North Coast Repertory Theatre Presents KING O' THE MOON, Previews 4/13

North Coast Repertory Theatre Presents: The Sequel to Over the Tavern King O' the Moon By Tom Dudzick
Directed by Matt Thompson

April 16 - May 8, 2011
Previews: April 13 - 15, 2011
TICKET PRICES: $30 - $47

Pazinskis encore with King o' the Moon
Remember the Pazinski family? Well it's the summer of 1969, the Vietnam War is raging, sexual revolution is in high gear, and an astronaut is about to walk on the moon. The sequel to the hugely popular Over the Tavern transports the Pazinskis from the conservative '50s to the turbulent '60s. Through laughter and tears, the adult Pazinskis tackle weighty issues like divorce, remarriage, war and draft-evasion, all with charm, humor and down-to-earth common sense.

Matt Thompson (Director) At North Coast Rep: Mistletoe, Music & Mayhem!, A Christmas Carol, The Hobbit, Hansel & Gretel, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and My Big Fat Greek Divorce. Elsewhere: If the Shoe Fits, A Roman Holiday (Coronado Playhouse); My Life as a Geek, Opera of the Oasis, The Triangle Tragedy (Compass Theatre); Sylvia, The Odd Couple, Situation Comedy, Beau Jest, Fully Committed, Blind Date, All in the Timing, Bedroom Suite, A Short History of Dating, Maybe Baby It's You (Tennessee Actor's Theatre), Hamlet (Ocean View Shakespeare Festival), West Bend, Oleanna, Chesa and Lessa (Stepping Stone Theatre), Apemantus, The Intermission (The Road Theatre). His published plays include : If the Shoe Fits, The Audition (Dramatic Publishing), Beatrice the Butterfly, Nobody's Perfect, Taking Flight, Don't Play Games With Me, The High School Drama, Who's on Alpha?, The Smell of Success, My Big Fat Greek Divorce, Return to Sender, Tough as Nails, The Holiday Icon Monologues, The Smell of Success (Heuer Publishing), A Roman Holiday (Norman Maine Publishing). Underwritten by The San Diego Hall of Champions Museum and commissioned by David Ellenstein, Matt's newest one-person play Ted Williams: A Tip of the Cap will be presented as part of NCR's New Works Program June 20-21, 2011. Don't miss it! Also an actor, he has performed at North Coast Rep in Don't Dress for Dinner, Over the Tavern, Dracula, Leading Ladies, A Thousand Clowns, Julius Caesar, The Comedy of Errors. Elsewhere: Cold Comfort Farm (Lamb's Players), Shear Madness (Miracle Productions), Terra Nova (Inukshuk Productions), Angel City (Sledgehammer Theatre), Rapunzal (Falcon Theatre), Moonlight and Magnolias (Sierra Rep), The Tempest (Kingsmen Shakespeare), Hitler's Head (The Road Theatre). He has his Master's degree in Theatre from San Diego State University. Currently Matt serves as the artistic associate and theatre school director here at North Coast Rep.

Kandis Chappell* (Ellen) was last seen at North Coast Rep in Donald Margulies' Collected Stories. She is an Associate Artist of the Old Globe, where she has appeared in more than 30 productions. Ms. Chappell has worked extensively at South Coast Rep in Costa Mesa, and performed at theatres across the country, including Lincoln Center, Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, and on Broadway.

John Herzog* (Walter) NCRT: Manders in Ghosts, Stephano in The Tempest, Kelekian in Wit, Duncan in Leading Ladies. BROADWAY and NATIONAL TOURS: Hair, Crimes of the Heart. REGIONAL: Laguna Playhouse, Fullerton Civic Light Opera, Portland Stage Co., Indiana Repertory Theatre, Delaware Theatre Co., Arizona Theatre Co., Mark Taper Forum-New Works, Los Angeles Repertory Co. and more. Roles: Prospero in The Tempest, Petruchio in 'Shrew, Malter in The Chosen, Marc in Art, Macheath in Threepenny Opera, Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls, Ben Stark in Rocket to the Moon and dozens more. Visit his website for a full resume at www.johnherzog.com. Proud member of Actors Equity since 1969 but by far his most proud production is his daughter Molly.

