THE COLONY THEATRE PRESENTS THE SECOND PRODUCTION OF ITS 41st SEASON...
THE WEST COAST PREMIERE OF
The Best of Enemies
Written Mark St. Germain
Directed by David Rose
Limited
Engagement opens Saturday, September 19
at
The Colony Theatre in Burbank!"One
of the most important plays about America to ever reach the stage."
–
The
New York Times.
August 31, 2015...Burbank...The
Colony Theatre
is thrilled to present the second production of its 41st
season, the West Coast Premiere of
THE
BEST OF ENEMIES by Mark St. Germain,
directed by David
Rose. THE BEST
OF ENEMIES will
preview on Wednesday, September 16; Thursday, September 17; and
Friday, September 18 at 8:00pm. It will open on Saturday, September
19 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, October 18.
Meet
Ann Atwater, an African-American civil rights activist, and
C.P.Ellis, the Exalted Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan. They are forced
to work together by the federal government to achieve integration in
their small North Carolina town fifteen years after Brown v. Board of
Education. Clearly, they will never be friends, but over the course
of the play, hearts, minds – and lives – are changed as they
discover all the things they have in common. Ultimately, they forge
an alliance based on respect and trust. Impossible to believe –
except
it's a true story!
ABOUT
THE CREATIVE TEAM
MARK
ST. GERMAIN (Playwright)
wrote the play
Freud's
Last Session, which
has broken box office records nation-wide. He also co-wrote (with
John Markus)
The
Fabulous Lipitones,
which had its California premiere on the Colony stage earlier this
season. Additional plays are
Dancing
Lessons, Scott and Hem,
Becoming
Dr. Ruth, The Best of Enemies, Camping with Henry and Tom (Lucille
Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Awards)
,
The God Committee, Out
of Gas on Lover's Leap, and
Forgiving
Typhoid
Mary.
With Randy Courts he wrote the musicals
The
Gifts of the Magi,
Johnny
Pye, and
Jack's
Holiday.
His musical
Stand
by Your Man
was written for Nashville's Ryman Theater. Television includes
Crime and
Punishment and
The Cosby Show. Mark
co-wrote the screenplay for Carroll Ballard's film
Duma
and directed and produced the documentary
My
Dog
featuring Richard Gere, Lynn Redgrave, and Billy Collins. He also
wrote the award-winning children's book,
Three
Cups. He
is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Writer's Guild East,
and is an Associate Artist at the Barrington Stage Company.
DAVID
ROSE (Director)
has been a
resident director at
the Colony Theatre
for over 20 years, as well as serving as Chairman of the Board of
Trustees from 2000 through 2013. He has staged over 30 productions
for the Colony, including:
American
Fiesta, ...Young
Lady From Rwanda
(West
Coast premiere, NAACP Theatre
Award nomination)
,
Year Zero (West
Coast premiere)
,
Visiting Mr. Green,
Master Harold...and the boys (NAACP
Theatre Award nomination)
,
Mary's
Wedding, The Voice of the Prairie, Our
Country's Good (Six
L.A. Ovation
award nominations, including Best Direction)
, Almost Maine (West Coast premiere)
,
Billy
Bishop Goes to War,
Bea[u]tiful
in the Extreme (World
Premiere),
Shooting
Star,
Sherlock's Last Case, The Drawer Boy (Los
Angeles premiere)
,
Fuddy Meers (West
Coast premiere),
The Nerd,
The Living (Drama-Logue
award),
The
Man Who Came to Dinner, The Front Page (L.A.
Weekly award – Revival Production of the Year, Drama-Logue award),
You
Can't Take it With You
(Drama-Logue
award),
June
Moon, and
Peccadillo
(West
Coast premiere, Drama-Logue
award
).
He
has also directed
Colony Second Stage productions of
True
West, Baby with the Bathwater, and
I
Can Fit My Fist in My Mouth
(World
premiere). As an actor, he
appeared on the Colony stage in
Incident
at Vichy, Morning's at Seven, The Clearing, Einstein and the Polar
Bear, Triple-Take, and
Bedroom Farce
(Drama-Logue award)
.
He
has also appeared in many
commercials, TV shows and movies, most recently the films
Fathers
and Sons and
Sam's
Story.
