Shows & Tickets
JANE KACZMAREK SHARES IN MOTHER WORDS WITH AMY PIETZ, SAIDAH ARRIKA EKULONA AND JAMES LECESNE West Coast Premiere of Theatrical Anthology Opens in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse on February 23, 2011 Pieces Written by Leslie Ayvazian, David Cale, Jessica Goldberg, Beth Henley, Lameece Issaq, Claire LaZebnik, Lisa Loomer, Michele Lowe, Marco Pennette, Lisa Ramirez, Theresa Rebeck, Luanne Rice, Annie Weisman and Cheryl L. West LOS ANGELES, January 31 2011 - In Mother Words, an audacious collection of stories by some of theater's most talented contemporary playwrights, makes its West Coast debut with award-winning actors Jane Kaczmarek, Amy Pietz, Saidah Arrika Ekulona and James Lecesne. Conceived by Susan Rose and Joan Stein and helmed by acclaimed director Lisa Peterson, this hilarious night of theater includes works by Pulitzer Prize winner Beth Henley, Pulitzer Prize nominee Lisa Loomer, two-time Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award finalist Michele Lowe, Peabody Award winner Theresa Rebeck, best-selling author Luanne Rice, as well as Leslie Ayvazian, David Cale, Jessica Goldberg, Lameece Isaaq, Claire LaZebnik, Marco Pennette, Lisa Ramirez, Annie Weisman and Cheryl L. West. These playwrights combined stories give voice to mothers and children of all ages, races and even sexes - resulting in an eye-opening, poignant and irresistible evening, which opens in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse on February 23, 2011.
With an emphasis on storytelling, In Mother Words comes alive with a rotating cast of four actors, script in hands, who guide the audience through an evening enhanced by multi-media and movement. Actors Saidah Arrika Ekulona, who was critically acclaimed for originating the role of Mama Nadi in Ruined in Chicago and off-Broadway, and James Lecesne, who created the award-winning one man show Word of Mouth as well as the Academy Award winning short Trevor, will star in the entire three month run of In Mother Words through May 1, 2011. The other two actors will perform in four-week rotations; cast changes will be on March 16 and April 30. Broadway actress and Emmy Award nominee Jane Kaczmarek, best known for her seven-year stint on the television show Malcolm in the Middle, and Amy Pietz, best known for her longtime role on Caroline in the City, will appear in the first cast of In Mother Words through March 15. The opening will be on February 23 with post-show festivities held at Napa Valley Grille with Chef Joseph Gillard preparing regional specialties complete with wine poured by Malibu Family Wines and a specialty drink courtesy of Krol Vodka.
In Mother Words had two workshops in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater in 2008 before it opened with the title Motherhood Out Loud at Bay Street Theatre in the Hamptons in the summer of 2009; last fall the play had its official world premiere at Hartford Stage. The Geffen Playhouse production, which is the West Coast premiere of the project, has been reworked slightly and will be the first version opening with the title In Mother Words. IN MOTHER WORDS Conceived by Susan Rose & Joan Stein Written by Leslie Ayvazian, David Cale, Jessica Goldberg, Beth Henley, Lameece Issaq, Claire LaZebnik, Lisa Loomer, Michele Lowe, Marco Pennette, Lisa Ramirez, Theresa Rebeck, Luanne Rice, Annie Weisman & Cheryl L. West Directed by Lisa Peterson Previews: February 15 - February 22, 2011 Opening: February 23, 2011 Cast Change: March 16, 2011 Cast Change: April 13, 2011 Closing: May 1, 2011 Ticket Info Ticket prices for preview performances are $57 and range from $67 to $77 for the regular run. Tickets are on sale now on www.geffenplayhouse.org, by calling (310) 208-5454 or in-person at the Geffen Playhouse box office. Production Credits Set Designer Rachel Hauck Costume Designer David Woolard Lighting Designer Christopher Kuhl Sound Designer Jill DuBoff Projection Designer Jan Hartley Animations Emily Hubley Production Stage Manager Young Ji Cast (Feb 15 - March 15) Saidah Arrika Ekulona Jane Kaczmarek James Lecesne Amy Pietz Biographies SAIDAH ARRIKA EKULONA Saidah Arrika Ekulona originated the role of Mama Nadi in Ruined at the Goodman Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club (OBIE Award, Lucille Lortel Award, JEFF Award, Drama Desk Citation). BROADWAY: Well. OFFBROADWAY: Ruined (MTC); Othello; Unconditional; 365 Days, 365 Plays; Well; The Square; Romeo and Juliet (Public Theatre/NYSF); Anon (Atlantic Theater Company); The Thugs (Soho Rep); Fabulation (Playwrights Horizons); A Streetcar Named Desire (NYTW) FILM: That's What She Said; Righteous Kill; The Taking of Pelham 123; Two Lovers; The Rebound; Uncertainty; The Royal Tenenbaums; Happy Accidents. TV: Law and Order SVU; Royal Pains; Mercy; The Sopranos; Queens Supreme; Sex & The City; Hope & Faith; Law & Order. Training: MFA -University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theatre. JANE KACZMAREK Kaczmarek has appeared on Broadway in Lost in Yonkers and in plays at the Manhattan Theatre Club, The Public, Second Stage, Long Wharf, New York Stage and Film, and the Berkshire and Williamstown Theatre Festivals. In LA, she recently appeared in Autumn Garden at Antaeus Theatre, and has appeared in Kindertransport (Ovation Award - Best Actress), Dinner With Friends, and Raised in Captivity (LA Drama Critics Award - Featured Performance) at South Coast Repertory. Kaczmarek starred for seven years in the Emmy Award winning