Ross Hellwig* (Eddie) NORTH COAST: Debut. SAN DIEGO: Vincent in Brixton, Macbeth, Don Juan, Antony & Cleopatra, The Comedy of Errors, The Winter's Tale, As You Like It (Old Globe). EUROPE: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Vienna's English Theatre). NATIONAL TOUR: RFK: The Journey to Justice (LA Theatre Works). LOS ANGELES: The Comedy of Errors, The Winter's Tale, All's Well That Ends Well, Macbeth (Kingsmen Shakespeare); The Tempest, Crimes of the Heart (Rubicon Theatre); Photograph 51 (Fountain Theatre); The Rainmaker (A Noise Within); Troilus & Cressida, The Rover (Antaeus). ELSEWHERE: Pittsburgh Public, Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Mill Mountain, Theatreworks/USA. TELEVISION: Numb3rs, Law & Order: SVU, Guiding Light. EDUCATION: MFA - Old Globe; BFA - University of Arizona.

Kevin Koppman-Gue (Rudy) Kevin Koppman-Gue is excited to return to North Coast Repertory Theatre. CREDITS: The Drawer Boy; Mistletoe, Music and Mayhem; Becky's New Car (North Coast Rep), Deathtrap (Scripps Ranch Theatre), Speech and Debate, Moscow (Diversionary Theatre), Into the Woods (SDSU Theatre), Romeo, Romeo & Juliet (Vox Nova Theatre Company), The History Boys (Cygnet Theatre, Patté Award), How I Learned to Drive, Everything Will Be Different (Lynx Performance) and The Winslow Boy (Lamb's Players Theatre, Craig Noel and Patté Award). STAGED READINGS: Relatively Speaking, Time of My Life (Cygnet Theatre), Rebels (Old Globe), Spring's Awakening (AASD).Kevin has also performed with ion theatre company, 6th @ Penn, Fritz Theatre, Starlight Musical Theatre, and Sledgehammer: Currently an Undergraduate in Theatre Arts at SDSU.

Sunny Smith (Maureen) is excited to be back at NCRT. Theatre credits: Wit, Dracula, Hansel & Gretel, Julius Caesar (NCRT), Heidi Chronicles and Into the Woods (NVA), Not Now Darling (SRT), Miss Electricity (La Jolla Playhouse), Frozen (Ion Theatre), HMS Pinafore and Daughter of the Regiment (SD Lyric Opera), The Triangle Tragedy (Compass Theatre). Other credits: Short History of Dating, SUDS, Smokey Joe's Café, Enigma Variations, Opera of the Oasis, Blithe Spirit, Curious Savage, Jesus Christ Superstar, Absence of a Cello. She is currently attending SDSU for a Theatre Performance Degree with Anthropology Minor, is co-owner of Jabronie Pictures and is a teacher/actor mentor at NCRT's Theatre School.

Julian Conrad (Georgie) Julian's most recent theatre credits include Carbon Black (Native Voices at the Autry), A Midsummer Nights Dream, Antony & Cleopatra (Shakespeare by the Sea), As You Like It (director), The Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, Twelfth Night (Shakespeare at UCLA) and 12 Angry Men (Starving Artists Productions). He also stars in the upcoming Bros: A Webseries and was featured on the BBC's documentary series Our World: Hollywood or Bust. Julian recently graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in History and a minor in English.

Kyrsten Hafso (Annie) Kyrsten is excited to be making her North Coast Repertory Theatre debut! San Diego credits: Rebels (Old Globe), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Welk Resort Theatre), A Class Act (SDSU Theatre), Into the Woods (SDSU Theatre), Birds of Paradise (SDSU Theatre). Kyrsten has her MFA in Theatre Arts from San Diego State University and a BA in Music from Whitworth University.

Tom Dudzick (Playwright) Tom Dudzick is one of the few playwrights who makes a living at it. His first New York venture took place at the John Houseman Theatre with his Christmas play, Greetings! which starred Greg Edelman and the late stage and screen veteran, Darren McGavin. Clive Barnes called it "a comic jewel of a play" and it is fast becoming a happy alternative to A Christmas Carol, appearing annually in theatres all over the country. Dudzick went on to create what Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune called, "one of the biggest grass-roots successes in American regional theatre of the last few years." Jones was referring to Dudzick's Over the Tavern Trilogy, a semi-fictional trio of comedies based on his early family years in Buffalo, NY. The first of the trilogy, Over the Tavern, has broken box office records all over the country, ran for over a year in Chicago and garnered critical praise such as: "Utterly charming!" from Hedy Weiss of the Chicago Sun-Times, and "Absolutely enchanting...a little bit of heaven!" from Richard Christiansen of the Chicago Tribune. Hail Mary! was Dudzick's next play, about a 21st century parochial school novice who jeopardizes her future as a nun by daring to take religion into her own hands and teach the children her personal, unorthodox views of God. It premiered at Buffalo's Studio Arena Theatre and is currently being produced at several regional theatres. His next play, a backstage comedy called, Don't Talk to the Actors, has received both East and West Coast premieres and garnered such accolades as "drop-dead, scream-out-loud, tear-wrenchingly funny," (Buffalo News) ..."unstoppable laughter," (Cypress Chronicle) and "hilarious show-biz farce." (Event News, Cal.). Tom's most recent play, "Miracle on South Division Street" premiered at Upstate New York's Penguin Repertory Theatre in 2009 and, once more, broke a box office record. Peter Kramer of the Journal News called it, "A rollicking comedy where one revelation builds on another to an unexpected and thoroughly satisfying conclusion. Best to order tickets before it sells out."

