the world premiere play TWO DOLLAR BILL, tonight, January 15, through January 30, 2016.

At an elite University Bill Dudley, a distinguished professor of history, has been nominated for a prestigious award, but the attention over that nomination has cast a confusing light on his academic credentials, with career-changing consequences for the professor, the dean of faculty, his graduate assistant and a student he teaches.

Guest artist T.J. BRADY is the author of TWO DOLLAR BILL. Brady was raised in Warwick, New York, and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1996. He went on to serve as an Army officer in a tank battalion, achieving the rank of Captain. In 2001, T.J. left the military to pursue his dream of writing professionally. In 2008, he was hired to write for the TV series Lie to Me, and has since written on Army Wives, The 100, and most recently on the Netflix original series, Narcos. He is currently developing a series for HBO. In addition to TWO DOLLAR BILL, T.J.'s other play, LP/OP was presented at Lincoln Center in November 2015 as part of a showcase for veteran artists.

EPHIE AARDEMA, COREY ALLEN, LESLEY FERA and MARK ZIMMERMAN make up the all-Equity cast.

Mark Zimmerman plays the part of Bill Dudley, a university professor whose latest book has been nominated for the Bancroft Prize. Zimmerman's Broadway credits include Rocky, West Side Story, A Catered Affair, The Rainmaker, Shenandoah, On the 20th Century, Brigadoon and Face Value. Regionally and Off Broadway he has been seen in A Little Night Music (Joseph Jefferson Award), Moonlight and Magnolias, Paper Moon, Olympus on My Mind, 110 in the Shade and 1776. He has appared on film in Delivery Man, The Thomas Crown Affair, A Price Above Rubies, Dash and Lilly, Claire Dolan, The Giraffe, For Love or Money and Bonfire of the Vanities. This is Zimmerman's PTC debut.

Lesley Fera plays the part of Jessica McGovern, the dean of faculty whose career is thrown into turmoil when Dudley's credentials come under scrutiny. Fera's Los Angeles theater credits include Ruth in The Homecoming, Sister Margaret in The Hasty Heart, Lillian in Happy End, Olympia in Big Love, Anna in Anna Christie and Lady Chatterley in Lady Chatterley's Lover. Other theatre credits include: Noises Off (Asolo Rep); Misalliance (PA Centre Stage); The Children's Hour (Provincetown Rep); Communicating Doors (San Jose Rep), and Baby Taj (TheatreWorks). On television, Fera currently plays Veronica Hastings on ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars. This is Fera's PTC debut.

Corey Allen plays the part of Ron Ellis, Dudley's graduate assistant. Allen's New York credits include Moony's Kid Don't Cry (Drama League DirectorFest) and Created Equal (Red Fern Theatre). Regionally he has appeared in Best of Enemies (Orlando Shakespeare Theater) A Raisin in the Sun, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Huntington Theatre Company), The Fall of Heaven (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis), Othello, Twelfth Night, Henry V, King Lear, The Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Great River Shakespeare Festival), The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Cyrano de Bergerac (Utah Shakespeare Festival). Recent screen credits include the TV series Manhattan and films Proximity and Lost in the City. Allen appeared as Lance Cpl. Dawson in PTC's production of A Few Good Men, and was last seen at PTC in the 2015 "Play-by-Play" reading Mr. Wheeler's.
Ephie Aardema plays the role of Megan Tyler, one of Dudley's students. Her Broadway credits include The Bridges of Madison County. Off Broadway credits include the recently acclaimed Songbird and Dear Edwina. Aardema's regional credits include A Room With a View (Old Globe), Daddy Long Legs (PCPA, St. Louis Rep.), 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Paper Mill Playhouse, Philadelphia Theater Co., Media Theatre) and Snapshots (Goodspeed Opera House). She is the youngest-ever graduate of Circle in the Square, an international tap champion, and the recipient of a Congressional Gold Medal for Outstanding Youth. Aardema made her PTC debut in Next To Normal as Natalie and was last seen at PTC in A Christmas Carol-The Musical.

Guest artist MATT AUGUST directs this production. His productions have been seen both on Broadway (How the Grinch Stole Christmas) and Off-Broadway, on National Tours, in many Regional Theatres and Festivals, at the Grand Ole Opry, and Madison Square Garden. They have been nominated for Ovation, Helen Hayes, Bay Area Critics, and Australia's Helpmann Awards. His shows have appeared on Year-End Top Ten Lists for the L.A. Times (Two Gentlemen of Verona-Old Globe), San Francisco Chronicle, Oakland Tribune, San Jose Mercury News (Baby Taj-TheatreWorks) and NPR/KQED (Fourth Messenger). August's past PTC credits include Much Ado About Nothing and In the Heights.

Scenic design is by guest artist JAMES WOLK. Wolk's New York designs include The President and Her Mistress, Summer of the Swans at TheatreworksUSA, Pagans at the Abingdon Theatre, Boys' Life at Lincoln Center and Three Sisters, both directed by William H. Macy. He has been nominated for the Helen Hayes, Barrymore, and American Theatre Wing Awards. His recent PTC credits include Other Desert Cities, In, Is He Dead, The Yellow Leaf, The Heiress, Lost in Yonkers, Five Guys Named Moe, The Real Thing, The Mousetrap, Sophisticated Ladies, Present Laughter, A View From the Bridge, Rough Crossing and A Streetcar Named Desire.

Resident artist AARON SWENSON designs costumes for the production. Swenson has also designed Salt Lake Shakespeare's 2015 productions of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Twelfth Night, as well as the 2015 World Premiere of BOOKSMART at Plan-B Theatre Company. Additional design credits: Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Plan-B Theatre, 3rd Revival); Assassins, tick...tick...BOOM! and The Great American Trailer Park Musical (Dark Horse Company Theatre); Nine Dragons, There's a Monster in My Closet!, and The Dinosaur Musical (University of Utah Youth Theatre); Geography Club and Avenue Q (University of Utah Department of Theatre). Swenson is currently in his ninth season as Pioneer Theatre Company's Wardrobe Supervisor and Head of Costume Crafts. Swenson's most recent design credit for PTC was The Rocky Horror Show.

Lighting design is by guest artist MICHAEL GILLIAM. Some of Gilliam's Broadway credits include: Bonnie and Clyde, Brooklyn, Big River and Stand-Up Tragedy. He also designed Gershwin Alone for London's West End: His National tours include Peter Pan, Brooklyn, Guys and Dolls and Big River. Gilliam also designed Fiddler on the Roof for PTC this season. Hair and makeup design is by PTC resident designer AMANDA FRENCH; sound design is by PTC resident designer JOSHUA C. HIGHT.

Pioneer Theatre Company presents Two Dollar Bill by TJ Brady, running January 15 - January 30, 2016. Schedule: Mondays - Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday Matinees, 2:00 p.m. At Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, 300 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City.

Price: $25 - $44 in advance and $5 more when purchased on the day of the show. Kids in grades K - 12 are half price on Mondays and Tuesdays. EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT: $5 off the cost of Main Floor and Loge seating for the first seven performances, when tickets are purchased on or before Jan. 8. Contact the Box Office at 801-581-6961 (open 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Mon - Fri). For more information, visit www.pioneertheatre.org.

Pioneer Theatre Company operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. Pioneer Theatre Company, Utah's only fully professional theatre, performs at Roy W. and Elizabeth E. Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, located on the University of Utah campus at 300 South and 1400 East in Salt Lake City, easily accessible by TRAX light rail. Free parking is also available and the theatre is equipped with an elevator, handicap parking, hearing assistance devices and other easy-access features.

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