THE COLONY THEATRE PRESENTS THE FOURTH PRODUCTION
OF ITS 2013-2014 SEASON
IAN BUCHANAN & MARIETTE HARTLEY
starring in
THE LION IN WINTER
Written by James Goldman
Directed By Stephanie Vlahos
Limited
Engagement opens Saturday, April 19
at
The Colony Theatre in Burbank
April 3, 2014...Burbank... The Colony Theatre is thrilled to
present Ian Buchanan and Mariette Hartley starring in
THE LION IN
WINTER, written by James Goldman and directed by Stephanie
Vlahos.
THE LION IN WINTER will preview on Wednesday, April 16;
Thursday, April 17; and Friday, April 18 at 8:00pm and will open on Saturday,
April 19 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, May 18 at The Colony Theatre,
555 N. Third Street (at Cypress) adjacent to the Burbank Town Center Mall.
Epic and intimate. Brilliantly
funny and deeply moving.
THE LION IN WINTER plays out the
spectacular strategies for power and love between two of England's most
formidable and most human rulers, King Henry II and Queen Eleanor, and their
three crown-hungry sons. As the sun sets on his reign, the great and powerful
Henry Plantagenet calls Eleanor to the castle at Chinon for one last Winter
Court, along with their three sons – the warrior Richard, the conniving
Geoffrey, and the bumble-headed John. Locked behind the palace doors, a deadly
game of alliances and betrayals unfolds as each of the players moves to control
who will sit on the throne when Henry is gone – a battle that will determine the
future of an empire. Goldman has combined keen historical and psychological
insights with delicious, acid wit to create a modern theatrical
masterpiece.
ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM
JAMES GOLDMAN (Playwright)
was an associate professor at Brooklyn College before his writing career took
off on Broadway, in motion pictures, on TV, and in print. His first play
(written with his brother, William),
Blood, Sweat and Stanley
Poole, was produced in London in 1961. That same year, he wrote
They Might Be Giants, which debuted in London, and was
produced and directed by Joan Littlewood. He felt he had never gotten the play
right, so he never let it be published. The next year, he contributed the lyrics
and, with his brother, the book for the stage musical
A Family
Affair, but it was with
The Lion in Winter that
he became known on Broadway in 1966. It was produced as a feature film in 1968
and earned for Goldman an Oscar for the screenplay, and Katharine Hepburn the
third of her four Oscars. He first worked in TV in 1967, writing the book for
Evening Primrose, an ABC special which featured a score by
Stephen Sondheim. He also contributed the book for
Follies,
the landmark 1971 musical with score by Sondheim and direction by Harold Prince
and Michael Bennett. His other screenplays include
Nicholas and
Alexandra (1971) and
Robin and Marian (1976),
starring Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn. In 1982, he adapted
Oliver
Twist as a two-hour longform for CBS,
Anna
Karenina (CBS, 1986), and
Anastasia: The Mystery of
Anna, a 1986 four-hour NBC miniseries dealing with the woman who
claimed to be the surviving daughter of Czar Nicholas II of Russia.
Waldorf, Goldman's first novel, was published in 1965. He
later published three additional novels, contributed to numerous magazines, and
also wrote or contributed to non-fiction such as
Where to Eat in
America (1987). He died from a heart attack in New York City in 1998
at the age of 71.
STEPHANIE VLAHOS (Director) is a graduate of Yale
University and comes to the directing profession with the experience of a
former, professional opera singer with a crossover edge. Her career has ranged
in its collaborative work with artists such as Pierre Boulez, Andre Previn, Van
Dyke Parks, John Adams, Ry Cooder, Sir Peter Hall, Peter Sellars, and Don Was. A
recipient of the
Chanel Diva Award, Stephanie has sung in
opera houses nationally and internationally in addition to her direction of and
performances in cabaret-influenced performance art devoted to the music of
European cabaret. Among 30 other artists, nationwide, she has been nominated for
the prestigious United States Artists Grant in directing.
Stephanie has most recently directed sold-out performances of
Le Nozze Di Figaro and
Don Giovanni
for California State University, critically successful productions of
Old Wicked Songs and
The Morini Strad
at The Colony Theatre,
La Boheme with Lyric Opera Virginia,
and Britten's
Little Sweep in collaboration with Maestro
James Conlon. In addition she has collaborated with the Confucius Institute by
conceiving and directing a production entitled
Pacific
Cinderella. Her boutique company, Opera Posse, hit the ground running
with a critically-acclaimed production of
Amahl and the Night
Visitors at the Pasadena Playhouse with Malcolm McDowell reading
A Child's Christmas in Wales. She is also collaborating
with playwright Willy Holtzman and composer Louise Beach on a new musical.
