Single tickets on sale now for stellar PICT 2012 season
“Get Turned On” with local, national and internationally-acclaimed artists who bring the world to our stages in a titillating Pulitzer finalist by a leading American female playwright, a true story, an exploration of the comedic facets of a Russian master (and the great Irishman who was inspired by him), and a zany holiday farce!
Media Contact: Melissa Hill Grande
Associate Artistic Director and Director of Marketing
Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre
mgrande@picttheatre.org
412-561-6000 x203
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Pittsburgh, PA – March 20, 2012. PICT has assembled a team of world-class artists to bring the 2012 season to life, including Simon Bradbury, Alan Stanford, Matt DeCaro, Linda Kimbrough, Brad Heberlee, Megan McDermott, Melinda Helfrich, Nike Doukas, Leo Marks, and Jessica Frances Dukes. Top-notch local favorites gracing the PICT stage this season include Helena Ruoti, David Whalen, Larry John Meyers and Martin Giles.
Leading off the 2012 season is the Pittsburgh premiere of Sarah Ruhl’s Pulitzer finalist, In the Next Room or the vibrator play, featuring Brad Heberlee as Dr. Givings, Megan McDermott as Catherine Givings, Jessica Frances Dukes as Elizabeth, and Melinda Helfrich as Sabrina Daldry.
Heberlee has performed with The Civilians, as well as with such companies as Pearl Theatre Company, Atlantic Theatre Company, SoHo Rep, Denver Center Theatre Company, Weston Playhouse, Milwaukee Rep and Actors Theatre of Louisville. He holds an MFA from Yale School of Drama.
McDermott just finished an acclaimed co-production of Time Stands Still at Delaware Theatre Company and ACT2 Playhouse in Philadelphia. She has worked with such companies as The Wilma Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, and McCarter Theatre Center. She is also a company member in PICT’s Chekhov Celebration.
Dukes reprises the role she played in the wildly successful Woolly Mammoth production. She comes to Pittsburgh straight from Geva in Rochester, where she is doing A Raisin in the Sun.
Helfrich played the title role in Ruhl’s Eurydice at Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. Her Pittsburgh credits include productions with Quantum Theatre and City Theatre. She is currently performing in City Theatre’s The Monster in the Hall. The production is directed by Alan Stanford and also features Lissa Brennan (Salome), Philip Winters (Synge Cycle, Pride & Prejudice), and Denver Milord in his PICT debut.
Scenic design is by Gianni Downs, lighting by Andrew David Ostrowski, Costumes by Pei-Chi Su, and sound design by Mark Whitehead. In the Next Room or the vibrator play performs April 19 through May 5 in the Charity Randall Theatre.
The Pitmen Painters by Lee Hall, author of Billy Elliott, is the second play in the PICT 2012 season. Simon Bradbury stars as Oliver Kilbourn, with Alan Stanford as Harry Wilson and Linda Kimbrough as Helen Sutherland.
Originally from Northern England, Simon Bradbury is the 2010 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Performer of the Year, and spent 17 seasons at the Shaw Festival in Canada. His previous PICT productions include acting in Chaplin, The Shaughraun, BeckettFest, King Lear, Rock ‘n’ Roll, and Hobson’s Choice, and directing What the Butler Saw. He recently toured the world as a headliner for Cirque du Soleil in Ovo.
One of Ireland’s best-loved sons and a recent transplant to Pittsburgh, Alan Stanford is the PICT 2012 artist in residence. Stanford makes his second on-stage appearance at PICT, following his inimitable Lady Bracknell in last year’s The Importance of Being Earnest. Stanford has a long association with Dublin’s famed Gate Theatre, where he has directed numerous productions including Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol, and God of Carnage. He has toured the world over the past decade as Pozzo in the Gate Theatre production of Waiting for Godot. Stanford is also a company member in PICT’s Chekhov Celebration, directing Brian Friel’s Afterplay and The Yalta Game, and starring as Count Shabelsky in Ivanov and Svetlovidov in Swan Song.
