Press Release:  Moonlight and Magnolias

 

 THE FOURTH PRODUCTION

OF ITS 36TH SENSATIONAL SEASON OF SHOWS!

MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS

Written by Ron Hutchinson
Directed by Andrew Barnicle

Limited Engagement opens Saturday, February 5 at The Colony Theatre in Burbank!

"Frankly, my dear, this is one funny play. Witty, pointed dialogue and hilarious situations. A rip-roaring farce!"
New York Daily News

January 7, 2011...Burbank...The Colony Theatre Company is excited to present the fourth production of its 36th season, MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS, written by Ron Hutchinson and directed by Andrew Barnicle (Celadine, Gunmetal Blues). MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS will preview on Wednesday, February 2; Thursday, February 3; and Friday, February 4 at 8:00pm and will open on Saturday, February 5 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, March 6 at The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street (at Cypress) adjacent to the Burbank Town Center.

Hollywood 1939. Famed producer David O. Selznick is three weeks into filming his latest historical epic, Gone With The Wind, but the screenplay just isn't working. He hires script doctor Ben Hecht to rewrite the script in five days — but Hecht has never read the book! What's a mogul to do? Selznick pulls director Victor Fleming from The Wizard of Oz and with Hecht, the three men spend five days locked in the producer's office re-enacting Margaret Mitchell's bestseller to craft a screenplay that will become one of the most successful films of all time. Inspired by true events, Moonlight and Magnolias is a wildly funny and winning story that illuminates the behind-the-scenes business of movie-making — and the larger-than-life egos — during the Golden Age of Hollywood.

The award-winning Colony Theatre Company was founded in 1975 as a 99-seat Equity-waiver theatre in Silver Lake. Over the years the company was so successful artistically, and built such a large subscriber base, that in 2000 it was able to move into a 270-seat theatre created for it by the City of Burbank, becoming one of only 5 mid-size professional theatres in the LA area that produce a year-round season of plays and musicals, and that employ actors under contract with Actors' Equity Association.

Since the move to Burbank, The Colony was named one of "25 Notable U.S. Theatre Companies" by the Encyclopedia Britannica Almanac for 8 years in a row and voted "Best Live Theatre in LA" in The Daily News 2006 Readers' Choice poll. The company's audience is so loyal that in an era when subscription is declining dramatically, and when the industry-wide "gold standard" renewal rate of 80% is considered unattainable, for the past two seasons The Colony has achieved a subscription renewal rate over 90%.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM AND CAST

ANDREW BARNICLE (Director) returns to directing Moonlight and Magnolias following his acclaimed production of the same play for The Laguna Playhouse and McCoy Rigby Entertainment / La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. At The Colony, Andrew has directed productions of Celadine, Gunmetal Blues, and Rounding Third. He was the artistic director of The Laguna Playhouse for 18 years, producing 120 Playhouse productions and directing forty of them, including many world, U.S., west coast, and Southern California premieres. Recent directing projects there include Michael Hollinger's plays An Empty Plate at the Café du Grand Boeuf and Red Herring, the world premiere of Richard Dresser's The Pursuit of Happiness, and the U.S. premiere of Bernard Farrell's Many Happy Returns. Andrew previously served as Head of Theatre at United States International University's School of Performing and Visual Arts in San Diego, and was the Associate Artistic Director of the North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach. He has also directed at San Diego's Theatre at Old Town, Michigan's Meadow Brook Theatre, and most recently directed The Foreigner at San Jose Rep.

RON HUTCHINSON (Playwright) is an acclaimed Emmy-winning writer and also the winner of the George Devine and John Whiting new writing awards. He has written dozens of stage plays including The Irish Play, Flight, and the acclaimed West-End hit Rat in the Skull, and he was the Royal Shakespeare Theatre's writer-in-residence from 1980-81. More recently, he has become a prolific screen­writer and script doctor, and his work has received multiple Emmy and Golden Globe Awards. His screenplays include Murders Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story, The Burning Season (directed by John Frankenheimer), The Josephine Baker Story, Fatherland, The Tuskegee Airmen (with Laurence Fishburne), the miniseries Traffic, The Ten Commandments, and Marco Polo, among many others.

ROY ABRAMSOHN (David O. Selznick) returns to The Colony after receiving critical acclaim in last year's smash-hit run of 2 Pianos 4 Hands. Roy originated one of the leads in the two-man, Pulitzer-nominated drama Old Wicked Songs at the historic Walnut Street Theatre, where he also played the dual role of Chico and Harpo Marx in Groucho: A Life in Revue with the original Broadway cast. Groucho was taped live at the Westport Country Playhouse in Connecticut and has aired on PBS. Other stage credits include two years at the Oregon Shakespearean Festival in Ashland, Dirty Blonde at Portland Center Stage, the West Coast Premiere of Israel Horovitz's Lebensraum at The Fountain Theatre, Gunmetal Blues and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at San Jose Stage, Trumbo with Joe Mantegna at The Falcon Theatre, Taking Sides and A Chorus of Disapproval at The Odyssey Theatre, The Last Schwartz at The Zephyr Theatre, and Leaving Iowa at The Laguna Playhouse. Last year he originated a role in the world premiere of Hijacking the Northern Star with an international cast at the Shouson Theatre in Hong Kong, China. Originally from Pennsylvania, he attended Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music. He hosted a Young People's Concert on Romantic Music with the New York Philharmonic in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, New York City and played piano with the orchestra. He has appeared in over 100 television commercials and guest-starring roles including Without A Trace, American Dream, The Parkers and Medium. Feature films include The Dukes with Chazz Palminteri and starring roles in Creepshow 3 and the upcoming feature Escape From Tomorrow.

