FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jenny Windstrup Managing Director 504-523-9857 PR@southernrep.com Southern Rep Theatre Announces Details for Lisa D Amour s DETROIT Limited engagement! June 3 June 21 at Ashé Power House NEW ORLEANS May 22, 2015 Southern Rep Theatre is pleased to announce details for its upcoming production of DETROIT, by Lisa D Amour, directed by the theatre s Producing Artistic Director Aimée Hayes. In a first-ring suburb just outside a city that might be Detroit, Ben and Mary see sudden signs of life at the deserted house next door and invite their new neighbors Sharon and Kenny over for a barbecue. As the action unfolds we learn that Sharon and Kenny met at rehab, neither is employed, and they don t own a stick of furniture. The quintessential American backyard party turns quickly into something more hilarious and potentially more dangerous, too. DETROIT roars to life and takes the audience on an epic ride, says director Aimée Hayes. Lisa D'Amour's writing muscularly sets up some of the funniest situations imaginable and then exquisitely reverses into the raw heart of what it means to be an American today. Just in time for summer in New Orleans, her play evokes the pageantry of the outdoor barbecue and the sensual ease of hot summer days and nights. Alternately sexy, steamy, heart-breaking, and outrageously funny, DETROIT is not be missed. DETROIT was a finalist for the Pulitzer and Susan Smith Blackburn Prizes. The play premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago in 2010 and subsequently ran Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in fall 2012. Detroit won the Obie Award for Best New American Play for 2013. Southern Rep Theatre s production will mark its regional premiere in New Orleans. Acclaim for previous productions of DETROIT: Rich and addictively satisfying The New York Times A fine and spectacularly timely new play Chicago Tribune Supremely engaging and provocative manages to stimulate new questions about suburban decay with a suitably comic touch Buzz Magazine Convincing and compelling and tartly funny Variety A biting new dark comedy of economic anxiety Time Out Chicago LISTING INFORMATION
DETROIT By Lisa D Amour Directed by Aimée Hayes Featuring Jessica Podewell, Mike Harkins, Laura Friedmann, Joshua Mark Sienkiewicz, and David W. Hoover DATES & TIMES LIMITED ENGAGEMENT: 3 weeks only! June 6 June 21 Previews: June 3 5 Thursdays Saturday Performances: 8:00pm Sunday Matinees: 3:00pm LOCATION Ashé Power House Theater 1731 Baronne Street, between Euterpe and Polymnia DEDICATED & SECURE PARKING LOT ADJACENT! TICKETS Tickets are $40 and can be purchased online at www.southernrep.com, or by calling the Box Office at (504) 522-6545. Senior, student, teacher, Blue Star Families,* and theatre professional discounts are available. Teacher tickets (with ID) are available for $20. $10 student rush tickets can be purchased (based on availability) 10 minutes before each performance with a valid student ID. Cash is appreciated. *Southern Rep Theatre is proud to be a participating Blue Star Theatre. Blue Star Theatres is a collaboration between Theatre Communications Group and Blue Star Families, with leadership support from the MetLife Foundation. Through Blue Star Theatres, we plan to help better connect theatre offerings to military personnel across the United States. This initiative is intended to recognize the contributions of service families, to build stronger connections between the theatre community and military families in communities all across the country, and to help in whatever small way we can to aid service people and their families as they seek to be integrated into the lives of their communities. Each participating Blue Star Theatre is offering discounted or complimentary admission to all military personnel and their families, as well as veterans. SPECIAL EVENTS June 3 5: Previews (All tickets $25) Thursday, June 4: UNO Night! In recognition of the ongoing partnership between the University of New Orleans and Southern Rep, UNO student tickets are $10 and faculty tickets are $20, with a reception to follow the performance. Friday, June 5: Benefit for Young Leadership Council $5 of each ticket sold will be donated to the Young Leadership Council
