North Coast Repertory Theatre Presents THE VOICE OF THE PRAIRIE 5/29-6/20

Come along with us on a journey of love, trains and radio at the turn of the 20th century in America! Warm with nostalgia, tender with memories of first love, and alive with the comedic spirit of self-determined adventure as big as the wide-open prairie. Tune in to the storytelling of David Quinn as three actors embody a world of characters in this panoramic epic.

" Voice of the Prairie is a journey play. That journey takes place on the railroads crisscrossing the American west. It is a love story. Teenagers who meet and ride those rails and star-crossed, lose each other until the magic of the ether transforms their lives. It is a play about the birth of radio, about adventure, daring and how early storytelling became a way to unite and bond the country through the New Medium of radio.
Jump on the train with us and ride the rails with Frankie and Davey and may the memories of their adventure stay with you long after the story has ended.
On a personal note: This is a labor of love...
Twenty-two years ago I had a life changing experience. I played Frankie/Frances/Susie in Voice of the Prairie at The Old Globe Theatre. Sean Sullivan played Davey/Leon/James. He and I have been partners ever since, our relationship and marriage indelibly forged by the journey of Frankie and Davey, living our life together like many of their wild adventures. I love this play-it has magic in it, the kind that makes goose-bumps stand up on the back of your neck."
-Lynne Griffin, Director of The Voice of the Prairie

John Olive (Playwright) John Olive is a widely produced and award winning playwright, a novelist, a screenwriter and a popular teacher of creative writing. John's plays include: Standing on my Knees, Minnesota Moon, The Voice of the Prairie, Evelyn & The Polka King, Killers, The Summer Moon, The Ecstasy of St. Theresa, Careless Love, among others. Producing theaters include: the Manhattan Theatre Club, Old Globe, Steppenwolf, Wisdom Bridge, South Coast Rep, Alley Theater, the Guthrie, Actors Theatre Of Louisville, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, ACT/Seattle, and many others. Lately John has written many plays for young audiences, both adaptations and originals: Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Johnny Tremain, Jason & the Golden Fleece, The Magic Bicycle, Pharaoh Serket and the Lost Stone of Fire, Water Babies, among others. These plays have been widely produced, at Seattle Children's Theatre, First Stage Milwaukee, Stage One Louisville, Oregon Children's, the Arden Theatre, People's Light and Theatre Co., Dallas Children's Theatre, Main Street Theatre, and others. Awards include: Jerome Fellowship, 2 McKnight Fellowships, National Endowment For The Arts Fellowship, 2 Bush Fellowships, Society of Midland Authors Award For Drama (Standing on my Knees), Kennedy Center Award For New Plays (The Summer Moon), Rockefeller Residency (Wisdom Bridge). John has written screen and teleplays for: Disney, Amblin Entertainment, ShadowCatcher Entertainment, Yorktown Productions, Lorimar Television, among others. He has developed material at the O'Neill, Sundance, New Harmony Project, PlayLabs, etc. John has two prose projects going: a YA novel called Smartass and a nonfiction book about bedtime stories, Tell Me A Story In The Dark. Currently, John teaches screenwriting at the University of Minnesota. John lives in Minneapolis with his wife Mary and their son Michael.

LYNNE GRIFFIN (Director): Lynne Griffin has directed her husband, Sean Sullivan, in his solo play Baby Redboots' Revenge, which played Toronto, New York and an Eastern European Tour. As an actress she has been seen at NCRT in Romeo & Juliet, The Uneasy Chair, Mornings at Seven, The Dresser and Over The Tavern. She has appeared at both the Stratford and Shaw Festivals and numerous theatres across Canada and the U.S. Some of her favourite roles are The Nurse in Romeo & Juliet, (twice under the direction of David Ellenstein), Ruth Steiner in Collected Stories and Amelia Pickles in The Uneasy Chair. She has appeared in eleven shows at the Old Globe Theatre, favourites being Uncle Vanya and The Voice Of The Prairie. On television she can be seen presently as Dot Meadows on the new ABC series Happy Town, and has appeared as Mrs. Santa in two Santa Baby movies for ABC. Her two other series are Wind At My Back and Riverdale, as well as guest appearances on NYPD Blue, Lost Girl, American Girl, and Love Is Not Enough. She has just completed a feature film called Dream House, directed by Jim Sheridan, starring Daniel Craig. Her other feature films include the cult hits Strange Brew and Black Christmas. She would like to thank her husband Sean for his perpetual inspiration, mystery, love and support.