EMILY EIDEN (Miss Poppenghul) returns to the role that earned her accolades at The Laguna Playhouse and McCoy Rigby Entertainment / La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. Other theatre appearances include South Coast Repertory's Taking Steps, A Year with Frog and Toad, and Pookie Goes Grenading (NewSCRipts Series); Don't Talk to the Actors at The Laguna Playhouse; Tonight @ 8:30 and Mother Courage and Her Children at The Antaeus Company; The Crucible and A Christmas Carol at International City Theatre; multiple TYA shows at Mainstreet Theater Co. including Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse and Charlotte's Web; and The Cradle Will Rock and Twelfth Night at Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum. Emily narrates three young adult audiobook series (Paranormalcy, Viola in Reel Life, and The Amanda Project) and currently narrates Griffith Observatory's planetarium shows. Her film and TV credits include: Scab, The Velvet Box, and Campus Ladies.

BRENDAN FORD (Victor Fleming) reprises his Moonlight and Magnolias role, which he performed to great acclaim at The Laguna Playhouse and McCoy Rigby Entertainment / La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. He has performed in many productions throughout southern California including Many Happy Returns and Red Herring at The Laguna Playhouse, Amy's View and Rabbit Hole at North Coast Rep, One Slight Hitch at The Falcon Theatre, Long Day's Journey into Night at The Lyceum, Ernest in Love at The Fremont Theatre, Arthur in Camelot at Fullerton CLO, The Captain in Anything Goes for Reprise!,
Secret Garden at South Bay CLO, the world premiere of Break of Day at The Lillian Theatre, A Doll's House at L.A. Rep., the world premiere of Florinda at The Freud Playhouse, and The Hostage at LATC. In New York, he has appeared in multiple productions at the National Shakespeare Company, Westbeth Theatre Center, Columbia Shakespeare Festival, and Westside Rep. Brendan's film and TV credits include Clear and Present Danger, The Net, George of the Jungle, If These Walls Could Talk, CSI: Miami, Numbers, Notes from the Underbelly the pilot of Hot Properties, The District, The Pretender, V.I.P., Beverly Hills 90210, Chicago Hope, Babylon 5, Silk Stalkings and recurring roles on Weekends at the D.L. on Comedy Central, Pauly and The Young and the Restless. He is currently recurring in the role of Senator Corvellis in this season of Big Love.

MATT GOTTLIEB (Ben Hecht) received a 2009 Ovation Award nomination as Best Leading Actor for Who Lives? (Pico Playhouse) and has also performed in Nine Armenians at The Mark Taper Forum, Awake & Sing! and Fedunn (LADCC Best Supporting Actor nominations for both) at The Odyssey Theatre, Indiscretions (Garland Award for Best Supporting Actor), Happy End (LADCC Award for Best Revival) at Pacific Resident Theatre, and Sonia Flew at The Laguna Playhouse. His regional theatre performances include the title role in Julius Caesar for Shakespeare Santa Cruz; Merv Kant in The Sisters Rosensweig for San Jose Rep; Mazzini in Shaw's Heartbreak House at Berkeley Rep and Aaronow in Glengarry Glen Ross at A.C.T. (both directed by Les Waters); and the title role in The Puppetmaster of Lodz and the Rev. Morrell in Candida, both for Marin Theater Company. Theatres in New York include The NY Shakespeare Festival, The Long Wharf, Circle Rep, Soho Rep and The Musical-Comedy Murders of 1940 on Broadway. L.A. directing credits include the L.A. premiere of A Question of Mercy at Pacific Resident Theatre and Pinter's The Caretaker at the Zephyr Theater (LA Weekly Award nomination and Ovation Award nomination for Best Director). Films include Philip Bosco's son in Frank D. Gilroy's The Luckiest Man in the World, and TV credits include guest starring roles on Without A Trace, Still Standing, Boston Public, The Practice, JAG, Nash Bridges, and Wings.

MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS has assembled an award-winning design team. The Scenic Design is by Bruce Goodrich. The Lighting Design is by Paulie Jenkins. The Costume Design is by Julie McKeen. The Sound Design is by Julie Ferrin.

ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING

MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS will open on Saturday, February 5 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, March 6. Performances for MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS are Thursdays & Fridays at 8:00pm; Saturdays at 3:00pm & 8:00pm; and Sundays at 2:00pm. Ticket prices range from $20.00 - $42.00 (student, senior and group discounts are available). MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS will preview on Wednesday, February 2; Thursday, February 3; and Friday, February 4 at 8:00pm. Opening night performance with reception - all tickets $50.00. There are question-and-answer talkbacks after the performances on Friday, February 11, and Thursday, February 24. For tickets, call the Colony Theatre Box Office at 818/558-7000 ext. 15 or online at www.colonytheatre.org.

For more information, press interviews, photos or for press comps, please contact David Elzer/DEMAND PR at 818/508-1754 or at ELZERD@aol.com or visit www.demandpr.com.

The award-winning Colony Theatre Company is Burbank's premiere professional theatre. It was voted "Best Live Theatre in L.A." in The Daily News 2006 Readers' Choice poll, and has been named one of "25 Notable U.S. Theatre Companies" by Encyclopedia Britannica Almanac for 6 years in a row. 

The Colony Theatre Company is a 36-year old organization dedicated to bringing the finest-quality theatrical productions to Los Angeles. The theatre is located at 555 North Third Street, at the corner of Cypress, in the heart of Downtown Burbank. For further information, call (818) 558-7000. Fax: (818) 558-7110. E-mail: colonytheatre@colonytheatre.org. Or visit our website at www.colonytheatre.org