Announcing: “Tennessee & Anna” Postponed Until Fall

TENNESSEE & ANNA BY FRANCO D’ALESSANDRO
HAS BEEN POSTPONED

WEST COAST PREMIERE WAS TO HAVE OPENED AT THE
ODYSSEY THEATRE ON SATURDAY, APRIL 9

Due to creative differences that ultimately could not be resolved in time for the scheduled opening, Phoenix Rising Productions has decided to postpone the West Coast premiere of Franco D’Alessandro’s Tennessee & Anna, starring Morlan Higgins and Karen Kondazian, until the fall. The play had been slated to open, as a guest production at the Odyssey Theatre in West Los Angeles, on Saturday, April 9.

Tennessee & Anna chronicles the 25-year friendship between Tennessee Williams and the great Academy Award-winning Italian actress Anna Magnani. Set in Rome during the La Dolce Vita era, it is a memory play told through the eyes of Tennessee. Both Morlan Higgins and Karen Kondazian are much acclaimed and multi-award-winning actors. Higgins most recently appeared in the U.S. premiere of Athol Fugard’s Train Driver at the Fountain Theatre. Kondazian’s career has included starring roles opposite Ed Harris, Richard Chamberlain, and Ray Stricklyn, among others, in various productions through the years. When Williams himself saw Kondazian in a Los Angeles production of The Rose Tattoo, her work as both actor and producer so impressed the playwright that they became friends. Williams gave Kondazian carte blanche to produce any of his works in his lifetime. Her last appearance at the Odyssey was as Maria Callas in Terrence McNally’s Master Class.

Refunds for previously purchased Tennessee & Anna tickets may be obtained by calling the Odyssey Theatre box office at (310) 277-2055, extension 2. The Odyssey Theatre is located at 2055 S. Sepulveda Boulevard, in West Los Angeles, 90025.

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04-01-11