TAVERN GOES INTERNATIONAL: Over the Tavern was recently given the Irish treatment, being adapted for Irish audiences. It premiered at Cork Arts Theatre in 2009 and has been remounted twice since, being the largest box office draw in that theatre's history. HONORS: A memorial plaque has been imbedded in front of Dudzick's boyhood home in Buffalo, commemorating his father's tavern and the play it inspired. An even greater honor -- Tom Dudzick was once a question on Jeopardy!

Tom Dudzick lives in Nyack, NY with his wife and two children, and can be reached through his agent Jack Tantleff at the Paradigm Talent Agency (JTantleff@paradigmagency.com).

TICKET PRICES: $30 - $47

HOW TO BUY TICKETS: Tickets for KING O' THE MOON are available onlyat North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach at 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Suite D, 92075. For ticket information or reservations call (858)-481-1055 or visit www.northcoastrep.org. Box Office hours are Noon to 4pm daily and Noon to Curtain day of shows.
Preview tickets are $32.00, Opening Night tickets are $47, Saturday evening and Sunday Matinee tickets are $41.00 and Wednesday - Friday evening and Saturday Matinees are $37.00. Student/Seniors and Military save $3.00 and Subscriber single tickets are $5.00 off.

SHOWTIMES: Show times are select Wednesdays at 7:00pm and select Saturday matinees at 2:00pm. Regular show times are Thursday - Saturday at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm and 7:00pm.

LISTING: Remember the Pazinski family? Well it's the summer of 1969, the Vietnam War is raging, sexual revolution is in high gear, and an astronaut is about to walk on the moon. The sequel to the hugely popular Over the Tavern transports the Pazinskis from the conservative '50s to the turbulent '60s. Through laughter and tears, the adult Pazinskis tackle weighty issues like divorce, remarriage, war and draft-evasion, all with charm, humor and down-to-earth common sense.

IMAGES/PHOTOGRAPHS for KING O' THE MOON will be available on-line after April 12, 2011 at www.northcoastrep.org/press. If you need photos earlier arrangements can be made to have them sent directly to you if available. Photo credits go to Aaron Rumley. If you would like a script or program to be sent to you electronically please contact Sandra@northcoastrep.org or directly at 858-481-2155 X 20. Script is only available to press and not for general distribution.

About the North Coast Repertory Theatre: North Coast Repertory Theatre is a professional equity theatre founded in 1982. For over 28 years, North Coast Rep has received critical acclaim from media and audiences alike. With the fifth largest operating budget of non profit theatres and employing the third most Actors' Equity Association members (the union of professional actors and stage managers) in San Diego, North Coast Rep continues to produce high quality, award winning theatre and has evolved into one of the area's leading performing arts organizations. Located in Solana Beach, California, NCR not only draws its audience from the North County region but 50% of its audience base resides in metro San Diego and throughout Southern California. Recognized for the quality of its work and its commitment to quality, this season will be performed on the Blakistone Stage, newly dedicated to North Coast Rep founders Olive Blakistone and her recently departed husband Tom, who passed away in March of 2009.
David Ellenstein is now the Artistic Director and Leader of North Coast Repertory Theatre since 2003. His bio is as follows:

David Ellenstein (Artistic Director) A nationally recognized director and actor, David served as Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Repertory Company and the Arizona Jewish Theatre before joining North Coast Rep in 2003. Over 200 career productions include directing 22 shows at North Coast Rep, including KING O' THE MOON, BECKY'S NEW CAR, GHOSTS, TALLEY'S FOLLY, THE DRESSER, OVER THE TAVERN, HALPERN & JOHNSON, THE CHOSEN, and ROMEO AND JULIET. Elsewhere; SONIA FLEW starring Lucie Arnaz, HALPERN AND JOHNSON starring Hal Linden and Brian Murray, and THE CHOSEN starring Theo Bikel and John Lloyd Young at the Coconut Grove Playhouse. Other venues include the Paper Mill Playhouse, Alabama, California, Nevada, Great Lakes, Southwest, and Kingsmen Shakespeare Festivals, Laguna Playhouse, Meadow Brook Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Los Angeles Theatre Center, Portland Repertory Theatre, and Gaslamp Quarter Theatre Company

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