Tickets to CrazyLady's A George F. Walker Double Bill Now on Sale

Tickets go on sale today for CrazyLady's presentation of A George F. Walker Double Bill which includes the Toronto premiere of Parents Night and the world premiere of The Bigger Issue from this highly acclaimed, award-winning playwright. These two deeply humane but razor-sharp comedies run as a double bill, April 23 to May 17 (previews from April 21) at Theatre Passe Muraille's Mainspace.

CrazyLady is a new Toronto-based theatre company co-founded by theatre artists Wes Berger, Sarah Murphy-Dyson (Co-Artistic Producers) and George F. Walker (Creative Consultant). Parents Night and The Bigger Issue are the first two installments by Mr. Walker of a four- to six-play cycle, renamed "After Class," his first since the iconic "Suburban Motel" series from 1997.

In this new cycle of work, Mr. Walker turns his incisive eye towards the crumbling education system, and finds a stimulating and important new arena for his ferocious and finely honed wit, and the unique and provocative trademark characters that he is known for.

These are two funny, touching truthful new plays for anyone who's ever been a teacher. Or had a teacher. Or had a parent. Or wanted another kind of parent.

Parents Night is a scathing and hilarious look inside an elementary school classroom while The Bigger Issue examines the fragile ecosystem of a Junior High grade seven classroom. Both are played out in real time. Parents Night premiered in a CrazyLady/The Pearl Company co-production in Hamilton this past October. The same artistic team recreates their roles for the Toronto premiere. Wes Berger directs Sarah Murphy-Dyson, Matthew Olver and Dana Puddicombe in both plays; newcomer Julia Heximer joins them for the debut of The Bigger Issue.

Parents Night - Toronto Premiere John is Patrick's father. He's a wealthy businessman with domestic issues and a tendency to paranoia. Rosie is Sonya's mother. She's a working class mum with an exotic past and a serious attitude problem. Nicole is Patrick and Sonya's Grade 3 teacher. Her life is even more complicated. At the school's parent's night, secrets are revealed and what's left are three flawed individuals on the brink: a teacher, no longer content to dole out platitudes; a father, trying not to let his anger and pain affect his son; and a mother, hoping that her own mistakes don't spell the fate of her daughter.

The Bigger Issue - World Premiere
The Bigger Issue stands at the volatile intersection of poverty, violence and mental health. Suzy is a young grade seven teacher struggling to do her best under the watchful eye of her principal Irene, caught between the needs of her students and the demands of an out-of-touch administration. After a troubling incident with a student, both are confronted by his parents, Maggie and Jack, a couple trying to do their best for their son under extreme circumstances. With the family's survival hanging in the balance, The Bigger Issue is complex as well as surprising and intensely funny.

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