He has also had the privilege
of narrating numerous audio books. Elsewhere
in Los Angeles, he has directed productions of
Geniuses
(Drama-Logue
award), Justin
Tanner's
Big
Bear,
and
the 11 month run of the smash hit
Road
to Nirvana (Drama-Logue
award):
all at Third Stage - as well
as
The
Dining Room
at Theatre
40,
Inspecting
Carol
at the Ivy Substation
(Drama-Logue
award) and
Chased
From Paradise
and The
Blues
are Running
at the Lost Studio. David
is the former Artistic Director and improvisational performer with
the New York Comedy Repertory Ensemble. In NYC he also staged
productions at the Equity Library Theatre, Manhattan Punch Line, the
Pearl Theatre, and the 13th
Street Theatre. He was a founding member of Washington D.C's
acclaimed Woolly Mammoth Theater Company, and is a proud member of
Actor's Equity.
ABOUT
THE CAST AND DESIGN TEAM
LARRY
CEDAR (C.P.
Ellis) is thrilled to return for his eighth appearance on The Colony
stage after starring in previous productions of
Around
the World in 80 Days, Billy Bishop Goes to War, The Accomplice, Stage
Struck, Celadine, American Fiesta, and
Travels With My Aunt.
Other theatre includes portraying Thomas Jefferson in the recent
world premiere of
The
Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens, and Count Leo
Tolstoy: Discord
at The Geffen Playhouse, Lear in The Porters of Hellsgate production
of
King
Lear,
American
Misfit
(Boston Court),
Nightmare
Alley
(Geffen Playhouse), and the debut of his one-man adaptation,
Orwellian,
based on the writings of George Orwell, at The Odyssey Theatre.
Recent film includes
Midnight
Son, 0000, The Binding, Sparks, The Midnighters, Would You Rather,
The Crazies, Hollywoodland, Alyce Kills, Towelhead, Fear &
Loathing in Las Vegas, Feds,
and a starring role in the upcoming Native American fantasy,
She
Sings
to the Stars
(www.shesingstothestars.com),
currently making the film festival rounds. Larry starred for six
years on the Children's Television Network's
Square
One TV,
recurred for three years as opium addict Leon Stalworth in HBO's
acclaimed western series
Deadwood,
and most recently guest starred on the penultimate episode of
Mad
Men, Grey's Anatomy
(as the surgeon who killed McDreamy), and
Community
(as Chevy Chase's father, Cornelius Hawthorne). Larry is a proud
member of Actor's Equity. Please visit him on Facebook, Twitter
(@larrycedar), and Instagram (@blurdt) or at www.larrycedar.com
SHON
FULLER
(Bill
Riddick) has worked with some of the best American Repertory Theater
Companies playing roles from Shakespeare to Magical Lions. Shon
appeared in the Colony production of
What
I Learned in Paris and
he is ecstatic to be back! He is a card carrying member of Actor's
Equity. He has been on the small screen, in national commercials,
and daytime TV. His career continues to be a wonderful journey. Shon's
work includes roles as Walter Lee Younger in
A
Raisin in the Sun
and Peterson in
A
Soldier's Play. He
has appeared on stage with Open Fist, Robey, Towne Street, and
Maim theater companies. When
he has the time, Shon enjoys discovering new physical activities like
Tae Kwon Do, Rock Climbing, or Bike Riding to combat the effects
of preparing his own down
home cooked meals. To all of you theater goers: thank you for
supporting good theater, I couldn't do this without you. To my
friends and supporters: thank you for every single prayer, mile
driven or flown, dime spent to watch me take the stage. I appreciate
you more than you know. To my parents: thank you for pouring love
into me and encouraging me to use the gifts God has given me. I could
never thank you enough. God, thank you for the gift!
HOLLY
HAWKINS (Mary
Ellis) is delighted to appear in her second production with The
Colony Theatre, having previously played another Mary (that one an
18th
Century barmaid) in
Celadine.
Theatre in Los Angeles:
The
Assassination of Leon Trotsky: A Comedy
(The Odyssey);
Crime
and Punishment and
Richard
the III (A
Noise Within), and
Meetin's
on The Porch. She
recently recurred in
True
Blood's last
season and also recurred as Dr. Sturman on
Revenge.
