HIGH Plays Royal Alexandra Theatre, Now thru 5/13
By: BWW News Desk May. 08, 2012
Two-time Golden Globe® winner, Academy Award® & Tony Award® nominee Kathleen Turner returns to Toronto in the National Tour of Matthew Lombardo's play HIGH, tonight, May 8 through May 13, 2012, at The Royal Alexandra Theatre. Directed by Rob Ruggiero, HIGH also features Evan Jonigkeit as "Cody Randall" and Timothy Altmeyer as "Father Michael Delpapp".
HIGH had its World Premiere in Hartford, Connecticut at TheatreWorks where it broke all box office records, becoming the highest grossing play in that theatre's 25 year history. The production then went on to play Cincinnati's Playhouse in the Park and The Repertory Theatre of Saint Louis, again ranking amongst the top 5 most popular plays in those venues. HIGH was also presented on Broadway last season, where Ms. Turner was nominated for a Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance and Mr. Jonigkeit was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play.
Ms. Turner is no stranger to Toronto audiences, having previously appeared in The Graduate at the Canon Theatre (recently renamed the Ed Mirvish Theatre). "I am so glad to be continuing my work on this extraordinary play", Turner said in a statement. 'High' has been a compelling, rewarding experience and I am looking forward to bringing this tour to Mirvish audiences in Toronto."
HIGH is produced by Ann Cady Scott & Timothy J. Hampton in association with The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. The design team includes David Gallo (sets), Jess Goldstein (costumes) John Lasiter (lighting) and Vincent Olivieri (sound & original music).
When Sister Jamison Connelly (Turner) agrees to sponsor a 19 year-old drug user in an effort to help him combat his addiction, her own faith is ultimately tested. Struggling between the knowledge she possesses as a rehabilitation counselor and a woman of religious conviction, she begins to question her belief in miracles and whether people can find the courage to change. HIGH explores the universal themes of truth, forgiveness, redemption and human fallibility.
HIGH contains mature themes, strong language, and nudity.
Kathleen Turner (Sister Jamison Connelly)
Kathleen Turner has gained critical acclaim for her performances in various movies including Body Heat (Golden Globe nomination); Romancing the Stone and Prizzi's Honor, both of which earned her a Golden Globe Award; Peggy Sue Got Married, which brought Turner both an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe nomination; and War of the Roses, which earned her yet another Golden Globe nomination. Turner's extensive film credits also include The Man with Two Brains with Steve Martin, Jewel of the Nile with Michael Douglas, The Accidental Tourist; V.I. Warshawski, Serial Mom, Naked in New York, Moonlight and Valentino, The Real Blonde and The Virgin Suicides. She has starred on Broadway in Gemini, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, for which she received a Tony nomination; and also Indiscretions, The Graduate and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, for which she received a second Tony nomination and an Evening Standard Award in London for Best Actress; and High for which she was nominated for a DramaLeague Award for Distinguished Performance. Ms. Turner had a major recurring role last season playing the role of Sue Collini on Showtime's hit series, "Californication". Last spring, she starred as newspaper columnist Molly Ivins in the world premiere of Red Hot Patriot: The Kick Ass Wit of Molly Ivins at Philadelphia Theater Center, and immediately after starred in the independent film The Perfect Family. In addition to her film and stage credits, her 2008 autobiography titled Send Yourself Roses: Thoughts on my Life, Love, and Leading Roles secured a position on the New York Times Best Seller List.
Evan Jonigkeit – (Cody Randall)
Evan was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for his performance in High on Broadway. Regional: High (TheatreWorks Hartford, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park); title role in Romeo and Juliet, The History Boys (Arden Theatre Company); Never the Sinner, Misanthrope (Mauckingbird Theatre Company); A Streetcar Named Desire, Natural History (Walnut Street Theatre); The Glass Menagerie, Rose Tattoo and the East Coast premiere of David Henry Hwang's Tibet Through the Red Box (Cape Rep Theatre); World Premiere of Pay Up (Pig Iron Theatre Company). Film and television: "As the World Turns;" Fox Television's "Greatest Sport Stories" and numerous commercials and independent films. He is a graduate of Temple University.
Timothy Altmeyer - (Father Michael DelPapp)
Broadway: High, Looped, and Oscar Wilde's Salome: The Reading. Off-Broadway: Occupant, The Last of the Thorntons, Three Tall Women. Regional: Dead Man's Cell Phone, Strike-Slip, Take Me Out, The Crucible, One, The Notebook of Trigorin. Film: Five Years (The Hidden). Assistant professor, School of Theatre and Dance at University of Florida.
Matthew Lombardo – (Playwright)
Broadway: High (Booth Theatre) and Looped (Lyceum Theatre). Other New York credits include Tea at Five at the Promenade Theatre (IRNE Award for Best Solo Play), Mother and Child at Second Stage, Guilty Innocence at The Actors' Playhouse, and directing Chuck Ranberg's End of the World Party at the 47th Street Theatre. His work has been seen at regional theaters across the country, including Arena Stage, Seattle Rep, Hartford Stage, Cleveland Play House, CenterStage, American Repertory Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Repertory Theatre of Saint Louis and others.
Rob Ruggiero – (Director)
This is his second collaboration with playwright Matthew Lombardo, having made his Broadway debut last season with Looped starring Valerie Harper in a Tony nominated performance. Other New York credits include High (Booth Theatre) All Under Heaven, as well as conceiving and directing the original musical revue Make Me a Song: The Music of William Finn (Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Nominations). His work has been seen at major regional theaters around the country, including: Arena Stage, Barrington Stage Company, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Guthrie Theater, Hartford Stage, Long Wharf Theater, Pittsburgh Public Theater, and The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (where he has directed award winning productions of Take Me Out, Urinetown, the Musical and The Little Dog Laughed). For Goodspeed Musicals, he has directed productions of 1776, Big River, Camelot, Annie Get Your Gun, and will be directing their upcoming production of Show Boat this summer. He conceived and directed Ella (Kevin Kline and Joseph Jefferson Awards), which has played over twenty regional stages since 2005 and recently began a National Tour. He has been a partner in the artistic leadership of TheaterWorks in Hartford, Connecticut since 1992. Visit www.robruggiero.com
David Gallo – (Set Designer)
Selected Broadway: High, Memphis, Reasons To Be Pretty, Xanadu; Radio Golf (Tony nom.), Company, The Drowsy Chaperone (Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards), Gem of the Ocean (Tony nom.), Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Thoroughly Modern Millie (also London), King Hedley II, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, A View from the Bridge; Jackie: An American Life (also London), and Hughie. Selected off-Broadway: The Third Story, Evil Dead, The Wild Party, Jitney (also London), Wonder of the World, A New Brain, Bunny Bunny, and Blue Man Group. Drama Desk, American Theatre Wing, Lucille Lortel, Hewes Design, Outer Critics Circle, Ovation, AUDELCO, Barrymore, Acclaim, Obie and Eddy Awards. Represented American set design at The Cooper-Hewitt Design Triennial. The Smithsonian National Archive.
Jess Goldstein – (Costume Designer)
Career highlights include High with Kathleen Turner, The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino, Jersey Boys, Lincoln Center Theater's The Rivals (Tony Award), Henry IV (Tony nomination) and The Most Happy Fella, Next Fall, The Apple Tree with Kristin Chenoweth, Enchanted April, Proof, Julius Caesar with Denzel Washington, The Homecoming, Stuff Happens, Sight Unseen, How I Learned to Drive, Take Me Out, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Tea at Five, Far East, The Mineola Twins (Lortel and Hewes Awards), When She Danced, Buried Child, Jack O'Brien's II Trittico for The Metropolitan Opera, and the feature films A Walk on the Moon, The Substance of Fire and Love! Valour! Compassion! He is a graduate of The Yale School of Drama and has taught design there since 1990.
John Lasiter- (Lighting Designer)
made his Broadway design debut with Matthew Lombardo's High. Off-Broadway: Make Me a Song: The Music of William Finn, Alarm Dog Repertory Company, Blue Light Theater Company and Music Theatre Group. Regional: Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arena Stage, Arizona Repertory Theatre, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Centerstage Baltimore, Cleveland Play House, Dallas Theater Center, Florida Stage, George Street Playhouse, Geva Theatre, Goodspeed Musicals, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, New Mexico Repertory Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theater, South Coast Repertory, Syracuse Stage, Virginia Stage Company and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. OPERA: Eos Orchestra, The Curtis Institute of Music, Glimmerglass Opera, Gotham Opera, Manhattan School of Music, Opera Delaware, Opera Carolina and Skylight Opera Theatre. DANCE: Ballet Memphis, Danzantes LA, Danzantes New Mexico, Randy James Dance Works.
www.johnlasiter.com
Vincent Olivieri – (Sound Designer and Composer)
Broadway debut High. Off-Broadway: The Water's Edge, Omnium-Gatherum, and Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy. New York credits include: The Public, The Juilliard School, and 59E59. Regional: Actors Theatre of Louisville, Barrington Stage Company, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Center Stage (Baltimore), Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Portland Center Stage, South Coast Repertory, Syracuse Stage, Theatre Novi Most (Minneapolis), TheatreWorks (Hartford), Woolly Mammoth, Virginia Stage Company, and Yale Repertory Theatre. He has created designs for world-premiere productions by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Kirsten Greenidge, Lauren Gunderson, Howard Korder, Matthew Lombardo, Charles L. Mee, Adam Rapp, Theresa Rebeck, and August Wilson. International work includes productions in Italy, China, and South Korea. He is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and serves on the faculty at University of California-Irvine.
Joe RossI – (Special Hair and Makeup Designer)
is Department Head of Effects Makeup on ABC's "Body of Proof". He was Makeup Department Head on the Disney feature Underdog, Brotherhood, Outside Providence, and was Key Makeup Artist on David Mamet's State and Main. Film work includes The Fighter, Shutter Island, War of the Worlds, Meet Joe Black, The Human Stain, and Moonlight Mile. He was makeup artist for Michael Douglas in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. He has provided makeup for political leaders including President Clinton and Vice President Albert Gore. He has designed makeup for the world premiere productions of the Philip Glass opera Fall of the House of Usher, and The Balcony, performed at the Bolshoi. He has designed makeup for many opera companies including Opera Company of Boston, New York City Opera and the Washington Opera.
Royal Alexandra Theatre - 260 King Street West
Tickets: $50- $110
Performance Schedule:
Tuesday May 8 - 8pm
Wednesday May 9 - 8pm
Thursday May 10 - 8pm
Friday May 11 - 8pm
Saturday May 12 - 2pm & 8pm
Sunday May 13 - 2pm & 7pm
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