RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN by Gina Gionfriddo

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1 MEDIA CONTACTS: Arsht Center Suzette Espinosa Fuentes Gino R. Campodónico (786) (786) Zoetic Stage Nick Richberg (305) Zoetic Stage and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County Present the South Florida Premiere of RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN by Gina Gionfriddo A brilliantly funny and unflinching look at modern-day women and the choices they face in a post-feminist world A shrewd, incisive, thoroughly winning comedy! Boston Globe 4 STARS. A smart, funny, and lightning-paced look at feminism! NY Daily News Part of Zoetic Stage s Season and the Arsht Center s Theater Up Close Series January 14, 2016 Preview January 15, 2016 Opening Night through January 31, 2016 Tickets: $50-$55* Carnival Studio Theater in the Ziff Ballet Opera House MIAMI, FL January 11, Zoetic Stage and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County are proud to present the South Florida premiere of RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN, an intensely smart, immensely funny (The New York Times) Pulitzer Prize finalist written by Gina Gionfriddo about the choices women make. Playing January 14 31, 2016 in the intimate Carnival Studio Theater (Ziff Ballet Opera House), RAPTURE, BLISTER,

2 BURN continues Zoetic Stage s 5 th anniversary season at the Arsht Center and continues the Center s 10 th anniversary season and highly-acclaimed Theater Up Close Series. The Arsht Center s Theater Up Close Season is supported by Adrianne and Jerry L. Cohen, Alan and Diane Lieberman and the Hotel Croydon Miami Beach. Tickets to RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN are $50-$55* and may be purchased through the Adrienne Arsht Center box office by calling (305) or online at In RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN Gina Gionfriddo s answer to the Wendy Wasserstein masterwork, The Heidi Chronicles the playwright exposes three generations of women as they debate the ultimate question: is the grass always greener? Polar opposites, but equally unfulfilled, Catherine Croll (Mia Matthews) and Gwen Harper (Margery Lowe) covet each other s lives, initiating a dangerous game of what if? With searing insight and trademark wit, this Pulitzer Prize finalist is an unflinching look at modern-day women and the choices they face in a post-feminist world. Directed by Stuart Meltzer, Zoetic Stage s Carbonell and Silver Palm Award-winning Artistic Director, RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN features an all-star cast including multiple Carbonell Award-winning veteran Barbara Bradshaw (Alice Croll), Margery Lowe (Gwen Harper), Lexi Langs (Avery Willard), and TV and stage stars Todd Allen Durkin (Don Harper) and Mia Matthews (Catherine Croll), reunited on stage for the first time since starring together on the Nickelodeon smash hit series Every Witch Way. At Zoetic Stage we are extremely happy to be presenting Gina Gionfriddo s moving, smart, and very funny play, says Artistic Director Stuart Meltzer. With this production we not only continue our commitment to female playwrights, we get to present four of the region s finest female actors (and one outnumbered male) at the top of their games. This is one to get people talking on the ride home. Zoetic Stage was founded in 2010 to create fresh, bold interpretations of contemporary plays and musicals, and is dedicated to enhancing South Florida s national artistic profile by producing regional premieres and developing new works to become part of the American stage repertoire. Zoetic Stage s 5 th anniversary season will close with Passion (February 18 March 13, 2016), Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine s Tony Award-winning, emotionally charged chamber musical. Over the past four years, the Theater Up Close Series has transformed the Arsht Center into a showcase for some of the most dazzling theatrical work being done anywhere in this country. Productions in the series have earned 13 Carbonell Awards and 41 nominations. The Center is also honored to have partnered with and be the home of Zoetic Stage, one of South Florida s most critically-acclaimed theater companies. Most recently, Zoetic Stage was presented with three 2014 Carbonell Awards in the categories of Best New Work and Best Director for the comedy Clark Gable Slept Here, as well as Best Production of a Musical for Assassins. ABOUT THE CAST AND CREATIVES BARBARA BRADSHAW s (Alice Croll) previous shows with Zoetic Stage at the Arsht Center include Captiva, The Savannah Disputation, and The Great God Pan. She just completed a run at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre and the Flat Rock Playhouse, N.C.; an association she has treasured for 39 years. Barbara has been honored with more than a dozen Carbonell nominations, (she has won four), the Silver Palm Award, and the prestigious Los Angeles Drama-logue Award for Best Actress. She has appeared with every major theater in South Florida.