Sean Sullivan (Original Music): Sean Sullivan has composed music, primarily in Canada, for productions of The Taming of The Shrew, The Rover, Skylight, Art Is A Cupboard, The Associates, (CTVtelevision), and designed sound for Amadeus. He has written many original songs and plays a variety of instruments. Acting credits at NCRT: The Dresser, (San Diego Critics Award, Best Ensemble), Morning's At Seven and Dracula. Twelve productions at The Old Globe Theater including The Voice Of The Prairie. His solo play, Baby Redboots' Revenge, has played Toronto, New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Poland and the Czech Republic. Films include Wayne's World, Back To The Future III, Ski Patrol and Who's That Girl?, and television appearances include the t.v. movies RFK and Across The River To Motor City, and guest appearances include Doc, Babylon 5 and Quantum Leap.

Sean Sullivan, (Assistant Director): Sean Sullivan has directed What The Butler Saw, Jeeves and Wooster and The Balcony, (Los Angeles Drama-Logue Award for Direction). He has assistant directed The Good Woman of Setzuan and Enemies.

David MeyerS (Poppy, David Quinn, etc.) David is pleased to be appearing for the first time at North Coast Repertory. David began as an apprentice for The Old Globe. Since, David has performed and been a company member at PCPA Theaterfest, Portland Repertory, Portland Center Stage, Artists Repertory, Salem Repertory, Perseverance Theater, Southwest Repertory and other venues across the country. David's film credits include Firefox, and Men of Honor. On TV he has played in the MOW's Final Justice, The Valley of Light, Terror in the Towers, A.D. Anno Domini, and Evergreen, and has guest starred in a number series.

Jason MaDDY (Davey, Leon, James) Jason received his MFA from the University of Illinois Urban-Champaign. Local Theatres include: Premiere Productions (Broadway Theatre), North Coast Repertory Theatre, the Welk Resort Theatre, San Diego Musical Theater and Intrepid Theatre Company. Regional Theatres include: the Utah Shakespearean Festival, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival and Pechanga Resort (Theatrical Arts International). He has taught for theatre companies and colleges across the country including Mt San Jacinto College, The Utah Shakespearean Festival, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the La Jolla Playhouse.

AMANDA SITTON (Frankie, Frances) Prior theater credits include: It's A Wonderful Life, Man From Nebraska, Las Meninas (Cygnet Theater), Doubt (SD Theatre Critics Circle Craig Noel Award Outstanding Featured Performance), A Christmas Carol (San Diego Rep), Don't Dress For Dinner, Collected Stories, Amy's View (North Coast Rep), Heidi Chronicles (Director), Four Dogs and a Bone, Be Aggressive, Golden Boy (SD Theatre Critics Circle Craig Noel Award Outstanding Lead Performance) , Dancing at Lughnasa, Sailor's Song, Crimes of the Heart, Three Sisters (New Village Arts, Ensemble Member), Torch Song Trilogy, Twilight of the Golds (Diversionary Theater), A Bright Room Called Day (Backyard Productions/Diversionary Theater), Hysterical Blindness (Backyard Productions), The Gingerbread Lady (Renaissance Theater Co.) The Terrible Girls (Fringe Festival NYC). Ms. Sitton received her BA in Theatre from UCSD.

The cast for THE VOICE OF THE PRAIRIE includes:
David Meyers*: (David, Poppy)
Jason Maddy: (Davey, Leon, James)
Amanda Sitton: (Frankie, Frances)
(In addition to the characters listed above,
each actor portrays assorted other characters and voices.)
*Member of Actors' Equity Association

The design team for THE VOICE OF THE PRAIRIE includes:
Lynne Griffin (Director)
Sean Sullivan (Original Music and Assistant Director)
Marty Burnett (Scenic Design)M. Scott Grabau (Light Design)
Renatta Lloyd (Costume Design)
Chris Luessmann (Sound Design)
Annie Bornhurst (Props and Set Dressing)
The crew includes:
Elizabeth Stephens* (Stage Manager)
John Finkbiner (Scenic Artist)
Aaron Rumley (Production Manager)

TICKET PRICES: $30 - $47
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.

HOW TO BUY TICKETS: Tickets for THE VOICE OF THE PRAIRIE 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.
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: Come along with us on a journey of love, trains and radio at the turn of the 20th century in America! Warm with nostalgia, tender with memories of first love, and alive with the comedic spirit of self-determined adventure as big as the wide-open prairie. Tune in to the storytelling of David Quinn as three actors embody a world of characters in this panoramic epic.

INTERMISSION: There will be one 15-minute intermission.

RUN TIME: Approximately 2 hours.

TIME & PLACE: The action of the play takes place in various locales across the United States during the years 1895 and 1923.

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 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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