PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: December 17, 2010
CONTACT: Dan Berube, berube@merrimackrep.org
PR CONTACT PHONE: 978.654.7595
BOX OFFICE: 978.654.4MRT (4678)
MERRIMACK REP PRESENTS TRYST
A Provocative Romantic Thriller
JANUARY 6-30, 2011
PRESS NIGHT: JANUARY 9, 7PM
Lowell, MA – Merrimack Repertory Theatre opens 2011 with the suspenseful drama Tryst by Karoline Leach, runningJanuary 6-30, 2011, stage direction by Joe Brancato. Tryst is a riveting romantic thriller set in Edwardian London about a handsome con-man who marries simple, well-off women only to leave them inexplicably poor and husbandless the day after their honeymoons. Then one day his charms meet their match. Emotional and breathtaking, Tryst is a provocative and suspenseful drama of love and betrayal. The play contains adult content, sexual situations and nudity, and is recommended for mature audiences. Subscriptions and individual tickets are available online at www.MerrimackRep.org or by calling 978.654.4MRT.
“Provocative, absorbing and overwhelming” – John Simon, Bloomberg
“An extraordinary night of heart-gripping theater” – Houston Press
The all-Equity cast of Tryst features Mark Shanahan as George Love and Andrea Maulella as Adelaide Pinchin, reprising their roles from the 2006 Alley Theatre production. Mark Shanahan previously appeared in Augusta at Merrimack Rep, while Andrea Maulella makes her MRT debut. The creative team for Tryst includes Joe Brancato (director), Michael Schweikardt (set design), Alejo Vietti (costume design), Martin Vreeland (lighting design) and Johnna Doty (sound design). Director Joe Brancato previously directed Tryst off-Broadway at the Promenade Theatre, where the production received an Outer Critics nomination for Best Play, as well as at the Alley Theatre in Houston. He is also the founder and Artistic Director of Penguin Rep in Rockland County, New York.
“I discovered the play under another title on a dreary, dark day in February in London,” director Joe Brancato said, sharing the story of how he first encountered Tryst. “I was drawn to the story but unimpressed by the interpretation I had seen. I immediately contacted the playwright, drove the five hours west of London to meet with her in Taunton, and told her of my reservations about what I had seen! As fate would have it when you live life with candor, she agreed, and together we moved forward to tell the story of George Love and Adelaide which you will witness at Merrimack Rep. This romantic psychological thriller can only find a home in theatres where the audiences have come to appreciate language and multidimensional characters. Under the artistic directorship of Charles Towers, Merrimack Rep has become such a haven for great writers as Karoline Leach who can take us to faraway places, yet somehow keep the storyline remarkably relevant and contemporary!”
Karoline Leach (born July 20, 1967) is a British playwright and author, best known for her book In the Shadow of the Dreamchild, which re-examines the life of Lewis Carroll, author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Prior to becoming a writer, she studied acting and worked as both an actor and director in British theatre. Her first professionally produced work as a writer was an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, commissioned by Orchard Theatre Company in 1989. An earlier version of the Tryst script, The Mysterious Mr. Love, was produced in London's West End in 1997. Tryst opened off-Broadway at the Promenade Theatre, on April 6, 2006, and has subsequently been produced in Houston, Los Angeles and Montreal.
Merrimack Repertory Theatre’s 2010-2011 season is sponsored by Lowell Cooperative Bank. This production of Tryst has received additional support from Magic 106.7. Merrimack Repertory Theatre is funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
CAST BIOS
Andrea Maulella (Adelaide) Merrimack Repertory Theatre: debut. Off-Broadway: One Shot, One Kill, directed by Joe Brancato, Primary Stages; Small Craft Warnings, White Horse Theater Company; The Holy Mother of Hadley New York,Ohio Theater. Regional: To Kill A Mockingbird, Alley Theatre; Tryst, Westport Country Playhouse (Connecticut Critics’ Circle Award); The Miracle Worker, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ivoryton Playhouse; Miracle on South Division Street,Penguin Repertory Theatre; Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Hangar Theatre; Collected Stories, Portland Stage Company. Film:Love Ludlow, The Mulberry Tree, Missed Connections. Television: Guiding Light, Spin City, Talk Soup (1995), The Sopranos.