Other
television: Fox pilot
Rogue,
Criminal Minds, The Young & The Restless, Class, Strong
Medicine,
and
Hamlet for
LA PBS. Recent film work:
Spring,
directed by Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead;
Nightmare
on Elm Street; The Head of The Mouse,
and
End of
the Innocents. If
you're a Tim Burton fan (working with him was an amazingly terrific
experience), you may recall her as Lady Large Nose, The Red Queen's
lead lady-in-waiting in
Alice
in Wonderland. From
Louisiana, her early pursuit of ballet took her to NYC, where she
began acting. Favorite roles: Viola/
Twelfth
Night (42nd Street
Workshop Theatre), Violet/
Man
and Superman (Roundabout
Theatre), Amanda/
Private
Lives (Lamb's
Theatre), Mrs. Kendal/
The
Elephant Man, Blanche/
A
Streetcar
Named Desire, and
Sylvia Davies in the NYC premiere of
The
Man Who Was Peter Pan,
by Allan Knee
. She
moved to Pasadena 10 years ago. Appearing in her first music video
this spring with Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor, the power of the
internet became very apparent when it reached 41 million hits in 4
months. Thank you all for supporting live theatre!
TIFFANY
REBECCA ROYALE (Ann
Atwater) is a
native Californian, and a proud member of Actors Equity Association.
She is excited to make her Colony Theatre debut as Ann Atwater in
The
Best of Enemies. Recent
credits include the feature film
The
Mis-education of Joy,
the play
All
that Glitters Ain't Gold by
Tai French, and
national commercials for
E-harmony
and
California
Psychics.
Tiffany is an alumni of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
where she received her M.F.A in Acting, and Grambling State
University with a B.A. in Theatre. When not performing, Tiffany
extends her talents as an Acting Coach, Director, and Producer with
her Production company,
Shy
Oak Entertainment.
www.Tiffanyrebeccaroyale.com
www.shyoakentertainment.com
THE
BEST OF ENEMIES features
a stellar
design team. The Scenic Design is by David Potts (Emmy Award –
HBO's
Deadwood). The Costume Design is by Dianne
K. Graebner (Ovation nominations
–
The
Brothers Karamazov and
Battle Hymn). The Lighting Design is by Jared A. Sayeg
(Ovation nominations –
Trying
and
Kiss Me,
Kate).
The Sound and Projection
Design is by Dave Mickey (Robert E. Cohen Sound Achievement Award
).
Props Design and Set Dressing is by
Colony Theatre resident propmaster John M. McElveney and Scenic Art
is by resident artist Orlando de la Paz.
ABOUT
THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING
THE
BEST OF ENEMIES will
open on Saturday, September 19 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday,
October 18. Performances for THE
BEST
OF ENEMIES are Thursdays &
Fridays at 8:00pm;
Saturdays at 3:00pm & 8:00pm; and Sundays at 2:00pm. Ticket
prices range from $25.00 - $49.00 (group discounts are available). THE BEST OF ENEMIES will
preview on Wednesday, September 16, Thursday, September 17, Friday,
September 19 at 8:00pm at The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street
(at Cypress) adjacent to the Burbank Town Center Mall. Opening night
performance with reception - all tickets $59.00. There
are
question-and-answer talkbacks after the performances on Friday,
September 25 and Thursday, October 8. 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 DavidElzer@me.com
or visit www.demandpr.com.
The
Colony Theatre has long been a vibrant center of L.A.'s theatre
life. Its subscribers renew at an astounding rate of 90%, and
in 2012 the theatre received nine Ovation Award nominations,
including the coveted one for Best Season. From its
beginnings
in 1975 as a 99-seat Equity-waiver theatre in Silver Lake, the
company became so successful artistically, and built such a large
subscriber base, that in 2000 it was able to move into a 270-seat
state-of-the-art theatre created for it by the City of Burbank. As
such, it became one of only a handful of mid-sized professional
theatres in the L.A. area that produce a year-round season of plays
and musicals, and that employ actors under contract with Actors'
Equity Association. 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 number: (818) 558-7110. E-mail:
boxoffice@colonytheatre.org.
Or visit our website at www.colonytheatre.org.