Asolo Rep Presents Inside Asolo Rep: BORN YESTERDAY and THE LITTLE FOXES on Today

Asolo Rep will host Inside Asolo Rep: BORN YESTERDAY and THE LITTLE FOXES on Thursday, February 23 at 11am, with refreshments at 10am. This special behind-the-scenes panel will spotlight Asolo Rep's productions of Garson Kanin's classic American comedy BORN YESTERDAY (February 8 - April 15) and Lillian Hellman's gripping drama THE LITTLE FOXES (March 15 - April 15). The panel will feature BORN YESTERDAY director Peter Amster, THE LITTLE FOXES director and two-time Tony® winner Frank Galati, Tracy Michelle Arnold (Regina Giddens, THE LITTLE FOXES), and Christina DeCicco (Billie Dawn, BORN YESTERDAY). This insightful discussion will be helmed by Asolo Rep Dramaturg and Casting Associate Lauryn E. Sasso.

Peter Amster (Director, BORN YESTERDAY) returns to Asolo Rep where he directed Living on Love, The Matchmaker, Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike, You Can't Take it With You, Fallen Angels, Deathtrap, The Perfume Shop, This Wonderful Life and choreographed 1776. In Chicago, he was nominated for Joseph Jefferson Awards for directing Once on this Island, The World Goes Round, The Rothschilds (Apple Tree Theatre), and Pride and Prejudice (Northlight Theatre). Other Chicago area theatres include Steppenwolf, the Goodman, the Court, Live Bait, Pegasus, and Route 66. Regional theatres include the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespeare Festival, ACT, Syracuse Stage, Geva Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, American Repertory Theater, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Peninsula Players, Weston Playhouse, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, and Laguna Playhouse. Peter has directed and choreographed operas for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Opera Theater, Skylight Opera in Milwaukee, and Light Opera Works in Evanston, IL.

Tracy Michelle Arnold* (Regina Giddens, THE LITTLE FOXES ) is delighted to make her Asolo Rep debut. She is a Core Company member with American Players Theatre, where she has spent 17 seasons. APT credits include Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire, Cleopatra in Antony & Cleopatra, Arkadina in The Seagull, Kate in The Taming of the Shrew, Judith in Hay Fever, and Julie in The Royal Family. Other regional credits include: Other Desert Cities at Goodman Theatre; A Midsummer Night's Dream, Private Lives at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre; Red Herring, The Chalk Garden, Lady Windermere's Fan at Northlight Theatre; The Other Place at Forward Theatre; The Lion in Winter at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre.

Christina DeCicco* (Billie Dawn, BORN YESTERDAY) On Broadway, Christina starred as Eva Perón opposite Ricky Martin in Evita, Arachne in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and Sister Mary Robert (u/s) in Sister Act. She toured as Glinda in the Stephen Schwartz hit Wicked and starred Off-Broadway as Cindy Lou Huffington in the jukebox musical The Marvelous Wonderettes. Regionally, she has been seen as Elmire in Tartuffe; Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; Gabriella in Boeing, Boeing; Barbara Rose in War of the Roses; Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins; Betty Schaefer in Sunset Boulevard; and Eponine in LES MISERABLES. BA Wagner

Frank Galati (Director, THE LITTLE FOXES) is a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago. Last September his adaptation of John Steinbeck's East of Eden opened the theatre's 40thanniversary season. Over the years, he has received nine Joseph Jefferson Awards for his work in Chicago theatre. Here at Asolo Rep he has directed Guess Who's Coming to Dinner; Both Your Houses; Philadelphia, Here I Come; 1776; My Fair Lady; Twelve Angry Men. He has directed at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Rep, Mark Taper Forum, Long Wharf Theatre, Chicago Opera Theatre, San Francisco Opera, Dallas Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, The Stratford Festival in Canada, and the Roundabout Theatre in New York. For 20 years he was an Associate Director at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. He won two Tony Awards in 1990 for his adaptation and direction of the Steppenwolf production of The Grapes of Wrath on Broadway and was nominated again in 1998 for directing Ragtime on Broadway. In 1989, Mr. Galati was nominated for an Academy Award for his screenplay (with Lawrence Kasdan) of The Accidental Tourist. In 2000 he was inducted into The American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Mr. Galati is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Performance Studies at Northwestern University. He lives in Sarasota.

Thursday, February 23
Refreshments: 10am
Panel Discussion: 11am

FSU Center for the Performing Arts
Cook Theatre
5555 N. Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34243

Panel discussion tickets are just $5 for the general public and are free for all donors and Asolo Rep Guild members. To reserve your tickets, call the Asolo Rep Box Office at 941.351.8000 or visit www.asolorep.org.

Inside Asolo Rep is sponsored by Hotel Indigo and the Observer

ABOUT BORN YESTERDAY

February 8-April 15
By Garson Kanin
Directed by Peter Amster

A Broadway triumph and 1950 Academy Award-nominated film, this deliciously witty comedy is also a biting commentary on politics and the power of female persuasion. With his ex-showgirl girlfriend Billie Dawn in tow, junkyard magnate Harry Brock moves to Washington D.C. where he hopes to break into some "special interest" business with an ethically-challenged senator. When Billie's lack of social graces embarrasses even him, Harry hires a young reporter to give her the polish she needs to get ahead in D.C. society. But Harry gets more than he bargained for when, in a deliriously funny turn of events, he discovers a little bit of learning can be a dangerous thing.

ABOUT THE LITTLE FOXES

March 15-April 15
By Lillian Hellman
Directed by Frank Galati

Relevant, ruthless and gripping, Lillian Hellman's chronicle of the dark side of the American Dream is a masterpiece of 20th century drama. In the racially stratified South of 1900, Regina Giddens and her two brothers are wealthy cotton growers who have a chance to become even wealthier by investing in a new mill. But the siblings still need $75,000 to seal the deal, which they attempt to swindle from Regina's ailing husband. And so the sinister games begin as the siblings scheme, connive, and exploit to gain control of the family business and fortune. A skewering social critique of greed and corruption first produced in 1939, Hellman's portrayal of class and power remains as potent and compelling as ever.

Contains strong language including historical racial epithets, as well as mature themes.

ABOUT ASOLO REP

Now in its 58th season, Asolo Repertory Theatre is recognized as one of the premier professional theatres in America and one of the largest in the Southeastern United States. One of the few select theatres in the nation that performs in true rotating repertory, Asolo Rep's highly skilled Acting Company and extensive craftsmanship bring to life this unique performance method that gives audiences the opportunity to see multiple productions in the span of a few days. Asolo Rep presents up to 15 productions each season including contemporary and classic works and provocative musical theatre experiences. A theatre district in and of itself, Asolo Rep is committed to expanding its reach into the community, furthering its collaboration with the best theatre artists working in the industry today and cultivating new artists through its affiliation with the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. Under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Michael Donald Edwards and Managing Director Linda DiGabriele, Asolo Rep's ambitious theatrical offerings and ground-breaking education and outreach programming engage audiences and ensure its lasting legacy for future generations.

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