Mark Shanahan (George) Merrimack Repertory Theatre: Augusta. Broadway: The 39 Steps, Original Broadway Company. Off-Broadway: Credits include As Bees In Honey Drown, Lucille Lortell Theatre; Appearance of Impropriety,Abingdon Theatre; Philadelphia, Here I Come!, Roundabout Theatre; The Internationalist, 45 Bleecker and the Fairfield Theatre Company; Downwinders, Madame Killer, Soho Repertory Theatre. Regional: Credits include Journey’s End, Witness for the Prosecution, Hitchcock Blonde, Treasure Island, Harvey, Alley Theatre; Tryst, Sedition, Journey’s End, David Copperfield (directed by Anne Keefe and Joanne Woodward), Around the World in 80 Days, Westport Country Playhouse;Dial M for Murder, The Fulton Opera House; Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Hartford Theaterworks; Andromeda Shack, Kennedy Center; One Foot on the Floor, Denver Center; West End Horror, Bay Street Theatre; Pioneer Theatre; Mrs. Mannerly,Women Who Steal, Penguin Repertory Theatre; Noises, Off!, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. Film and TV: Safe Men, Bug, Endsville, David Letterman, All My Children. Directing: Alley Theatre, The Cape Playhouse, Penguin Repertory Theatre, The Depot Theatre, Lake Placid Performing Arts Center, The Charles M. Wood Theatre, The Michael Howard Studio Theatre, Actor’s Theatre Nantucket, The Script in Hand Series at the Westport Country Playhouse, Butterflies are Free with Jonathan Groff and Blythe Danner. Other: Award-winning voiceover artist, Edgar Award nominated playwright, co-storywriter of the screenplay The Troubleshooter (Universal). Education: BA, Brown University; MA, Fordham University (current faculty).
SPECIAL EVENTS FOR TRYST:
Pay What You Can Night – January 6 at 7:30PM. Patrons may purchase tickets in cash at the Box Office between 4:30PM-7:30PM and name their ticket price. Following the performance, there will also be a Director’s Dialogue, where the director and designers field audience questions and describe how the play was staged. Lowell Night – January 8 at 8PM. Lowell residents may purchase tickets for $10 at the box office from 5PM-8PM. Proper ID required. Opening Night – January 9 at 7PM. Audience members are invited to join Merrimack Rep’s staff and cast after the show in raising a glass of champagne to celebrate the opening of the production. Cookie Matinee – January 12 at 2PM. Patrons enjoy complimentary cookies and coffee in the lobby before the show, courtesy of Brew’d Awakening Coffeehaus. Post Show Forums – January 13, 20 and 27 at 7:30PM. Audiences can stay after the performance to learn the inside scoop and chat with the actors. Sponsored by Yellowbook.
TICKETS: Tickets to all productions in the 2010-2011 Season are on sale now. Tickets begin at $25. Discounts are available for students, seniors and groups. Tickets may be purchased online at www.MerrimackRep.org or by calling the Box Office at 978.654.4MRT (4678).
SUBSCRIPTIONS: Don’t miss a single show! On sale now, MRT offers subscription packages to fit every lifestyle and budget. With season subscription packages ranging from $46-$273, all subscriptions offer deep discounts off the single ticket prices as well as exclusive subscriber-only benefits, including free parking, restaurant and theatre discounts, lost ticket insurance and free, unlimited ticket exchanges. For season or subscription information, call 978.654.4MRT (4678), or visitwww.MerrimackRep.org.
For more information, bios, interviews, or photos, please contact Dan Berube at 978.654.7595 orberube@merrimackrep.org.
For MRT show times, tickets, season information, directions, or to request a brochure, please visitwww.merrimackrep.org or call the Box Office at 978.654.4MRT (4678).
The nationally-acclaimed and award-winning Merrimack Repertory Theatre is located in beautiful historic downtown Lowell at Liberty Hall, the Company’s intimate 308-seat theatre, 50 E. Merrimack Street, Lowell, MA 01852 (adjacent to Lowell Memorial Auditorium). Each season, Merrimack Rep presents an eclectic mix of contemporary productions, engaging the country’s best available actors, designers and directors. Founded in 1979, MRT’s mission is “To advance the cause of human understanding by creating theatrical productions at the highest level of artistic excellence and making them affordable to the broadest possible community.” Its unique artistic vision is shaped by a passion for excellence and a profound commitment to its community. MRT strives to enhance the community’s quality of life while contributing to its economic strength, measuring success by the depth of the Company’s artistic and social contribution to the region.