3 TODD ALLEN DURKIN (Don Harper) is back on stage after having just wrapped his second season as a series regular on Nickelodeon s Every Witch Way and his second season on STARZ Network s Magic City as State Attorney Doug Feehan. Todd appeared on HBO last spring in Bessie (the life story of Bessie Smith) with Charles Dutton, Mo Nique and Queen Latifah and on the new series Ballers as Uncle Frank. Past screen credits include: Teddy s Attorney Walter on ABC's Nashville, Mo Hesser on Lifetime Network s Drop Dead Diva, USA Network s Burn Notice, Bloodline, Graceland and A&E's The Glades. Favorite stage work includes: Dial M For Murder at The Maltz Jupiter Theatre, All New People, Bug, Blasted, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Reasons To Be Pretty, Captiva, Six Years, Death of a Salesman, The Seafarer, Moon For The Misbegotten (James Tyrone), The Zoo Story (Jerry), as well as the title roles in Hamlet and Lenny. Todd was twice awarded the Best Supporting Actor Carbonell Award and four times named Best Actor by Miami New Times. LEXI LANGS s (Avery Willard) regional credits include Sylvia in Tribes (Mad Cow Theatre), Melody in Bad Jews (GableStage), Bernadette in The Edge of Our Bodies (Mosaic Theatre), Frankie Addams in The Member of the Wedding (River City Rep and Virginia Rep), Millie/Pauline in Legacy of Light (Mad Cow Theatre), Dot in Oz (Orlando Shakespeare Theatre), Amaryllis in The Music Man (Mad Cow Theatre/Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra), Becky/Molly in Circle of Friends (American Girl Place Theatre, NYC), Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker and Evelyne in Under the Bridge (Orlando Repertory Theatre). Lexi received a BFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts/Atlantic Acting School. MARGERY LOWE (Gwen Harper) was most recently seen as Rosemary in Picnic at Palm Beach Dramaworks. Florida credits include Zoetic Stage at the Arsht Center, Caldwell Theatre, Coconut Grove Playhouse, Actors Playhouse, Royal Poinciana Playhouse, Parker Playhouse, Florida Shakespeare, American Stage, Naked Stage, and Stage Door. As a company member of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, she received a Tyrone Guthrie Award. Margery has performed in New York and across the country in national tours, as well as at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, The Muny, Canadian Stage, Fox Atlanta, Theatre Off Park, Sanford Meisner Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre of Maine, Kansas City Starlight, Stages St. Louis, Maine State Theatre, among others. She has received numerous Carbonell Award nominations, and was named Best Actress by the Miami New Times. MIA MATTHEWS (Catherine Croll) has been seen in Chapter Two at the Plaza Theater; Elsa in The Sound of Music at the Wick; and The Little Dog Laughed at Island City Stage (Silver Palm Award). Television credits include three seasons as Desdemona on Nickelodeon s Every Witch Way (alongside Todd Allen Durkin), Hulu's South Beach and Spin City. New York City credits include Henry IV, pts. 1 and 2 at the Public Theater, the world premiere of Topper and Mizlansky/Zilinsky opposite Nathan Lane at Manhattan Theater Club (Joe Mantello dir.) Mia received a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University. SHERI L. WIESEMAN (u/s Avery) is currently a Junior in the BFA Program at New World School of the Arts whose credits include A Streetcar Named Desire (Eunice), The Adding Machine (Mrs. Zero), Scenes from the New World (Various), The SantaLand Diaries at Parade Productions (Elfina), Regrets Only (Tibby) at Broward College, Romeo and Juliet (Mercutio) at Broward College and Fuddy Meers (Heidi) at Broward College. STUART MELTZER (Director, Sound Design) is the Artistic Director and a founding member of Zoetic Stage. He is the proud recipient of the 2014 Carbonell Award for Best Director of a Play for Zoetic Stage at the Arsht Center s production of Clark Gable Slept Here. He is pleased to