Saturday, June 6: Opening Night/Critics Performance (Previews are not open for review. Critics may attend Opening Night or a later performance. Please contact SRT Managing Director Jenny Windstrup at jwindstrup@southernrep.com to schedule a date.) Pre-Performance Panel Discussion: The Making of DETROIT (7pm) Director Aimée Hayes and members of the DETROIT design team discuss the unique challenges of bringing DETROIT to the stage. Sunday, June 7: Post-Matinée Talkback Thursday, June 11: Pay What You Can Night Saturday, June 13: Pre-Performance Panel Discussion: MEET THE PLAYWRIGHT! A Conversation with Lisa D Amour (7pm) New Orleans own Lisa D Amour is on a roll, from her Broadway debut (AIRLINE HIGHWAY) to this regional premiere of her acclaimed DETROIT. She speaks with Southern Rep s Aimée Hayes about her artistic influences and what s next. Sunday, June 14: Post-Matinée Talkback Saturday, June 20: Pre-Performance Panel Discussion: Things Fall Apart: The Devolution of Suburban Utopia (7pm) DETROIT explores the promise and the perils of the suburbs and their totemic status in the American psyche. Our expert panel discusses the play s context: the history of planned communities, the dream of home ownership, and the aftermath of the mortgage crisis. About Lisa D Amour (Writer) Lisa D Amour is a playwright and interdisciplinary artist. She is one half of the OBIE-Award winning performance duo PearlDamour, whose work has been presented by HERE Arts Center, PS122, The Whitney Museum of Art, the Walker Arts Center and the FuseBox Festival. Her plays have been commissioned and produced by theaters across the country, including The Women s Project, Playwrights Horizons, Theatre of a Two-Headed Calf, Clubbed Thumb, (all in NYC), Children s Theater Company (Minneapolis), Steppenwolf Theater Company (Chicago) The Wilma Theater (Philadelphia), Woolly Mammoth Theater (Washington D.C.) and the Royal National Theater (London). Lisa s play Detroit was a finalist for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize in Drama and the 2011 Susan Smith Blackburn prize. She is the recipient of the 2008 Alpert Award for the Arts in theater, the 2011 Steinberg Playwright Award and is a recipient of the 2013 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award. As a playwright, Lisa has received fellowships from the Jerome and McKnight Foundations, an independent artist commission from NYSCA (for Stanley 2006, created with her brother Todd D Amour) and an NEA / TCG Playwrights Residency (to create HIDE TOWN with Infernal Bridegroom Productions). With PearlDamour, she is a four-time recipient of project funding from the Rockefeller MAP Fund and a 2009 Creative Capital grantee.
Lisa received her M.F.A. in playwriting from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a core member of the Playwrights Center and a recent alumna of New Dramatists. She lives with her husband, Brendan Connelly, in New Orleans and Brooklyn. About Aimée Hayes (Director) Since being named Producing Artistic Director of Southern Rep Theatre in 2008, Aimée Hayes has focused on new play development, producing various writers during her tenure, including John Biguenet, Eric Coble, Zayd Dohrn, Joe and Andrew Doss, Catherine Filloux, Jim Fitzmorris, Andrew Hinderaker, Ross Maxwell, Tarrell McCraney, Peter McElligot, Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, Joe Sutton and Steve Yockey. She s also incorporated a slate of new play development programs into Southern Rep s Lagniappe Series, including 6 6, a new play slam; 3 3: THE ONE ACTS; DEBAUCHERY!, New Orleans only live, ongoing soap opera, now in its fifth year; and THE NEW PLAY BACCHANAL, an annual two-day new play festival that includes honoring a new play by a female playwright of color with The Ruby Prize. Hayes often appears on the stage as well, most recently as Hannah Jelkes in Southern Rep s THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA, and prior to that, as Blanche Dubois in A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. Hayes was recently named a 2014 Top Female Achiever by New Orleans Magazine, and in 2012 she was named Gambit Weekly s Theatre Person of the Year. Additionally, Hayes serves as an at-large Board Member for the Theatre Communications Group (TCG). About Jessica Podewell (Mary) Originally from New Orleans, Podewell received her BFA from Webster University, and her MFA in Acting