Elm City Beat

NEW HAVEN – Long Wharf Theatre continues its long tradition of premiering works by new American voices with the world premiere of Lil’s 90th by Darci Picoult., directed by Jo Bonney, taking place on Stage II from January 6- February 7, 2010.

Curtain times are Tuesdays at 7 p.m., Wednesdays at 2 and 7 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 3p.m. and 8p.m., and Sundays at 2p.m. and 7p.m. Tickets are $30-$65.

As Lillian nears a milestone birthday, she and her family put the finishing touches on the much-anticipated party at which she’ll make her singing debut. There’s a speech to be written, a band to rehearse and, of course, an outfit to choose. But then Lil’s husband Charlie’s secret gets out the birthday surprise that he hoped would make her day may instead tear their lives apart. In Picoult’s playful and poignant new play, it is the power of love that stands the test of aging. Obie Award-winning director Jo Bonney helms this intimate and consideration of life in twilight.

The play stars Lois Smith as Lil (Hartford Stage’s Dividing the Estate) and David Margulies as her husband Charlie (Long Wharf Theatre’s The Price and Rocket to the Moon), along with Nick Blaemire, Kristine Nielsen (Long Wharf Theatre’s The Singing Forest), and Lucy Walters.

“Partners in life, but rarely seen together on stage before, legendary actress Lois Smith and Long Wharf’s beloved David Margulies brought me this wonderful play, taking me up on my offer to find a play in which they could appear together. This is indeed a rare, not-to-be-missed opportunity to see two truly great actors perform together. I can’t wait,” said Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein.

Picoult was inspired to write the play when she had heard of an elderly woman who, in celebration of her birthday, performed a cabaret act for friends and relatives. That nugget provided the impetus for this family drama, a play with warmth and compassion.

Edelstein believes Margulies and Smith bring a unique perspective to the work. “Lois has an American authenticity that is matched by very few performers. You have to think of Julie Harris to think of what kind of texture Lois brings to a role. David Margulies is one of our great character actors. David brings power, masculinity and vulnerability to his performances. They are both very warm actors and audiences love them when they see them,” Edelstein said.

The creative team is comprised of Frank Alberino (sets), Ilona Somogyi (costumes), Lap Chi Chu (lighting), Jill DuBoff (sound), Erin Hill (musical director), April Donahower (dramaturg), and Lisa Chernoff (stage manager).

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.longwharf.org or call 203-787-4282.


FAST FACTS


Lil’s 90th, by Darci Picoult, directed by Jo Bonney

January 6 -November 7, 2009
Stage II
Press Night: Wednesday, January 13, at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $30-$65
Performance Schedule: Tuesdays at 7 p.m., Wednesdays, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Box office phone number: 203-787-4282
Website: www.longwharf.org.


CREATIVE TEAM BIOS

Darci Picoult
Playwright

Ms. Picoult’s one woman show, My Virginia, was presented in theatres and solo festivals both nationally and internationally. Her play, A Good Life, was produced by the New Group in New York City. She is also developing her play Mother Daughter Variations with director Lisa Peterson. Other plays include Ancient Lights, which was workshopped at New York Theater Workshop and read at Lincoln Center as part of the New York Public Library Reading Series, and Making The World Round, a piece about interracial adoption. She is a 2005 Sundance screenwriting fellow, having participated in the 2005 Sundance Feature Film Labs with her screenplay Mother Of George and is the recipient of the 2006 Maryland Film Fellowship Award, the 2006 Annenberg Film Fellowship Program and was one of three finalists from the United States for the Sundance NHK award. Ms. Picoult taught writing for the Legacy Project at the Public Theater and currently teaches acting at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts/ New York University. She is the recipient of the 2008 National Theater Conference’s Paul Green Award for her playwriting.

Jo Bonney
Director

Ms. Bonney directed world premieres of plays by Suzan-Lori Parks, Naomi Wallace, Michael Weller, Alan Ball, Eric Bogosian, Neil LaBute, Christopher Shinn, Darci Picoult, Will Power, Danny Hoch, Universes, Jose Rivera, Diana Son, Jessica Goldberg, Warren Leight,. She has also directed productions of plays by Charles Fuller, Lisa Loomer, Anna Deavere Smith, Caryl Churchill, Lanford Wilson, Dael Orlandersmith, Nilo Cruz, John Osborne. She has worked at The Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, Second Stage, NY, The Goodman Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, MCC,NY, Geffen Playhouse, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Playwrights Horizons, Arena Stage, Mark Taper Forum, Signature Theatre, NY, Long Wharf Theatre, The New Group, NY, Classic Stage Company, NY, Humana Theatre Festival, Almeida Theatre, London, Edinburgh Theatre Festival. Ms. Bonney is the recipient of a 1998 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Direction, Lucille Lortel Best Musical and Lucille Lortel Best Revival. Editor of Extreme Exposure: An Anthology of Solo Performance Texts from the Twentieth Century (TCG).