Stephanie is proud to serve on the Thornton School of Music Board of Counselors
at the University of Southern California
ABOUT THE CAST AND DESIGN
TEAM
IAN BUCHANAN (Henry) has
appeared in motion pictures, guest starred on television dramas and comedies,
and played iconic roles on a host of daytime dramas that have brought him a
worldwide audience. He has starred in both classic and modern plays in England
and the U.S., and is a member of The Citizens Band and The New Phoenix Theater
Company. Television guest-starring roles include
Nip/Tuck, Alias, Hope
and Faith, Yes, Dear, Quantum Leap, and
Stargate
among many others. He starred in
On the Air and
It's The Garry Shandling Show, and appeared for two seasons on
Twin Peaks. Buchanan is familiar to audiences worldwide for
his roles in
The Bold and The Beautiful, for which he
received an Emmy Award,
General Hospital, All my Children, Port
Charles, and
Days of our Lives. Film roles
include
Mate, Panic Room, Lying in Wait, Double Exposure, The Cool
Surface, and
The Seventh Sign. Scots-born
Buchanan resides in Southern California.
MARIETTE HARTLEY (Eleanor)
was last seen at the Colony as Erica Morini in
The Morini
Strad. She began acting at the age of ten with the legendary Eva
Gallienne and John Houseman. Her numerous theatre appearances include
Cabaret, Broadway;
Sylvia, MTC;
Ancestral Voices, Lincoln Center;
Enchanted
April, Pasadena Playhouse;
Measure for Measure, King
John, Public Theatre.
She has appeared in National Tours
beginning as a teenager when she co-starred with Bert Lahr in the American
Shakespeare Festival production of
A Midsummer Night's
Dream. She toured with
Copenhagen and
The Sisters Rosenzweig for which she earned a Helen Hayes
Award and the League of American Theatres National Touring Award. Regional
theatre credits include
Ten Chimneys, the Cleveland
Playhouse;
Buffalo Gal, Williamstown; Tom Stoppard's
The Seagull, Old Globe;
Detective
Story, Ahmanson;
Antigone with John Houseman and
the UCLA Theatre Group;
The Lion In Winter, La Mirada;
Same Time Next Year, Love Letters, Mrs. Warren's Profession, The King
& I, and
Mame. The Emmy award-winning
actress recurred on
Law and Order: SVU and has appeared on
dozens of television shows including
Grey's Anatomy, Big Love, The
Mentalist, Dirt, M*A*S*H, and
The Incredible
Hulk. A three-time Clio Award winner for her Polaroid commercials
with James Garner and recipient of a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, she
also hosted the CBS Morning Program. She is currently hosting her tenth season
of
Wild About Animals. Her best-selling autobiography,
Breaking The Silence, can be purchased through Amazon and
BarnesandNoble.com. A mental health advocate since 1987, she co-founded The
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention which now has chapters in 52 cities.
BRENDAN FORD (Richard) is
happy to be returning to The Colony Theatre where he played the role of Victor
Fleming in
Moonlight and Magnolias (originating at The
Laguna Playhouse and at the La Mirada Center for the Performing Arts). At The
Laguna Playhouse, he also played Declan in
Many Happy
Returns and Frank in
Red Herring. He played
Dominic in
Amy's View and Howie in
Rabbit
Hole, at North Coast Rep, Harper in
One Slight Hitch
at the Falcon Theater, Jamie in
Long Day's Journey
at The Lyceum, Jack in
Ernest in Love at the
Fremont Theater, Arthur in
Camelot at Fullerton CLO, The
Captain in
Anything Goes for Reprise!, Neville Craven in
Secret Garden at South Bay CLO, Vincent Van Gogh in the
world premiere of
Break of Day at the Lillian Theatre,
Torvald in
A Doll's House at L.A. Rep, Marco in the world
premiere of
Florinda at the Freud Playhouse, and at LATC,
he played Laertes, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern in the 6-actor Hamlet and
Leslie in
The Hostage.
Brendan grew up in New York City,
where, among other roles, he played Laertes in
Hamlet and
Hastings in
She Stoops to Conquer for the National
Shakespeare Co., Claudio in
Measure for Measure at Westbeth
Theater Center, Romeo in
Romeo and Juliet at Columbia
Shakespeare Festival, and Valere in
Tartuffe at Westside
Rep. Brendan has appeared in the films
Clear and Present
Danger,
The Net, George of the Jungle, and
If These Walls Could Talk. He has recently had recurring
roles on the television series
Big Love and
Weeds. Other TV credits include
Hawaii
Five-O,
Castle,
Mr.
Sunshine,
CSI Miami, Numbers,
Notes
from the Underbelly, and the pilot of
Hot Properties,
among others
.