TV series Malcolm in the Middle (Emmy Award nominations, Golden Globe Award nominations, SAG Award nominations, American Comedy Award - Funniest Female Performer - TV Series, TCA Award - Individual Achievement in Comedy, AFI Actor of the Year Award - Female - Series). Other TV credits include: Raising the Bar, The Simpsons, Felicity, Party of Five and Frasier. Her film credits include: Pleasantville, Vice Versa, DOA, Falling in Love, and Uncommon Valor. JAMES LECESNE Theater: His one-man play Word of Mouth was presented Off-Broadway by Mike Nichols & Elaine May and directed by Eve Ensler (NY Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Solo Performance). Word of Mouth went on to be performed in Los Angeles (LA Weekly Theater Award), at the HBO Comedy Festival in Aspen, and in many cities throughout the U.S. Other theater credits include: One Man Band, directed by Jack Hofsiss; Cloud 9, directed by Tommy Tune; Extraordinary Measures, written & directed by Eve Ensler; and the 30th anniversary production of Boys in the Band, directed by Ken Elliot; I Am My Own Wife, The Mystery of Irma Vep (Hartford Stage Co). Film & Television: Sex & The City, Home for the Holidays, Broadway Damage and Motherhood. Other: He wrote the short film Trevor, which received an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short and he is co-founder of The Trevor Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending suicide among LGBT & Questioning youth. James has published two young adult novels, Absolute Brightness and Virgin Territory; and he wrote The Road Home; Stories of Children of War, which was presented at the International Peace Initiative at The Hague, adapted Armistead Maupin's Further Tales of the City for Showtime (Emmy Nomination) and wrote one of the final episodes of Will & Grace. AMY PIETZ Theater credits include Love, Loss and What I Wore at the Geffen Playhouse, A Dead Man's Apartment at The Met, The Boswell Sisters at The Old Globe Theatre, Christmas In Naples at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Lobby Hero at the Odyssey Theatre (nominated for an Ovation award), Fiorello and Company (Ovation award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical) at Reprise, 18 radio plays for L.A. Theatre Works and The Play's The Thing on NPR. In 2001, Amy produced a musical adaptation of the movie, Xanadu, at the Gascon Center Theatre. The show went on to Broadway to win Tony nominations, and tour nationally. Amy has been a series regular on the shows Aliens In America, Caroline In The City (nominated for SAG Award, Best Actress in a Comedy), Rodney, The Weber Show, and Muscle. Some notable guest star appearances include The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Closer, Trust Me, Bones, Burn Notice, Law and Order: SVU, ER, CSI, Ally McBeal, The Drew Carey Show, and The Division. Amy's film credits include Rudy, Jingle All The Way, Dysenchanted, Jell-Ohh Lady (which she also produced) and The Whole Ten Yards. LISA PETERSON (Director) New York: The Model Apartment by Donald Margulies (Primary Stages); Slavs! by Tony Kushner, Traps and Light Shining in Buckinghamshire by Caryl Churchill (Obie Award for Direction), The Waves adapt. from Virginia Woolf (two Drama Desk nominations), all at New York Theatre Workshop; The Scarlet Letter adapt. by Phylis Nagy (CSC, world premiere). Regional: Collected Stories by Donald Margulies (South Coast Rep, world premiere, DramaLogue Award); Ikebana by Alice Tuan (East West Players, world premiere, DramaLogue Award); The Batting Cage by Joan Ackermann, July 7, 1994 by Donald Margulies, Tough Choices for the New Century by Jane Anderson, Slavs! by Tony Kushner, Trip's Cinch by Phylis Nagy (Actors Theatre of Louisville Humana Festival, world premieres); Good Person of Setzuan adapt. by Tony Kushner, Triumph of Love adapt. by James Magruder, Arms and the Man by G.B. Shaw, The Swan by Elizabeth Egloff (La Jolla Playhouse); A Moon for the Misbegotten by O'Neill, My Children! My Africa! by Athol Fugard, Slavs! by Kushner (Baltimore Center Stage); Fefu and Her Friends by Irene Fornes (Yale Rep); Reckless by Craig Lucas (Hartford Stage). New Play Development: Sundance, The Playwrights' Center, New Dramatists, Young Playwrights' Festival, Taper New Works Festival, Audrey SkirballKenis, New York Stage and Film, Royal Court London. ABOUT THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE The Geffen Playhouse has been a hub of the Los Angeles theater scene since opening its doors in 1995. Noted for its intimacy and celebrated for its world-renowned mix of classic and contemporary plays, provocative new works and musicals, the Geffen Playhouse continues to present a body of work that has garnered national recognition. Named in honor of entertainment mogul and philanthropist David Geffen, who made the initial donation to the theater, the company is helmed by Producing Director and President of the Board Gilbert (Gil) Cates, Artistic Director Randall Arney, Managing Director Ken Novice and Chairman of the Board Frank Mancuso. Proudly associated with UCLA, the Geffen Playhouse welcomes an audience of more than 130,000 each year, and maintains an extensive education and outreach program, designed to engage young people and the community at large in the arts. For more information, please visit geffenplayhouse.org. LISTING EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse 10886 Le Conte Avenue Los Angeles, California 90024 Box office: 310-208-5454 www.geffenplayhouse.org
