Magic Theatre Announces Cast for Paula Vogel's THE BALTIMORE

Magic Theatre (Loretta Greco, Artistic Director and Jaimie Mayer, Managing Director) announced today that rehearsals have begun for the theatre's legacy revival of Paula Vogel's award-winning drama The Baltimore Waltz. Previews begin on Wednesday, March 22, 2017 at Magic Theatre's Fort Mason location, with a press opening on Wednesday, March 29.

Paula Vogel's fantastical satire The Baltimore Waltz takes the audience on a whirlwind odyssey through Paris, Amsterdam, Munich and Vienna in search of romance and a cure. Part heartfelt tribute and part political indictment, this groundbreaking work from the beloved Pulitzer Prize-winner was given its West Coast premiere at Magic in 1992. Bay Area and Magic favorite, Jonathan Moscone, will direct this iconic revival.

"Although Sam [Shepard] and Paula [Vogel] may seem like unlikely legacy bedfellows, both Fool for Love and The Baltimore Waltz examine couples deeply embedded within one another," said Artistic Director Loretta Greco. "In this way, they are sibling plays dealing in perception and denial for survival. Both are beautifully skewed love stories that offer much-needed catharsis. It is my hope, as we usher in our 50th, that we can gather together as a community and share our own stories around these two great pieces of theatre."

"All of us at Magic Theatre are deeply proud of our artistic relationship with Paula Vogel, who is a true National Treasure," added Managing Director Jaimie Mayer. "From our 1992 West Coast premiere of The Baltimore Waltz to 2006's Long Christmas Ride Home (beautifully directed by Basil Twist) to this eagerly-anticipated legacy revival, Paula's artistry and friendship has helped make our theatre a special home for the human truths that speak to us all."

Jonathan Moscone, Director of The Baltimore Waltz, said "Paula writes with a necessary indelicacy around grieving, not to revere it but just write it and laugh as much as you can."

The cast of The Baltimore Waltz includes Patrick Alparone*, Lauren English* and Greg Jackson*. In
addition to Ms. Vogel and Mr. Moscone, the creative team includes Nina Ball (Scenic Design), Meg Neville (Costume Design), Heather Gilbert (Lighting Design), Teddy Hulsker (Sound Design) and Lizabeth Stanley (Props Design).

Magic Theatre is located in the Marina District of San Francisco, at the historic Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture (Fort Mason, 2 Marina Blvd., Building D, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94123). The entrance to Fort Mason is at the intersection of Marina Blvd and Buchanan Street. The performance schedule is Tuesday at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday - Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. There is no Tuesdayperformance during Previews, and there will be one additional 2:30 p.m. performance on Wednesday, April 5. There will be a post-show discussion with the Director following the Sunday, March 26 performance at 2:30 p.m., and a Friday post-show talkback with actors following the 8:00 p.m. performances on March 31, April 7 and April 14. Tickets, priced from $50.00 to $85.00, are available online at MagicTheatre.org; by calling Magic Theatre at (415) 441-8822; or visiting Magic Theatre's Box Office, Monday - Friday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. during non-performance dates. On performance dates, the Box Office is open Tuesday - Saturday from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Sunday one hour prior to the show. For more information, visit MagicTheatre.org.

About Magic Theatre

Now celebrating its 50th year of continuous operation, Magic Theatre is dedicated to the cultivation of bold new plays, playwrights, and audiences - and to producing explosive, entertaining, and ideologically robust stories that ask substantive questions about our place in humanity. Magic provides a nurturing yet rigorous artistic home where innovative writers can create a body of work. We believe that developing an evolved artistic vocabulary with the playwright at our side, over a long period of time, greatly improves a playwright's chances to thrive.

From its earliest years, Magic Theatre has contributed to the richness and relevance of the national theatrical canon. Magic's impact on the field has resonated throughout the United States beginning in the 1970's with Sam Shepard's early Pulitzer and Obie-award winning plays to Luis Alfaro's world premiere of Oedipus el Rey in 2010, Taylor Mac's groundbreaking five hour epic The Lily's Revenge in 2011, and Octavio Solis's Se Llama Cristina in 2013. Under Loretta Greco's direction, Magic is reviving and increasing playwright residencies and long-term artistic developmental efforts as it hones its focus on new play creation in concert with the playwright. 22 of the 25 new plays produced at Magic over the last five years have enjoyed extended life beyond its stage throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Magic Theatre has supported hundreds of artists since the indefatigable John Lion founded it in 1967. Michael McClure served as the first playwright in residence beginning in 1969 with his early plays. Sam Shepard cut his playwright's teeth at Magic, starting in 1975. His seminal plays were written and premiered during his decade-long residency, including Buried Child (Pulitzer Prize, 1979), True West (both directed by RoBert Woodruff), and Fool for Love. Martin Esslin, internationally renowned scholar and critic, joined the company as the first resident dramaturg in American theater in 1977, a position now integral to American new playhouses.

Soon 3, Athol Fugard, Mark O'Rowe, Nilo Cruz, Octavio Solis, Claire Chafee, Jon Robin Baitz, Paula Vogel, Anne Bogart, Stephen Belber, Basil Twist, and Rebecca Gilman are just a notable few of the formidable writers who have been a part of Magic's history. They have been joined in recent years by many of today's exciting playwrights, such as Taylor Mac, Linda McLean, Teresa Rebeck, Lloyd Suh, Julie Marie Myatt, Sharr White, Christina Anderson, and Luis Alfaro. Magic plays have received numerous awards, including Pulitzer Prizes and ten Obie Awards. Other honors include the Kennedy Center Award, PEN-West Awards for Drama, Bay Area Critics' Circle Awards, Los Angeles Drama-Logue Awards, and the NAACP Image Award. Oedipus el Rey was awarded the Will Glickman Playwrighting Award for 2010 and Sharr White's Annapurna was a finalist for the 2012 Steinberg/ACTA New Play Award.

To post a comment, you must register and login.