Tuesday, March 15, 2011

World Premiere of Comedy Spoon Lake Blues Rounds Out Alliance Theatre’s Hertz Stage Series

The comedy Spoon Lake Blues makes its World Premiere on the Alliance Theatre’s Hertz Stage April 1-24, 2011 with opening night scheduled for Wednesday, April 6. Written by former Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition finalist Josh Tobiessen, this exciting new work directed by Davis McCallum is certain to cleverly stimulate both the funny bones and the minds of Atlanta audiences.

The play follows the plight of two brothers who leave no stones, stereotypes or septic tanks unturned. Thinking burglary is a solution to saving their house from the bank, the pair steal a photograph of a woman who is everything they are is not—educated, wealthy, upwardly mobile and African-American. From that, a bold and brazen new caper is born.

“This explosive new comedy challenges the male-female relationship dynamic where the female is the more successful, driven individual who accepts the less-than ambitious male for who and what he is – and doesn’t try to change him,” said Jennings Hertz Jr. Artistic Director Susan V. Booth. “It’s overtly humorous.”

In a bold new play, Josh Tobiessen returns to the Alliance Theatre with his most recent work. Tobiessen wrote this piece after his 2007-2008 Kendeda finalist script, Election Day, received glowing reviews in its New York premiere. The production of Spoon Lake Blues marks the first time a Kendeda alumni returns to the Alliance Theatre.

The cast of Spoon Lake Blues features fresh talent, all making their Alliance Stage debuts, including Veronika Duerr as Abigail, Jimi Kocina as Brady, Lakisha Michelle May as Caitlin, and Luke Robertson as Denis.

Spoon Lake Blues will be performed on the Hertz Stage with previews beginning on Friday, April 1 at 8:00 p.m. Opening night is Wednesday, April 6. Performances continue through Sunday, April 24 with Tuesday through Saturday evening performances at 8:00 p.m. Weekend matinees are scheduled on Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Sunday evening performances are at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets start at $25 and are available at the Woodruff Arts Center Box Office by calling 404.733.5000 or online at alliancetheatre.org. Discount rates for groups of 10 or more are available by calling 404-733-4690. Discount rates are also available for members of the military, seniors and students. The Alliance Theatre is located at the Woodruff Arts Center, corner of Peachtree & 15th Street, in Midtown Atlanta.

About the Alliance Theatre

Atlanta’s nationally acclaimed Alliance Theatre, recipient of the 2007 Regional Theatre Tony Award®, creates the powerful experience of shared theatre for diverse people of all ages. Under the leadership of Jennings Hertz, Jr. Artistic Director Susan V. Booth, the Alliance Theatre uses contemporary classics, field leading theatre artists and a commitment to premiere as the foundation for a national theatre with a local address. The theatre’s two stages host 200,000 adult and youth patrons each season, and the Alliance engages and educates students and teachers of all ages through its extensive training programs and commitment to providing a community forum for connection and dialogue.

The Alliance leads the national regional theatre field in the creation of significant American musicals and plays. This includes over 70 premieres that have enjoyed future lives in theatres across the country as well as Tony Award®-winning moves to Broadway: Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida and Alfred Uhry’s The Last Night of Ballyhoo. Following their Atlanta premieres, the Alliance transferred Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away to Broadway for a critically acclaimed Tony Award®-nominated run while Sister Act: the Musical will arrive on Broadway this season after its run on London’s West End. This season, the Alliance produced the World Premiere of Bring It On: The Musical. The Alliance also originated the national tours of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk.

The Alliance enjoys a national reputation for finding and developing Atlanta artists for the national stage, including New York Times bestseller Pearl Cleage whose The Nacirema Society Requests the Honor of Your Presence at a Celebration of Their First One Hundred Years received its world premiere in the fall of 2010 at the Alliance. Further evidence of the Alliance’s commitment to new work is its nationally recognized National Graduate Playwriting Competition, a cutting-edge program introducing student playwrights to professional networks across the country while producing the world premiere of the winning student’s work here at the Alliance. Work by past Competition winners has gone on to be produced by theatres in New York, Chicago, London, San Francisco and beyond.

The Alliance continuously brings Atlanta the finest talent and finest art—proving once again that the Alliance is where great theatre lives. The Alliance Theatre is a division of the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia, which also houses the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum of Art and Young Audiences.


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