Mosaic Theater Company's VICUNA & THE AMERICAN EPILOGUE Extended Through December 3

The second show of Mosaic Theater's Season Three, Vicuña & The American Epilogue, has been officially extended through December 3. Written by Jon Robin Baitz (Other Desert Cities; TV's Brothers & Sisters, and Feud Season 2) and directed by Robert Egan, this Trump-inspired satire stars John de Lancie (Star Trek, Breaking Bad) as a real estate mogul about to enter the final presidential debate of the 2016 campaign. It is followed by a haunting post-script set 12 years into the future assessing the state of the nation and all that's been wrought in the election's wake.

"Given the highly relevant nature of this script and the star power of the cast, we expected this show to draw crowds and prompt important discussion" notes Ari Roth, Mosaic's Founding Artistic Director. "The production doesn't even begin previews until November 1, but due to the buzz and early ticket activity surrounding this play and the team working on it, we've decided to add a week of performances now, so theatergoers can plan their visit during the busy Thanksgiving month."

The six performances added to the run of Vicuña & The American Epilogue are: November 29 at 8 PM; November 30 at 8 PM; December 1 at 8 PM; December 2 at 3 PM and 8 PM; and December 3 at 3 PM.

Vicuña was produced to great acclaim during the 2016 campaign season by the Center Group Theatre at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. It centers on the sense of threat that Muslim American and immigrant communities are feeling in the current political climate, as articulated by Amir and Anselm-two bespoke tailors debating whether or not to accept a ludicrous amount of money for a suit made of the finest wool. After the election, Baitz was compelled to write an addendum, based in part on his own well-documented experience in DC on inauguration night. The American Epilogue will have its world premiere at Mosaic Theater Company, and imagines the damage done - to the characters and to the country -- 12 years after the fateful election.

"Put together, Vicuña & The American Epilogue asks two critical questions: How did we get here and where are we going?" added Roth. "The first half of this play is hysterically funny and exceptionally relevant, the second half is mournful, contemplative and speaks directly to the audience. All in all, this is an exceptional evaluation of the American experiment. We are also working closely with community partners, including the respected Essential Partners group from Boston, and SANCTUARY DMV to create productive post-show discussions designed to inspire healing and to engage with organizations working with communities facing anti-immigrant discrimination."

John de Lancie is joined by local favorites Laura C. Harris in the role of the candidate's daughter, Srilanka, and Kimberly Schraf as Senator Kitty Finch-Gibbon, head of the Republican National Committee. Rounding out the cast are stage and film stars Brian George (The Big Bang Theory, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Saved, Keeping the Faith, Seinfeld, The Pink Panther, Hotel Transylvania, Horrible Bosses) as Anselm and Haaz Sleiman (Nurse Jackie, The Visitor, 24, The Promise) as Amir. The production will be directed by Robert Egan, the Artistic Director/Producer of the Ojai Playwrights Conference.

Additional Information about Vicuña & The American Epilogue

Opening Night: Monday, November 6, 2017

Special Performances and Post Show Discussions: PWYC preview on November 1 at 8 PM; Weekday Matinee at 11 AM on November 9; Open Captions provided at 3:00 PM and 8:00 PM on November 11, at 3:00 PM on November 12, and at 8 PM on November 15; Peace Café on November 18 at 3 PM. For a full line-up of post-show discussions and any other information, visit: http://www.mosaictheater.org/vicuna

VALET PARKING NOW AVAILABLE FOR ALL PERFORMANCES

About Jon Robin Baitz

Jon Robin Baitz is an American playwright, screenwriter, television producer, and occasional actor. His plays include Other Desert Cities, The Film Society, The Substance of Fire, Three Hotels, A Fair Country, Ten Unknowns, Mizlansky/Zilinsky, a new version of Ibsen's Hedda Gabler which was produced on Broadway in 2001, and The Paris Letter. He is the creator of the hit ABC TV show Brothers & Sisters, which he also executive produced for the first two seasons. His PBS film version of Three Hotels won a Humanitas Award. Other screenplays include The Substance of Fire based on his play, People I Know, which starred Al Pacino, and Stonewall. He has also written episodes of West Wing and Alias. He is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, a Guggenheim and NEA fellow, an American Academy of Arts & Letters Award winner, and a founding member and former co-artistic director of New York's Naked Angels theatre company. He is the former chair of the play writing division of The New School for Drama in New York, where he taught for seven years. He is currently writing and executive producing Season 2 of FX's Feud (Diana Vs Charles) with Ryan Murphy and ex-Washington Post and NY Times journalist Ned Martel. His next play, Another City, Not My Own, based on Dominick Dunne's book, will be produced by the Mark Taper Forum in L.A. and The Second Stage, on Broadway sometime soonish. He lives in Los Angeles with his husband, graphic novel publisher Leon Avelino, a dog named Pencil, and a cat named Lah-La. He is determined to learn the fundamentals of boxing before he turns eighty-two.

About Robert Egan

Egan has served as the Artistic Director/Producer of the Ojai Playwrights Conference since 2002. He is also the Founder and President of RHEgan Productions, LLC where he conceives, writes, produces, and directs major live events and media projects celebrating non-profits like Cure Autism Now, Operation Smile, LA Team Mentoring, GlobAl Green USA and Homeboy Industries. In 2012 he was named the Artistic Director/Producer of Wattsmedia, Inc., one for the nation's leading companies in strategizing and creating live events and media for corporations and non-profits across the country. Before OPC, Robert served as the Producing Artistic Director for twenty years at the Mark Taper Forum where he was Director of New Play Development and the Founder and Producing Artistic Director of its prestigious New Work Festival. He was also the Associate Artistic Director of the Seattle Repertory Theatre. Robert has produced, directed, and dramaturged over 350 new plays in the United States and Europe.

About Mosaic Theatre Company of DC
Independent, intercultural, entertaining, and uncensored, Mosaic Theater Company of DC is committed to making transformational, socially-relevant art, producing plays by authors on the front lines of conflict zones, and building a fusion community to address some of the most pressing issues of our times. Dedicated to making our theater a model of diversity and inclusion at every strata, on stage and off, Mosaic invests in the new as we keep abreast of our changing and challenging times to ensure that our theater is a responsive gathering space, all the while nurturing and producing art of the highest order. Visit us at mosaictheater.org.

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