Chicago actor Linda Kimbrough returns to PICT, where she played in Pride and Prejudice and The History Boys. Kimbrough’s recent credits include the Northlight Theatre production of Hugh Leonard’s A Life opposite John Mahoney, and The Gospel According to James at Victory Gardens and Indiana Repertory Theatres.
The play is directed by Andrew S. Paul and also features Daryll Heysham (Othello, The Mask of Moriarty), Larry John Meyers (Endgame, Pinter Celebration, Uncle Vanya), and Sean Sears (Antony & Cleopatra). Rachel McKeon and Bernie Balbot make their PICT debuts.
Scenic design is by Gianni Downs, costume design by Rachel S. Parent, lighting design by Jim French, and projection design by Jessi Sedon-Essad. The Pitmen Painters plays in the Henry Heymann Theatre May 31 through June 23.
An outstanding repertory company has been assembled from across the country for “Tragedian in Spite of Himself: A Celebration of the Life and Theatre of Anton Chekhov”. The Chekhov celebration includes productions of Three Sisters and Ivanov, as well as two evenings of short plays: After Chekhov, featuring Brian Friel’s Chekhov-inspired Afterplay and The Yalta Game, and Funny Chekhov, featuring The Bear, The Proposal, Swan Song, Drama and On the Evils of Tobacco.
Nike Doukas and Leo Marks come to Pittsburgh from Los Angeles. Doukas will play Olga in Three Sisters, Anna Petrovna in Ivanov and Popova in The Bear, and will direct The Proposal. Her previous PICT credits include An Ideal Husband, Pinter Celebration, and last season’s critically-acclaimed House and Garden. She has an MFA from the American Conservatory Theatre and is a regular presence at theatres throughout Southern California including South Coast Rep and The Old Globe in San Diego. Marks is Baron Tuzenbach in Three Sisters and Dr. Lvov in Ivanov, and will direct Swan Song. Marks was a member of the Pinter Celebration company, and played in The Hot House, Betrayal and Celebration. Other PICT credits include Antony & Cleopatra, House & Garden, and The Importance of Being Earnest. The OBIE Award-winning actor was a founding member of New York’s acclaimed Elevator Repair Service, and has appeared at some of the most respected theatres in the country, including The Shakespeare Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Actors Theater of Louisville, the Old Globe and Intiman.
New York-based actor Christian Conn makes his PICT debut as Andrei in Three Sisters and Lomov in The Proposal. Conn has worked with some of the most prominent regional theatres in America, including multiple productions with Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, The Shakespeare Theatre, Playmaker’s Rep and Syracuse Stage. His recent credits include Studio Theatre’s hit production of Venus in Furs, and Pittsburgh Public Theater’s As You Like It.
Four-time Joseph Jefferson Award-winner Matt DeCaro returns to PICT to play Borkin in Ivanov and Chubukov in The Proposal. Based in Chicago, DeCaro’s previous PICT credits include The Lieutenant of Inishmore and King Lear. Other stage credits include David Mamet’s Romance at the Goodman Theatre and Glengarry Glen Ross at Steppenwolf, which also played at the Dublin Theatre Festival.
The Chekhov company also includes Pittsburgh’s greatest leading actors, including former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Actor of the Year award winners David Whalen, Helena Ruoti, Larry John Meyers, and Martin Giles.
David Whalen returns to PICT this season to play Vershinin in Three Sisters. He also headlines Friel’s The Yalta Game. He recently played Sherlock Holmes in PICT’s record-breaking production of The Mask of Moriarty. Other PICT credits include The Importance of Being Earnest, Pinter Celebration, Doubt, and The Lieutenant of Inishmore.
Pittsburgh favorite Helena Ruoti returns to PICT to play Zinaida Lebedev in Ivanov and Sonya in Afterplay. Ruoti’s other recent PICT credits include the queen in Antony & Cleopatra, House & Garden, Rock ‘n’ Roll, and What the Butler Saw.
