FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Cindy Moran, Public Relations Director, 414-224-1761

September 7, 2007

Pulitzer Prize-winning comic fantasy
opens Rep’s 2007/08 Stiemke Theater Season

Edward Albee’s
SEASCAPE

Directed by Laura Gordon

Stiemke Theater

Previews: September 14 & 15, 2007 Opens: September 16, 2007 Closes: October 14, 2007

Winner of Pulitzer Prize for Drama, this comic fantasy centers on the unexpected meeting of two couples on a deserted beach The older couple are long married and on the threshold of retirement. Their counterparts are much younger and still evolving. Discover the lighter side of the writer of WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?, A DELICATE BALANCE and THE GOAT OR, WHO IS SYLVIA? Tickets can be purchased in person at The Rep Ticket Office at 108 East Wells Street, or by telephone at 414-224-9490. Tickets can also be purchased online 24/7 at milwaukeerep.com.

A middle-aged couple, Nancy and Charlie, recline on the dunes of a remote beach. Nancy says she could spend her entire life fanned by the seaside breezes and picnicking alongside the shore. After a lifetime of hard work, Charlie responds that his wife’s dreams would eventually lose their charm. For him, he would rather be relaxing and doing not much of anything. Nancy’s whimsical fantasies and pleas for adventure are in stark contrast to Charlie and his desire to kick back and do nothing. Nancy expresses her disappointment in Charlie – she’s waited her entire life for this time in her life. And now he doesn’t want to do anything? The couple soon finds themselves bickering.

Their grumblings are shortly interrupted by the appearance of Sarah and Leslie, another couple exploring their lives and where they are headed. Even though the two couples are initially struck by their obvious differences, they soon discover their striking similarities. While each couple shares some sense of disappointment and frustration, they both find that by evolving through life’s struggles, life, indeed, is worth living.

Playwright Edward Albee, one of the most celebrated voices of the American theater, has received numerous accolades for his playwriting, including three Pulitzer Prize awards for Drama, Kennedy Center Honors (1996), the National Medal of Arts (1996) and a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement (2005). Hailed by many as America’s greatest living playwright, Albee continues to exert a profound influence on the direction of modern American drama. Perhaps best known for works such as WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?, THE ZOO STORY and THREE TALL WOMEN, Albee often digs into the darker corners of marriage relationships and family life, uncovering the social chaos and the absurdity of the modern condition.

Albee exploded onto the stage in 1959 with his first work, THE ZOO STORY. More success followed soon after with WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?(1962) and A DELICATE BALANCE (1966). With other hits such as THE SANDBOX (1959) and THE AMERICAN DREAM (1960) and Pulitzer Prizes for A DELICATE BALANCE (1966) and SEASCAPE (1975), Albee is considered the successor to Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller and Eugene O’Neill. Even though Albee struggled to produce a commercial hit in the 1980s, THREE TALL WOMEN (1994) marked his re-entrance into the spotlight and won him his third Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle. THE GOAT OR, WHO IS SYLVIA?, premiered on Broadway in 2002. It won that year's Tony Award for Best Play. The Rep produced THE GOAT OR, WHO IS SYLVIA? during the 2004/05 season in The Rep’s Stiemke Theater.

Director Laura Gordon has been a member of Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s Resident Acting Company since 1993, performing in over 50 productions, including FROZEN, THE GOAT OR, WHO IS SYLVIA?, THE CRUCIBLE, THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE, MARY STUART, COPENHAGEN, TWELFTH NIGHT, A DOLL’S HOUSE, ESCAPE FROM HAPPINESS, THE SEAGULL, THE MEMORY OF WATER and MOLLY SWEENEY. Directing projects include: THE BOYS NEXT DOOR for Stephen F. Austin State University, SKIN TIGHT FULL GALLOP and MEMORY HOUSE for Renaissance Theaterworks and I HAVE BEFORE ME A REMARKABLE DOCUMENT GIVEN TO ME BY A YOUNG LADY FROM RWANDA and HALF LIFE at The Rep. Laura received her MFA in Acting from the University of Iowa, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Ten Chimneys Foundation. She is married to actor/director Jonathan Smoots.

Included in the cast for Edward Albee’s SEASCAPE are Resident Acting Company Members Mark Corkins (Leslie) and James Pickering (Charlie).

In addition, joining the cast are Guest Actors Cristina Panfilio (Sarah) and Linda Stephens (Nancy).
(To learn more about our Resident Acting Company, Guest Actors or our Intern Company, please visit milwaukeerep.com).

The production/design team for Edward Albee’s SEASCAPE includes: Bill Clarke (Scenic Designer); Rachel Laritz (Costume Designer); Jason Fassl (Lighting Designer); Barry G. Funderburg (Sound Designer); Ed Burgess (Movement); Kristin Crouch (Literary Director); Whitney Frazier (Stage Manager), Laura Wendt (Stage Management Apprentice) and Tim Nicolai (Assistant Director).
Tickets to Edward Albee’s SEASCAPE are $23.50 and $33.50 on weekdays and Sundays and $33.50 and $43.50 on Fridays and Saturdays. Students and senior citizens may purchase half-price RUSH TICKETS with proper identification 60 minutes before curtain time for all Stiemke Theater performances at The Rep Ticket Office. For more information or to charge tickets, call 414-224-9490. Tickets can be purchased online 24/7 at milwaukeerep.com. For group sales of 20 or more, call The Rep Ticket Office at 414-224-9490.

