Press Release: The Glass Menagerie

THE COLONY THEATRE COMPANY

January 11, 2006…Burbank, CA…The Colony Theatre Company presents the  fourth production of its celebratory 30th anniversary year with the Tennessee Williams masterwork, THE GLASS MENAGERIE, directed by Jessica Kubzansky (The Colony’s Toys in the Attic, War Music) and starring Lisa Pelikan as Amanda (Accomplice, Daisy in the Dreamtime), Louis Lotorto as Tom (Sherlock’s Last Case, The Ladies of the Camellias), Mandy Freund as Laura and Jonathan McLain as Jim. THE GLASS MENAGERIE will preview Wednesday, February 8; Thursday, February 9 and Friday, February 10 at 8:00pm. It will open on Saturday, February 11 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, March 12 at the Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street (at Cypress) adjacent to the Burbank Town Center.    This semi-autobiographical account of Tennessee Williams’ early days in 1930’ s St. Louis is a heartbreaking yet often funny "memory play" told from the perspective of Tom Wingfield. THE GLASS MENAGERIE is the story of a family desperate to break free of the burdens of their past and their present. Tom's mother, Amanda has been abandoned by her husband, and now lives only for her children; his unmarried sister, Laura, is a fragile and painfully shy creature who retreats into a world of glass animals; and Tom himself is torn between his poetic inclinations and the responsibility of supporting his mother and sister. Each escapes into their own personal "glass menagerie" as a means of eluding the pain of their own - and each other's - existence.

Comments Colony Artistic Director Barbara Beckley: “We are so fortunate to have Jessica Kubzansky, Louis Lotorto and Lisa Pelikan back on our stage to bring this GLASS MENAGERIE to life. Jessica has a truly passionate take on this classic of the American theatre and we are overjoyed to be bringing her vision to our audiences and subscribers. With an extraordinary cast and  award-winning design team, this should be a MENAGERIE to be remembered for years to  come!”

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM

JESSICA KUBZANSKY (Director) is an award-winning director working around the U.S, and in fact, in 2004 was given the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Margaret Harford Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatre. She is also the Co-Artistic Director of The Theatre @ Boston Court, Pasadena's newest performing arts complex. In the first season of The Theatre @ Boston Court, she had the  privilege of directing the world premieres of Jean-Claude van Itallie's "Light" and Cody Henderson's “Cold/Tender" and most recently she directed the David Hare adaptation of Brecht's "Mother Courage," starring the inimitable Camille Saviola, choreographed by Kitty McNamee.

Other recent forays include the world premiere of Tom Jacobson's "The Orange Grove" a modern adaptation of "The Cherry Orchard" for Playwrights' Arena, a theatrical staging of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s "Wing On Wing" for the LA Philharmonic, both the Geffen Playhouse and the LATC world premiere productions of Bryan Davidson's “War Music” (multiple Ovation Awards), Sheila Callaghan’s “ Kate Crackernuts” at the 24th Street Theatre, the multiple award winning “ Toys in the Attic” at The Colony, "Measure for Measure" for A Noise Within, David Hare's "Amy's View" at International City Theatre, and several world premieres for the Mark Taper Forum's New Works (by Diana Son, Paula Weston Solano, Julia Cho).

Productions in other cities include: Bill Leavengood's "Little Mary" at the Sanford Meisner, NYC, Julia Cho’s “BFE” for Portland Center Stage’s JAW/West , "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" for Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Salamone/McIntyre's "Moscow," most recently at New York's Chekhov Now Festival, Carol Wolf's "The Thousandth Night (Monsieur Shaherazad)" starring Ron Campbell at London's Old Red Lion, among many venues worldwide (most recently at the Aurora Theatre, San Francisco), "Pirates of Penzance" for the Publick Theatre (Boston), Tony Kushner's "The Illusion" in Florida, "Twelfth Night" in Arizona, "Macbeth" in Edinburgh, Scotland. Also, previously in So Cal: "A Moon for the Misbegotten" and "Joined at the Head" (The Laguna Playhouse), "Dancing at Lughnasa" (La Mirada Theater for the Performing Arts), Vaclav Havel's "The Memorandum" and "Burn This" (Odyssey Theatre), "Lulu" (Pacific Resident Theatre), "The House of Blue Leaves" and "The Mandrake" (West Coast Ensemble), "Heartbreak House" (the Colony), Schnitzler's "Anatol" (Buffalo Nights), Steven Wadsworth's "The Triumph of Love" (Ivy Substation), among many others. Kubzansky and her productions are the recipients of numerous directing and production awards. She has an MFA in Direction from CalArts, did her undergraduate work at Johns Hopkins and Harvard, and currently teaches at UCLA as well as guest directing at other colleges including CalArts, USC, and Occidental College.

THE GLASS MENAGERIE has assembled an award-winning design team. The set and costume design is by Michelle Ney. Original Music is by Randall Tico (Apollo). The lighting design is by Jeremy Pivnick (Toys in the Attic, The Ladies of the Camellias).

THE GLASS MENAGERIE will open on Saturday, February 11 and perform through Sunday, March 12, 2006. Performances for THE GLASS MENAGERIE will be Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm, and Sundays at 2:00pm and 7:00pm. Additionally there will be performances on Saturday, February 18 and Saturday, February 25 at 3:00pm; and also Thursday, March 2 and Thursday, March 9 at 8:00pm. Ticket prices range from $30.00 - $40.00 (student, senior and group discounts are available). Preview performances will be Wednesday, February 8, Thursday, February 9 and Friday, February 10 at 8:00pm – tickets are $20.00 and $25.00.  Opening night performance with reception tickets are $50.00 and $55.00. There will be two Talk-Back performances with the cast on Friday, February 17 and Thursday, March 2 immediately following the performance. For tickets, call the Colony Theatre Box Office at 818/558-7000 ext. 15.   

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

The Colony Theatre Company is a 30-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.