Martin Giles plays Lebedev in Ivanov, Andrei in Afterplay, and directs The Bear. Giles’ acting credits with PICT include Dr. Watson in The Mask of Moriarty, as well as House & Garden, Pinter Celebration, Synge Cycle and BeckettFest. His directing credits include the world premiere of his original work Beautiful Dreamers, as well as The Dumbwaiter in Pinter Celebration and The Well of the Saints in Synge Cycle.
Larry John Meyers plays Chebutykin in Three Sisters and Nyukhin in The Evils of Tobacco, and will direct Drama. His other PICT credits include The Hot House in Pinter Celebration, Endgame in BeckettFest, Crime and Punishment, and Stuff Happens.
Thrilling young actresses Vera Varlamov (Irina in Three Sisters) and Katya Stepanov (Sasha in Ivanov) make their professional debuts. The Chekhov company also includes PICT newcomers Christian Conn, Adrian Enscoe, Colette Freiwald, Billy Hepfinger, Megan McDermott, and Jonathan Visser. Returning to PICT are Joe Domencic (Hobson’s Choice), James FitzGerald (The Mask of Moriarty, The Importance of Being Earnest), Robert Haley (Stuff Happens), Alan Stanford (The Importance of Being Earnest), and Terry Wickline (Too Clever by Half) . Harriet Power makes her PICT debut directing Three Sisters, and Andrew S. Paul directs Ivanov. Scenic design is by Gianni Downs, with lighting design by Allen Hahn, costume design for Three Sisters and Ivanov by Pei-Chi Su, costume design for Funny Chekhov and After Chekhov by Rachel S. Parent, and sound design by Elizabeth Atkinson. The Chekhov Celebration plays July 19 through August 26 in both the Charity Randall and Henry Heymann Theatres.
The season concludes with The School for Lies, a hilarious modern verse adaptation of Moliere’s The Misanthrope by David Ives. Andrew S. Paul directs and Nike Doukas and Leo Marks star in this family-friendly comedy that plays November 29 through December 15th in the Charity Randall Theatre.
The 2012 Media Sponsors are WYEP and Essential Public Radio. Single tickets are available now through PICT’s new online ticketing system at www.picttheatre.org, or by calling ProArtsTickets at 412.394.3353 for a $1.50 phone fee. A range of options are available for money-saving season subscriptions, and can be purchased by contacting Eric Nelson at 412.561.6000 x206, emailing enelson@picttheatre.org, or on the PICT website at www.picttheatre.org.
PICT receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
FACT SHEET - PICT 2012 Mainstage Productions
In the Next Room or the vibrator play
by Sarah Ruhl
Pittsburgh Premiere
Directed by Alan Stanford
The Charity Randall Theatre
April 19 – May 5
The Pitmen Painters by Lee Hall
Pittsburgh Premiere
Directed by Andrew S. Paul
Henry Heymann Theatre
May 31 – June 23
Chekhov Celebration
Tragedian in Spite of Himself: A Celebration of the Life and Theatre of Anton Chekhov
Three Sisters
Trans. By Paul Schmidt
Directed by Harriet Power
Henry Heymann Theatre
July 19 – Aug 26
Ivanov
Directed by Andrew S. Paul
New English version by Tom Stoppard
U.S. Premiere
The Charity Randall Theatre
Aug 2 - 25
After Chekhov
The Yalta Game
Afterplay
by Brian Friel
Pittsburgh Premieres
Directed by Alan Stanford
Henry Heymann Theatre
Aug 10-26
Funny Chekhov
The Bear
The Proposal
Swan Song
Drama
On the Evils of Tobacco
The Charity Randall Theatre
Aug 17 - 25
The School for Lies by David Ives
Directed by Andrew S. Paul
The Charity Randall Theatre
Nov 29 – Dec 15
Tickets:
Subscriptions: $224 - $252 (10 packages and Flex Plans available)
Single Tickets: starting at $25 ($20 under 26 with valid ID)
Call ProArtsTickets at 412.394.3353 or visit PICT online at www.picttheatre.org
PICT - Great Stories. Well Told.
Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates. Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping. Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business. www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh
Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates. Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping. Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business. www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh
