Tarragon Theatre's SEXTET Opens Tonight

Tarragon Theatre proudly presents the world premiere of Sextet, written and directed by the prolific, award-winning Morris Panych, one of Canada's most celebrated playwrights and directors. Chock-full of Panych's trademark wit, this hilarious comic drama about six sexually entangled musicians on an ill-fated winter tour opens tonight, November 12 and runs to December 14 (previewed from November 5) in Tarragon's Mainspace.

Six musicians find themselves stranded at their hotel in a snowstorm, with only their instruments and each other to keep them warm. Where will everyone sleep when everyone has slept with everyone else? Underscored by their struggles to come to terms with their failing careers, failing marriages and unfulfilled desires, the sextet tries to prepare for a show; weather permitting. How long can they keep their composure before a blizzard of sexual confusion buries them all? This well-orchestrated game of "musical rooms" is also an homage to the transcendent power of beautiful music.

In a recent Toronto Star interview, Panych said: "I have to admit that the whole play started with the title: Sex-tet. There it was. A whole comedy just waiting to be explored. So I extrapolated from the title and found myself with six musicians who'd be playing a sextetŠIf you go on YouTube and watch any classical sextet playing together, you'll see what an intense emotional connection they have with each other. It's every bit as emotionally engaging as sex, only it's aimed on a much higher planeŠMusic is one of the most important cohesive elements in our social arrangements and so is sex. Sex is part of what we've been given to connect to something higher, something greater, and so is music. I guess the difference is that music is sublime, like a sunset, while sex is awesome, like macaroni and cheese."

Sextet features a stellar sextet on stage: Damien Atkins (2014 Dora Award for Outstanding Male Performance for Canadian Stage's London Road and nominated for same for Soulpepper's Angels in America Part II: Perestroika), Laura Condlln (The Crucible, The Norman Conquests for Soulpepper; Canadian Stage's THIS - Dora nomination; 11 seasons at the Stratford Festival); Bruce Dow (Dora Award for Buddies in Bad Times Theatre's PIG and Of A Monstrous Child; Helen Hayes nominee; Broadway and Stratford Festival veteran); Matthew Edison (Tarragon's An Enemy of the People, The Real World?; Canadian Stage's Proof - Dora nomination); Canadian Comedy Award winner Rebecca Northan (Blind Date for World Stage, Harbourfront Centre which then toured to off-Broadway and London's West End; Canadian Stage's Seven Stories, Dream in High Park); and Jordan Pettle (Tarragon's Generous and Goodness; Soulpepper's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead - Ensemble Dora Award, Speed-the-Plow, Glengarry Glen Ross; Outside the March/ Convergence/ Sheep No Wool's Passion Play - Ensemble Dora Award; Zadie's Shoes for Factory Theatre).

Morris Panych is back again at Tarragon, adding to his long list of acclaimed black comedies, including The Amorous Adventures of Anatol, 7 Stories, Vigil, Lawrence and Holloman, Girl in the Goldfish Bowl, Earshot, The Dishwashers and Benevolence. His plays have garnered countless awards including two Governor General's Literary Awards for Drama (for The Ends of the Earth and Girl in a Goldfish Bowl), fourteen Jessie Richardson Awards, and five Dora Mavor Moore Awards. He has directed over 100 theatre productions across Canada and the U.S. including Parfumerie, The Government Inspector, Blithe Spirit, Ghosts (Soulpepper); The Arsonists, Art, Amadeus, Sweeney Todd and the groundbreaking The Overcoat which toured internationally to great acclaim (Canadian Stage); The Doctor's Dilemma, A Little Night Music, Nothing Sacred, Design for Living, The Admirable Crichton, Our Betters, Arms and the Man (Shaw Festival); and Moby Dick, The Trespassers, Wanderlust (Stratford Festival). The much-lauded A.C.T. (San Francisco) production of Vigil starring Olympia Dukakis and Mario Barricelli was remounted at the Mark Taper Theatre in Los Angeles in 2011. His In Absentia premiered at Montreal's Centaur Theatre in 2012 and The Shoplifters, just this past fall at Arena Stage, Washington DC.

Set and costume design is by Ken MacDonald, winner of the 2014 Dora Award for Outstanding Scenic Design for Tarragon's Marry Me a Little; lighting design is by Dora Award-winning Kimberly Purtell; and sound design is by the Dora Award-winning Thomas Ryder Payne. The stage manager is Kate Porter.

Tarragon Theatre presents the world premiere of Sextet, written and directed by Morris Panych. Starring Damien Atkins, Laura Condlln, Bruce Dow, Matthew Edison, Rebecca Northan and Jordan Pettle. With Set and Costume Design by Ken MacDonald; Lighting Design by Kimberly Purtell; and Sound Design by Thomas Ryder Payne.

Opens tonight, November 12 and runs to December 14, 2014 (previews from November 5) Tarragon Theatre's Mainspace, 30 Bridgman Avenue, Toronto, M5R 1X3 Tuesday-Saturday at 8pm; Sunday at 2:30pm and select Saturdays at 2:30pm: Nov.15, Nov. 22, Nov. 29.

Regular Tickets: $29-$55 (Previews: $23-$27). Cheap Seats: For every performance beginning November 13, 10% of the house is available for specially priced $15 tickets at the door, starting at 6pm for evening performances and 1pm for matinees. Tickets can be purchased through Patron Services at 416.531.1827 or by visiting www.tarragontheatre.com.

ABOUT TARRAGON THEATRE - Tarragon Theatre is one of Canada's most important arts institutions. For 44 years, Tarragon Theatre has created, developed and produced new plays by home-grown artists as well as significant works from the world stage, vitally contributing to the important legacy of a Canadian culture. Since its founding, over 190 works have premiered at Tarragon and over 500 scripts have been created and workshopped, receiving 34 nominations and 11 wins for the Governor General's Literary Award. Tarragon received the 2012 Premier's Award for Excellence in the Arts in recognition of producing and developing leading edge and thought-provoking Canadian Theatre, both nationally and on the world stage. Richard Rose has been the Artistic Director since 2002. For more information visit www.tarragontheatre.com.

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