Announcing: LA Premiere of “Blue/Orange” by Joe Penhall Set for Limited Run, Oct. 1-Nov. 12

PLAYER KING PRODUCTIONS
PRESENTS THE LOS ANGELES PREMIERE OF
BLUE/ORANGE
BY JOE PENHALL

EXCITING AND SUSPENSEFUL COMEDY-DRAMA
BEGINS SEPTEMBER 30
AT THE DANCE CONSERVATORY OF PASADENA

Blue/Orange PosterPlayer King Productions has announced the Los Angeles premiere of Blue/Orange by British playwright Joe Penhall, directed by Ty Mayberry, for 13 performances only beginning Sunday, September 30, and running Sunday and Monday evenings through November 12. Opening night is Monday, October 1 at 8:00, at the Dance Conservatory of Pasadena.

Winner of the Olivier and London Evening Standard Awards for Best New Play, as well as the London Critics Circle Theatre Award, Blue/Orange sets the stage for a clash of wills between two psychiatrists, one a new, inexperienced doctor in the first month of his residency, and the other, his well established mentor. The diagnosis and treatment of a young black man named Chris, who claims to be the son of African dictator Idi Amin, sparks the conflict between the two doctors. As Chris becomes a pawn in their battles, the audience is left wondering who, if anyone, is sane in this dark, edgy, comic play.

Playwright Joe Penhall’s first play, Wild Turkey, was performed as part of the 1993 London New Play Festival. In 1994, his play Some Voices premiered at the Royal Court Upstairs, to major acclaim. Said the London Sunday Times, “The most thrilling playwriting in years … razor sharp, sensitive, and quietly elegant.” Soon, Penhall became a writer-in-residence at the Royal National Theatre, where he ultimately offered two scripts, one of which was Blue/Orange.

Directed by Ty Mayberry, the cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Frederick Frazier, Matt Freitas, and Jonathan Salisbury. Director Mayberry, who is also Artistic Director of Player King Productions, was a member of the resident acting company at the Tony Award-winning Alley Theatre of Houston for four seasons, where he appeared in 21 productions, including the title role in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, As Bees In Honey Drown, Wit, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Devil’s Disciple, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Alan Ayckbourn’s House and Garden, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, among others. In Los Angeles, Mayberry appeared in the world premiere of Lewis and Clark Reach the Euphrates at the Mark Taper Forum. He directed Hamlet for Player King Productions in the spring of 2011.

Frederick Frazier has been featured in the short films Lunch with Jeremiah, Mother, and Casual. He appeared in the world premiere play Choke Point at the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Matt Freitas was last seen on stage as Horatio in Player King Productions’ Hamlet. He graduated from The Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts in 2000, and received his BA in Theatre from Columbia College of Chicago. Jonathan Salisbury was born and bred in England, where he spent most of his adult life there working as an actor, director and producer. Stage credits include Strindberg’s Ghost Sonata, Mamet’s Sexual Perversity in Chicago, and Breaking New Ground at the Edinburgh Festival. For Player King, Salisbury appeared as Claudius and The Ghost in Hamlet in 2011.

The lighting designer is Forrest Lancaster, and the stage manager is Gina Lohman. Blue/Orange is produced for Player King Productions by Mayberry and Lohman.

Blue/Orange will play one preview performance on Sunday, September 30 at 8pm, and opening night is set for Monday, October 1 at 8:00. The regular performance schedule is Sunday and Monday at 8pm through November 12 only; there will be no performance on Sunday, October 28. Tickets are $20 and may be purchased online at http://blueorange.brownpapertickets.com, or by phone at (310) 616-6707. For more information, visit www.playerkingproductions.com.

The Dance Conservatory of Pasadena is located at 496 South Arroyo Parkway, in Pasadena, 91105.

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09-20-12