and New Works at the Ohio State University. She has worked professionally in theatres throughout Austin, Chicago, and New York, as well as New Orleans, and was most recently seen on stage in Southern Rep s THE TOTALITARIANS, for which she received the Big Easy Award for Best Actress in a Comedy. She is a proud founding member of the children s theatre The Patchwork Players, and currently serves as Professor of Practice in Tulane University s Department of Theatre and Dance. About Mike Harkins (Ben) Mike Harkins holds his M.F.A. in Acting from the University of New Orleans and is a proud founding member of InSideOut Productions in New Orleans. Directing credits include BALCONY SCENE, CLOSER, STEEL MAGNOLIAS and SIDEMAN. Harkins has been recognized with multiple Big Easy Awards and nominations. As an actor, he has been seen in CAT S-PAW, THE WEIR, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, NOISES OFF, 33 VARIATIONS, FROM A LONG WAY OFF and recently as King Arthur in MONTY PYTHON S SPAMALOT. Sound Design credits include VENUS IN FUR, SPAMALOT, FREEDOM, 39 STEPS and many others with Southern Rep, Theatre13, The NOLA Project, The Elm Theatre and InSideOut Productions. About Laura Friedmann (Sharon) A graduate of Loyola University (B.A. Theatre Arts 2012), Friedmann has performed in several productions, including SPINNING INTO BUTTER (Loyola University), TROJAN WOMEN (Loyola University), A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Loyola University), Doris Baizley s A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Southern Rep 12, 14), and PRIDE & PREJUDICE (Southern Rep). She has also appeared onstage in Southern Rep s 6 6 program and DEBAUCHERY! As Southern Rep s Arts Education Director since 2012, she has developed several curricula for the Free and Discount Student Matinee Programs, managed YONOLA at Success PREP Academy, and led numerous children s productions and workshops, including: HORTON HEARS A WHO, ALICE IN WONDERLAND, YOU RE A GOOD MAN CHARLIE BROWN, FOOTLOOSE, WIZARD OF OZ, PETER PAN, PIRATES OF PENZANCE JR, Disney s THE ARISTOCATS KIDS, and Disney s 101 DALMATIONS KIDS.
About Joshua Mark Sienkiewicz (Kenny) Joshua is a recent New Orleans transplant from New York City. His theatre company Drowning in Blue, brought John Patrick Shanley s DANNY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA to Cafe Istanbul in January to rave reviews. Joshua studied acting in NYC with Austin Pendleton, Terry Schreiber, and Peter Jensen. He has worked with Academy, Pulitzer, and Tony winner John Patrick Shanley on his newest collection of one acts A WOMAN IS A SECRET, at the LAByrinth Theatre. Favorite roles of Joshua s include, Bill in LOBBY HERO by Kenneth Lonergan (Gloria Maddox Theater NYC), Biff in DEATH OF A SALESMAN by Arthur Miller (TheaterWorks Colorado Springs), Omar in THE BIG FUNK by John Patrick Shanley (Clemente Soto Velez Theater NYC), Kenny in THE CHANGING ROOM by David Storey. Joshua wrote and acted in the short film SUNDAY WATER, which premiered at the New Orleans International Film Festival, the Southern Screen Festival, and the Mississippi International. About Southern Rep Theatre Now in its 28th Season, Southern Rep Theatre produces award-winning productions that are engaging, educational, and accessible for audiences of every socioeconomic background. Under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Aimée Hayes and Managing Director Jenny Windstrup, Southern Rep Theatre's Mainstage Season work includes bold World and Regional Premieres as well as the best of Broadway, off-broadway, and classic plays. Southern Rep Theatre's Lagniappe Series and "School to Stage Pipeline" of Arts Education Programs reflect the company's ongoing commitment to new play development by providing resources for students and burgeoning theatre professionals and supporting a more diverse theatre community. A mainstay of New Orleans arts community, Southern Rep Theatre continues to build on its unique position as a sector leader, creative force, and important resource for contemporary American theatre. Southern Rep Theatre s 2014-15 season is supported in part by grants from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council as administered by the Arts Council New Orleans. Funding has also been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works. ###