4 return to the Carnival Studio Theater at the Arsht Center after directing Zoetic Stage s highly successful productions of Stripped, Betrayal, Trust, Detroit, The Great God Pan, Assassins (Carbonell nominations - Best Director of a Musical & Sound Design), Fear Up Harsh, The Savannah Disputation, All New People, I Am My Own Wife (Carbonell Nomination - Best Director), Moscow, The SantaLand Diaries, Captiva (Carbonell Nomination - Best Director) and South Beach Babylon. Previously, Stuart served as the Artistic Director of City Theatre in Miami, where he oversaw and expanded the Summer Shorts Festival. New York and South Florida credits include Romulus Linney's Gint, Harold Pinter's One for the Road, Aristophanes' Lysistrata, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Painted Alice, Everything Will be Different and Melt. He is the recipient of a Silver Palm Award for his Consistent Outstanding Work as the Resident Director of Zoetic Stage. He received his M.F.A. in Directing from the Actors Studio in 2002 and B.F.A. from New World School of the Arts in Miami, where he currently serves on the faculty. The play s creative team features scenic design by Carbonell Award winner Michael McKeever; lighting design by Rebecca Montero; costume design by Meylin Rojas; and prop design by Amy Rauchwerger. CALENDAR LISTING Zoetic Stage and the Adrienne Arsht Center present RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN by Gina Gionfriddo South Florida Premiere! Directed by Stuart Meltzer Preview: January 14, 2016 Opening Night: January 15, 2016 Through January 31, 2016 Carnival Studio Theater Adrienne Arsht Center Tickets: $50-$55* A shrewd, incisive, thoroughly winning comedy! Boston Globe Hailed as intensely smart, immensely funny by The New York Times, Gina Gionfriddo s answer to the Wendy Wasserstein masterwork, The Heidi Chronicles, exposes three generations of women as they debate the ultimate question: is the grass always greener? Polar opposites, but equally unfulfilled, Catherine and Gwen covet each other s lives, initiating a dangerous game of what if? With searing insight and trademark wit, this Pulitzer Prize finalist is an unflinching look at modern-day women and the choices they face in a post-feminist world. The Arsht Center s Theater Up Close Season is supported by Adrianne and Jerry L. Cohen, Alan and Diane Lieberman and the Hotel Croydon Miami Beach. *All programs, artists, ticket prices, availability, dates and times are subject to change without notice. Visit for up-to-date information for details and schedules. Photos: For High-Resolution Download, Right Click on Photo(s) Below and Select Open Hyperlink.

5 (L to R) Todd Allen Durkin, Margery Lowe, Mia Matthews Photo (L to R) Margery Lowe, Mia Matthews, Lexi Langs Photo Mia Matthews and Todd Allen Durkin Photo Additional high-resolution photos are available at The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is made possible by the public support of the Miami-Dade County Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council and the City of Miami Omni Community Redevelopment Agency, as well as the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. The Adrienne Arsht Center also receives generous support from individuals, corporations and local, state and national foundations. In its 10 th anniversary season, the Arsht Center thanks its institutional donors for their historic commitment to the performing arts and Greater Miami: Adrienne Arsht; Miami-Dade County; John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; Dr. Sanford L. and Dolores Ziff & Family; The Arison Family/Carnival Corporation; Knight Ridder Inc. and The Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald; Sears Roebuck and Co.; Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Foundation; Bank of America; Joyce and M. Anthony Burns; Audre and Donald Carlin, Hedy Carlin and B. Pair Carlin; The Cejas Family Foundation; Gilbert S. Kahn and John J. Noffo Kahn; Haskell Company; Miami Salon Group Inc.; Odebrecht; Peacock Foundation Inc.; Ryder Charitable Foundation; Terra Group; Wells Fargo and Lynn Wolfson. Zoetic Stage is made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. ###

6 About the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County Set in the heart of downtown Miami and designed by world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is one of the world s leading performing arts organizations and venues. Since opening in 2006, the Arsht Center, a 501C3 non-profit organization, has emerged as a leader in presenting innovative programming that mirrors South Florida s diversity as well as a catalyst for billions of dollars in new development in the downtown area. Spotlighting legends and serving as a launch pad for local artists to make their mark on the international stage, the Center presents nearly 500 events each year across its eight flexible, state-of-the-art performance spaces. The Center programs 12 signature series, including the largest jazz series in South Florida, the biggest flamenco festival on the East Coast, and a robust program of new theatrical works as well as free programming for the community and an arts education program that serves nearly 30,000 children each year. As Miami s new Town Square, the Arsht Center also houses Brava!, a fine dining restaurant; the Café at Books & Books in the historic Carnival Tower and a weekly Farmers Market. Visit for more information. About Zoetic Stage Zoetic Stage was founded in 2010 to create fresh, bold interpretations of contemporary plays and musicals, and is dedicated to enhancing South Florida s national artistic profile by producing regional premieres and developing new works to become part of the American stage repertoire. Zoetic Stage was named the Best Theater Company of 2014 by the Miami New Times, and has been nominated for an impressive 37 Carbonell Awards, including five for Best Production of the Year, and won ten of the coveted awards including 2014 Best Production of a Musical (Assassins). Zoetic Stage productions have received twelve Silver Palm Awards for Outstanding Achievement. Zoetic Stage is an Associate Member of the National New Play Network and a member of the South Florida Theater League. Visit for more information.