JUSTINE HARTLEY (Alais) is
a graduate of the famed Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, and a former
member of the Southwest Shakespeare Company in Mesa, Arizona where she appeared
as Adriana in
Comedy of Errors, Lady Capulet in
Romeo and Juliet, Elvira in
Blythe
Spirit, Viola in
Twelfth Night, Queen Elizabeth
in
Richard III, Gwendolyn in
The Importance of
Being Ernest, Tamora in
Titus Andronicus, Helena
in
A Midsummer Night's Dream, Amanda in
Private
Lives, and Kate Hardcastle in
She Stoops To
Conquer. Her TV credits include
Law and Order, Standoff,
and
Guiding Light. Although Justine has done TV
and film her true passion lies in theatre, and she is thrilled to reprise her
role as Alais, which she first debuted at the La Mirada Theatre.
DOUG PLAUT (John) is making
his Colony debut. Theatre: The NY premiere of Christopher Durang's
Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge; The Beauty Queen of Leenane
(Cape Rep);
A Midsummer Night's Dream
(Connecticut Free Shakespeare). Film/TV: The upcoming films
The Adventures of Sweet Yellow (with Frances Fisher and
Steve Howey);
Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List (with Victoria
Justice); The Sundance Commissioned
Margarita With A Straw;
"School Spirits" (SyFy). Print and Commercial Work includes Business Week and
PNC Bank. Doug holds a BFA from Pace University.
PAUL DAVID STORY (Philip)
is making his Colony debut. Other Theatres: Broadway: Standby for Alan Strang in
Equus, Junius Urban in
The Caine Mutiny Court
Martial.
Off-Broadway: Ferguson/John Wilkes
Booth in
Our Leading Lady at the Manhattan Theatre Club,
David in
The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel at The Public.
Regional Theaters: Arviragus in
Cymbeline at A Noise
Within, Hamlet in
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
at the Baltimore Center Stage, Mr. Bingley in
Pride &
Prejudice at the Dallas Theatre Center, Philip in
The Lion
in Winter at the Ensemble Theatre in Santa Barbara,
Death
of the Author (Reading) at South Coast Repertory. Film/TV:
In Time, American Violet, The Undying, St. Nick, Vartan LLP, The
Mentalist, Body of Proof, Nip/Tuck, Law and Order SVU. Education and
Training: University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Paul is also a
co-founder, director, and artistic director of the USC NAI Theatre Workshop, as
well as a writer whose recent work
The Mountain Lion was
published in Gambling the Aisle magazine.
PAUL TURBIAK (Geoffrey) is
making his Colony Theatre debut. In addition to a number of film and voiceover
projects, he has appeared onstage all over Los Angeles—including The Geffen
Playhouse, LATC, A Noise Within, Actors Co-op, Son of Semele, and REDCAT. He is
a company member at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, where he has performed
in numerous productions including
A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Three
Musketeers, Hamlet, Tartuffe, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Measure for Measure,
The Taming of the Shrew, and the upcoming
Equivocation by Bill Cain this summer. Paul is also a
frequent collaborator with Christine Marie and Ensemble—devising large-scale,
cinematic shadow theater.
He received an MFA in Acting from
California Institute of the Arts, a BA in Theater from Gordon College, and
studied at the British American Drama Academy in London.
www.paulturbiak.com
THE LION IN WINTER
features an award-winning design team. Scenic Design is by David
Potts (Emmy Award – HBO's
Deadwood).
The Costume Design is by Kate Bergh (LA Stage Scene - Costume
Designer of the Year, 2011 and 2012). The Lighting Design is by Jared A.
Sayeg (Ovation nominations,
Trying and
Kiss Me, Kate). The Sound Design is by Drew Dalzell
(Ovation Award,
Songs for a New World). Props Design and
Set Dressing is by Colony Theatre resident designer John McElveney.
ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING
THE LION IN WINTER will open on
Saturday, April 19, at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, May 18. Performances
for THE LION IN WINTER are Thursdays & Fridays at
8:00pm; Saturdays at 3:00pm & 8:00pm; and Sundays at 2:00pm. Ticket prices
range from $20.00 - $49.00 (group discounts are available). THE LION
IN WINTER will preview on Wednesday, April 16; Thursday, April 17;
and Friday, April 18 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
$55.00. There are question-and-answer talkbacks after the performances on
Friday, April 25 and Thursday, May 8 For tickets, call the Colony Theatre
Box Office at 818/558-7000 ext. 15 or online at www.ColonyTheatre.org.
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.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 theatre is located at 555 North Third
Street, at the corner of Cypress, in the heart of the Burbank Media
Center. For further information, call (818) 558-7000. Fax number: (818)
558-7110. E-mail: boxoffice@colonytheatre.org.
Or visit our website at www.colonytheatre.