FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Cindy Moran, Public Relations Director, 414-224-1761 March 28, 2006 STUDENT AND TEACHER MEET AGAIN FOR ONE FINAL CLASS: LIFE Stiemke Theater TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE is the touching tale of two old friends reunited. Mitch, caught up in wealth and success, rediscovers his friendship with his college mentor, Morrie, who is dying. Filled with love and humor, this is a moving story about finding the meaning of life. 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. The Rep . . . See it LIVE! Mitch Albom is a successful sports reporter at the top of his field. His life seems fulfilling – full of famous athletes and prime-time coverage until he catches the latest “Nightline” featuring an old friend and teacher, Morrie Schwartz, is dying from Lou Gehrig’s disease. Feeling guilty for having lost touch over the past 16 years, Mitch makes time for a quick visit when Morrie begins to ask questions about life and happiness that Mitch cannot answer. Unable to shake Morrie’s voice in his head, Mitch begins to make his visits a weekly pilgrimage. These tender visits soon find Mitch back in the student’s chair as his former professor unearths life lessons and old dreams long lost in the shuffle of Mitch’s hectic life. Enjoying national success since its adaptation into a stage play, TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE has been performed at regional theaters throughout the United States and Canada. Its world premiere was at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center at the Playwrights Conference in Waterford, Connecticut in 2001. Since then a national touring production of the play began a 12-city tour in Miami last September. Mitch Albom graduated from Brandeis University with a degree in sociology. He later earned a Master’s Degree in journalism and business administration from Columbia University in New York City. He is the author of eight novels, among them The Five People You Meet in Heaven (2003) and the international bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie (1997). Both books have been on The New York Times Bestseller List (Tuesdays with Morrie for four years); Tuesdays with Morrie has sold over five million copies. When interviewed about by Broadway Across America, Albom was surprised with its success, “Tuesdays with Morrie was just a labor of love. It was never supposed to be a real big book of any kind. It was just a means of paying medical bills for an old man who was dying and needed help paying them,” said Albom. “All I knew how to do was write. So I started writing down what was happening in our visits with one another.” The book was later adapted into an ABC Emmy Award-winning television movie produced by Oprah Winfrey and starring Jack Lemmon and Hank Azaria. Albom has been named the top sports columnist in the nation 13 times by the Associated Press Sports Editors of America – the highest honor in his field. He is also a nationally syndicated columnist for The Detroit Free Press and an ABC nationally syndicated host for two radio shows. Albom has received more than 100 writing awards from AP, UPI, Headliners Club, National Sportswriters and Broadcasters Associations including seven first-place APSE honors for feature writing. A member of numerous charitable boards, Albom has also founded two charities in Detroit. The Dream Fund helps underprivileged youth become involved in the arts and A Time to Help provides volunteer opportunities on a monthly basis. In 1999, Albom was named National Hospice Organization’s Man of the Year. Jeffrey Hatcher, a native of Ohio, attended New York University to study acting. After working as a stage actor for a few years he turned his attention to writing. He has written many award-winning original plays, including: A PICASSO, WORK SONG (with Eric Simonson , seen at Milwaukee Rep during the 2000/01 season), THREE VIEWINGS, COMFORT AND JOY and SCOTLAND ROAD. He recently wrote the book for the Broadway musical NEVER GONNA DANCE, based on the film Swingtime featuring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Hatcher has also written numerous adaptations including: Kaufman and Hart’s THE FABULOUS INVALID and Henry James’ THE TURN OF THE SCREW. Hatcher wrote the screenplay for the film Stage Beauty (based on his COMPLEAT FEMALE STAGE BEAUTY) and a novel, The Art and Craft of Playwriting. He is a recipient of the Minnesota State Arts Board Grant and Fellowship awards from the Jerome Foundation, MacArthur Foundation and the McKnight Foundation through the Playwrights’ Center. Hatcher is currently working on a new commission for the South Coast Repertory and SOCKDOLOGY, based on the story of the actors who performed in OUR AMERICAN COUSIN the night Lincoln was shot. Paul Barnes makes his home in Ashland, Oregon, but has served as director, administrator and educator at various theaters across the country including Missouri Repertory Theatre, Virginia Stage Company, Sacramento Theatre Company and the Utah, California, Idaho and Kern Shakespeare Festivals. He returns to The Rep after previously directing TOMFOOLERY (2004/05), ALL MY SONS (2002/03), THE MEMORY OF WATER and A SKULL OF CONNEMARA (2000/02), NOISES OFF (1999/00) and THE GLASS MENAGERIE (1998/99). Along with Mark Hauck and Alec Wild, Barnes founded The Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona, Minnesota which is now in its second season. Donald Sage Mackay will be playing the role of Mitch. Earlier this season, Mr. Mackay was seen as Gordon Page in The Rep’s Quadracci production of LAUGHING STOCK. He has recently completed the title role in Doctor Faustus at Utah Shakespearean Festival and the world premiere this fall of William Gibson’s JONAH’S DREAM at Connecticut Rep. Mr. Mackay has also done extensive film/TV work with recurring roles on Scrubs, The Practice and Providence, among others. Robert Spencer will be playing Morrie. Earlier this season, Mr. Spencer was seen as Bapistin in A FLEA IN HER EAR. Last season he appeared as Ezekial Cheever in THE CRUCIBLE, Mr. DePinna in YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU and Leslie Briggs-Stratton in CHAPS! He has acted and directed in many regional theaters across the country and was a company member for 11 years at American Players Theatre in Spring Green. He has also acted on Broadway in BYE BYE BIRDIE, ENTER LAUGHING, VIA GALACTICA and SEXTET. (To learn more about our Resident Acting Company, Guest Actors or our Artistic Intern Company, please visit milwaukeerep.com). The production/design team for Mitch Albom’s TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE includes Michael Ganio (Scenic Designer/Costume Designer), Darren W. McCroom (Lighting Designer), Josh Schmidt (Sound Designer), Mark S. Sahba (Stage Manager) and Brian Cichocki (Assistant Director). Tickets to TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE are $20.00, $30.00 and $40.00 . For more info rmation 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 Mitch Albom’s TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE
For more information about The Rep’s Access Services, please contact Annie Jansen Jurczyk at 414-290-5366. STUDENT AND TEACHER MEET AGAIN FOR ONE FINAL CLASS: LIFE FACT SHEET THEATER: Stiemke Theater DESCRIPTION: Based on Albom’s novel of the same name, the play tells the story of a go-getting, somewhat cynical sportswriter who stops to visit his old college professor who he discovers is dying of cancer. Week after week, the writer returns to hear more of Morrie’s feisty wisdom, and eventually learns some valuable lessons of what it means to succeed and live a full and deliberate life. PERFORMANCES: Tuesday 4/11/06 7:30 p.m. Tuesday 4/25/06 7:30 p.m. Tuesday 5/2/06 6:30 p.m. Early Bird TICKET OFFICE LOCATION: TICKET PRICES: TICKETS/INFORMATION: 414-224-9490 or buy tickets online at milwaukeerep.com NEW TICKET OFFICE HOURS: ### 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 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 11 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 |
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