Marco Barricelli and Olympia Dukakis Star In A.C.T.'s VIGIL

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) celebrates the return of three acclaimed artists to its stage: Academy Award winner Olympia Dukakis (Steel Magnolias, A.C.T.'s Hecuba) and beloved Bay Area veteran actor Marco Barricelli return to A.C.T. in a delightfully mordant comedy written and directed by Morris Panych (A.C.T.'s The Overcoat). When an embittered, self-involved bachelor arrives to care for the dying aunt he hasn't seen since childhood, his brief visit stretches to interminable lengths. As her health improves against all odds-and against his hopes-their relationship evolves in unexpected ways. Hailed by critics as "wickedly dark . . . hilarious, quirky, and heartfelt" (Variety) and "deliciously mischievous" (Time Out New York), Vigil offers an uncanny balance of gallows humor and grave ruminations on family, identity, and the human condition. Vigil plays March 25-April 18, 2010, at the American Conservatory Theater (415 Geary Street, San Francisco).

Opening night is Wednesday, March 31, 2010, at 8 p.m. Tickets-starting at $10-are available by calling A.C.T. Ticket Services at 415.749.2228 or at www.act-sf.org.

"It doesn't get better than being at A.C.T. in the spring, acting with Marco Barricelli in a fabulous play by Morris Panych," says Dukakis, who has appeared at A.C.T. five times, including twice in the title role of Hecuba. A former longtime member of A.C.T.'s core acting company, Barricelli shares his excitement about this repeat collaboration and being back at A.C.T.: "I cannot express how elated I am to be, once again, among all my friends and colleagues at A.C.T., from the brilliant Olympia Dukakis to the wonderful Carey Perloff and this extraordinary company. One of the greatest joys is to be again treading the boards of the magnificent American Conservatory Theater in Morris's extraordinary and challenging play. Life is good!"

Morris Panych, one of Canada's most celebrated and prolific theater artists, has won numerous international awards for his writing and directing. He is best known to Bay Area audiences for the runaway hit production he co-created and -directed, The Overcoat, which launched A.C.T.'s 2005-06 season. Vigil has been translated into 19 languages to date and has received highly praised productions in London's West End and in Paris. Panych speaks to the themes of his seminal work: "Most of us are afraid of death, but how we face our mortality defines us. How we die is largely defined by how we live and, as importantly, how we help each other die. This is a personal, but also a social question. How we treat each member of our society defines who we are as a society."
A.C.T. Artistic Director Carey Perloff speaks to Panych's oeuvre as an artist: "Morris Panych is a wonder: a vivid storyteller and brilliant theatrical mind, who is equally at home performing, writing, directing his own original work or classics, and creating multidisciplinary spectacles like The Overcoat. He has an enormous imagination, great empathy, and a wicked sense of humor. I am thrilled to introduce this seminal play to A.C.T. audiences, where it reunites the cutest couple in show business, Olympia Dukakis and Marco Barricelli, in another Canadian adventure."

This is the second time that Dukakis and Barricelli have appeared together on the A.C.T. stage. They previously starred in another Canadian two-hander, For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again, by Michel Tremblay. Made up of a taut, funny, and hard-hitting series of short scenes that pierce into its characters' psyches, Vigil is a tour de force that gives these two veteran actors an exciting opportunity to build on their previous partnership.

The play is set in a run-down attic apartment innovatively realized by scenic designer Ken MacDonald, who is Panych's husband and longtime artistic collaborator (including on The Overcoat). A.C.T.'s properties department has been collecting newspapers for months to create the unkempt world that MacDonald's design envisionS. MacDonald also designed the costumes. Lighting designer Alan Brodie, who also lit The Overcoat, and sound designers/composers Alessandro Juliani and Meg Roe round out the creative team for Vigil.

A.C.T. offers numerous InterACT events in association with Vigil that allow patrons to get closer to the action and save big while making a whole night of their evening at the theater:

• 10UP: World-Class Theater at Happy Hour Prices: Thu., Mar. 25, through Sun., Apr. 3

Get in on 10UP and enjoy the Bay Area's best theater at only $10 a ticket for our second-balcony seats. Bar opens one hour before curtain time-sip discount specialty cocktails, beer, and wine, and then enjoy world-class entertainment in one of the most beautiful theaters in the world. It's theater, only different. Cheers.

• Audience Prologue Featuring Director Morris Panych: Tue., Mar. 30, at 5:30 p.m.

Get inside the artistic process. Join us for this half-hour discussion with the director introducing the production. FREE and open to the public (no tickets required).

• Bring What You Can/Pay What You Wish: Thu., Apr. 1, at 8 p.m.

Pay any amount for your tickets when you bring nonperishable food donations for the San Francisco Food Bank (sffoodbank.org). Patrons are limited to two tickets per donated item, two tickets per person. Tickets go on sale at 6 p.m. the day of the performance. Sponsored by Bank of the West.

• Theater on the Couch: Fri., Apr. 2, at 8 p.m.

Join members of the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis for an exciting post-performance discussion that explores the psychological aspects of the show and addresses audience questions.

• Audience Exchanges: Tue., Apr. 6, at 7 p.m. / Sun., Apr. 11, at 2 p.m. /
Wed., Apr. 14, at 2 p.m.

Join us for lively Q&A sessions with the actors and A.C.T. artistic staff members after these performances.

• OUT with A.C.T.: Wed., Apr. 7, at 8 p.m.

A dynamic series for LGBT theater lovers that includes a catered afterparty with complimentary wine and desserts and a cast meet and greet. Visit www.act-sf.org/out for more information about how to subscribe to OUT nights.

A.C.T.'s production of Vigil is made possible by Blue Shield of California and executive producers Barbara and Gerson Bakar, Burt and Deedee McMurtry, and Patti and Rusty Rueff; producers Lucia Brandon and Bert Steinberg, Carlotta and Robert Dathe, Drs. Caroline Emmett and Russell Rydel, Marilee K. Gardner, Byron R. Meyer, Marion and Emmett Stanton, and Alan L. and Ruth Stein; and associate producers Myrkle and Madeline Deaton, Joan Eckart, Linda Jo Fitz, Drs. Michael and Jane Marmor, Rick and Cindy Simons, and Jack Steinmetz and Richard E. Hall. A.C.T. is sponsored in part by a grant from Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund and would also like to acknowledge its company sponsors Priscilla and Keith Geeslin, Joan Lane, Nancy Livingston and Fred Levin, The Shenson Foundation, Burt and Deedee McMurtry, Kathleen Scutchfield, Mr. and Mrs. Steven L. Swig, Jeff and Laurie Ubben, and Susan Van Wagner.

Photo credit: Peter James Zielinski

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