Special Events for Edward Albee’s SEASCAPE

• Join us for The Rep in Depth, which begins 45 minutes before curtain time before every performance in the Stiemke Theater. This Rep in Depth will be led by Rep Resident Acting Company Member Mark Corkins.

• On Thursday, September 27 at 7:30 p.m. there will be an Audio-Described Performance for patrons who are blind or have low vision.

• A performance interpreted in American Sign Language is scheduled for Sunday, October 7, 2007.

For more information about The Rep's Access Services, please contact The Rep's Ticket Office at 414-224-9490.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater

Edward Albee’s
SEASCAPE

FACT SHEET

THEATER: Stiemke Theater

DATES: September 14, 2007 – October 14, 2007

DESCRIPTION: Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, this comic fantasy centers on the unexpected meeting of two couples on a deserted beach. The older couple are long married and on the threshold of retirement. Their counterparts are much younger and still evolving. Discover the lighter side of the writer of WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?, A DELICATE BALANCE and THE GOAT OR, WHO IS SYLVIA?

PERFORMANCES:
Friday, 9/14/07 – 8:00 p.m. – Preview/Pay-What-You-Can
Saturday, 9/15/07 – 8:00 p.m. – Preview
Sunday, 9/16/07 – 7:00 p.m. – Opening

Tuesday, 9/18/07 – 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, 9/19/07 – 7:30 p.m. – Talkback
Thursday, 9/20/07 – 7:30 p.m.
Friday, 9/21/07 – 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, 9/22/07 – 4:00/8:00 p.m.
Sunday, 9/23/07 – 2:00/7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, 9/25/07 – 6:30 p.m. – Early Bird
Wednesday, 9/26/07 – 7:30 p.m. – Talkback
Thursday, 9/27/07 – 7:30 p.m. – Audio-Description
Friday, 9/28/07 – 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, 9/29/07 – 4:00/8:00 p.m.
Sunday, 9/30/07 – 2:00/7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, 10/3/07 – 1:30/7:30 p.m. – Talkback
Thursday, 10/4/07 – 7:30 p.m.
Friday, 10/5/07 – 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, 10/6/07 – 4:00/8:00 p.m.
Sunday – 10/7/07 – 2:00/7:00 p.m. – 2:00/American Sign Language

Tuesday, 10/9/07 – 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, 10/10/07 – 7:30 p.m. – Talkback
Thursday, 10/11/07 – 7:30 p.m.
Friday, 10/12/07 – 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, 10/13/07 – 4:00/8:00 p.m.
Sunday, 10/14/07 – 2:00/7:00 p.m. – 2:00/Smoke-free/Closing

TICKET PRICES:

WEEKDAY/SUNDAY: $23.50 & $33.50
FRIDAY/SATURDAY: $33.50 & $43.50

TICKETS/INFORMATION: 414-224-9490 or buy tickets online at milwaukeerep.com

TICKET OFFICE LOCATION: 108 East Wells Street in Milwaukee’s Downtown Theater District

TICKET OFFICE HOURS: Mon - Fri, 12 pm - 6 pm on phones, 12 pm - curtain for window
Sat/Sun 12 pm - 6 pm on phones, 12 pm - curtain for window

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Open to the public before and after all evening performances, Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s Stackner Cabaret, located on the second floor of the Milwaukee Center, is our own full-service, smoke-free bar and restaurant. Featuring delicious dinners, as well as late night cocktails, coffee, and desserts, the Cabaret is the ideal meeting place for patrons attending Rep performances. For dinner reservations, call 414-224-9490.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater is a nationally recognized theater company that presents a critically-acclaimed selection of compelling dramas, powerful classics, award-winning contemporary works and lively Cabaret shows on three stages from September through May. The Rep also produces an annual production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. The Rep's home, the Patty and Jay Baker Theater Complex, accommodates the Quadracci Powerhouse Theater, the Stiemke Theater and the Stackner Cabaret. The Rep is also home to a Resident Acting Company of 13 actors who perform with The Rep throughout the season.

The Rep is proud to be a member of the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF), which provides major annual financial support. The Rep is a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), a management association of some of the nation's largest non-profit professional theaters that collectively bargains with the unions that represent the actors, directors and designers that work at The Rep; a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the nonprofit professional theater; and a member of Theatre Wisconsin, the statewide association of non-profit professional theaters. This theater operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. The set, costume and lighting designers are members of United Scenic Artists, a national labor union. This theater is an equal opportunity employer. Except in plays where race itself is an issue, casting is decided based on ability, not race.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater, 108 E Wells St Milwaukee, WI 53202
Ticket Office: 414-224-9490 Ticket Office Fax: 225-5490
Administrative: 414-224-1761 Fax: 414-224-9097

http://www.milwaukeerep.com