Nick Blaemire
Tommy

Mr. Blaemire is honored to be a part of this wonderful play.He appeared in the Broadway/touring productions of Cry-Baby (Original Cast), Glory Days (Music and Lyrics - Cast Recording available on Sh-K-Boom Records), Altar Boyz (1st National Tour). He appeared regionally in James Lapine's Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing (Vineyard Playhouse), Little Shop of Horrors (Casa Manana Theatre), The Unauthorized Biography of Samantha Brown (OCPAC), Joe Iconis' The Black Suits (SPF @ The Public Theatre). His film and television credits include Assassination of a High School President (featuring Bruce Willis and Mischa Barton), "Guiding Light," "Great Books: The Jungle." He is currently writing the music and lyrics for the new original musical Finding Robert Hutchens, with a book by Paul Downs Colaizzo, commissioned by Broadway Across America. Proud University of Michigan graduate and AEA member. Thanks to Jo, Darci, James and Paul for this opportunity, the boys at Paradigm, Mr. Pletes, and as always, BBF.

David Margulies
Charlie

Mr. Margulies has appeared at Long Wharf Theatre in The Price, Rocket To The Moon and She Stoops To Conquer. In New York he was seen last spring in Chasing Manet (Primary Stages). On Broadway his credits include Conversations With My Father(in which he co-starred), Comedians, The West Side Waltz, Wonderful Town, 45 Seconds From Broadway, Angels In America (where he was the third and last of the Roy Cohns) and Brighton Beach Memoirs. Mr. Margulies appeared Off-Broadway in All That I Will Ever Be, The Accomplices (Actors Equity's Richard Seff Award for both,) and many others. Regionally he has performed in The Rivals (Hartford Stage), Hamlet (McCarter Theatre), the American premiere of Hysteria as Freud (Mark Taper Forum), The Happy Time (Arlington's Signature Theatre, Helen Hayes Award 2008, best leading actor in a musical) and others. In films he has just finished filming Roadie, and is in the upcoming All Good Things. He has also appeared in Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2 (as the Mayor of New York,) All That Jazz, Dressed To Kill, and more. He was Tony Soprano's lawyer Neil Mink.

Kristine Nielsen
Stephanie

Ms. Nielsen recently appeared at Long Wharf Theatre in The Singing Forest. Her Broadway credits include To Be Or Not To Be, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Spring Awakening, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Green Bird, Jackie, The Iceman Cometh. She appeared off-Broadway in Why Torture Is Wrong…; Die Mommie Die!; Crazy Mary; Betty’s Summer Vacation (Obie Award); Omnium Gatherum; Dog Opera (Obie Award); Machinal. Her regional theatre work includes Williamstown, McCarter, Guthrie, Huntington, La Jolla, Actors Theatre of Louisville. On television and film Ms. Nielsen worked in Morning Glory, The Savages, Small Time Crooks, 3 of the Law & Orders. She was trained at Northwestern and the Yale School of Drama.

Lois Smith
Lil

Recent theatre work includes Horton Foote's The Trip To Bountiful at New York's Signature Theater and Goodman Theater in Chicago (lot of awards!), as well as last season's The Tempest at Steppenwolf in Chicago (playing Lord Gonzalo) and Dividing The Estate at Hartford Stage. Her first professional job in theatre was as a teenager in a Broadway play in the 50's, Time Out For Ginger. In between, some favorite stage roles include the original Orpheus Descending on Broadway, as well as The Grapes Of Wrath and Buried Child (two Tony nominations), both moved to Broadway from Steppenwolf, where she is a member of the ensemble. Her films include East of Eden, Five Easy Pieces (National Society of Film Critics Award), Fried Green Tomatoes, Next Stop Greenwich Village, How To Make An American Quilt, Twister, Dead Man Walking, Minority Report, and Hollywoodland. She recently completed shooting Roadie, an independent NYC film directed by Michael Cuesta. On television, she played Sookie's grandmother on the first season of “True Blood” on HBO, and many dramas and comedies for the past 50+ years.

Lucy Walters
Deirdre

Ms. Walters’ New York theatre credits include Bang Day (3Graces), F*ckPlays (Working Man’s Clothes), 365/365 (The Public), The Most Beautiful Lullaby You’ve Ever Heard (City Attic Theater). Some of her other theatrical credits include Flesh and the Desert, Betrayal, Stonewater Rapture. Ms. Walters has appeared on film and television in “Lipstick Jungle”, “Guiding Light”, “As the World Turns”, Dumping Lisa (BOPfilm), and Anorexic Girls with Guns. Recently received a B.A. from University of Texas at Austin in Theatre, Dance and Plan II. Ms. Walters was the recipient of the Marcia Gay Harden Theatre Scholarship (U.T. at Austin).

www.longwharf.org