The Laguna Playhouse PRESENTS THE WEST COAST PREMIERE
OF THE 2004 KAUFMAN & HART PRIZE WINNING PLAY
THE SLEEPER
Written by Catherine Butterfield
Directed by Andrew Barnicle
Limited Engagement opens Saturday, February 18 at The Laguna Playhouse!
Laguna Playhouse presents the fifth production of its 2005-2006 season, the West Coast premiere of the THE SLEEPER, a darkly comic play written by Catherine Butterfield and directed by Laguna Playhouse Artistic Director Andrew Barnicle. THE SLEEPER received the 2004 Kaufman & Hart prize for Best American Comedy. THE SLEEPER, opens on Saturday, February 18, 2006 and continues through Sunday, March 19 (Previews: February 14 -17) at The Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.
In THE SLEEPER, a suburban housewife, diligently adjusting to the new post-9/11 reality, finds herself irresistibly drawn to her son’s tutor, a handsome young man with different political leanings than her own. As she gradually begins to suspect he could be linked to terrorist activities, she bravely sets off on a hair-raising mission to get to the bottom of it, with surprising results.
This is the second production of a Catherine Butterfield play the Playhouse has produced having staged the acclaimed production of her Joined at the Head in 1997
ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM
ANDREW BARNICLE (Director/Artistic Director) Andrew arrived as artistic director of The Laguna Playhouse in July of 1991. Since then he has directed over thirty productions for the Playhouse, including: The Underpants, Bright Ideas, Tabletop, The Constant Wife, Lovers at Versailles, Rounding Third, Stella by Starlight, Wonderful World, American Buffalo, the recent World Premiere of Sherwood Kiraly’s Who’s Hot, Who’s Not, the U.S. premiere of Many Happy Returns, Kevin’s Bed, Communicating Doors, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, The Woman in Black, Sylvia, Laughter On The 23rd Floor, Don’t Dress for Dinner, Rumors, Othello, his world premiere adaptation of his wife Sara’s translation of Goldoni’s The Liar, the Southern California premiere of Inspecting Carol, the world premiere of John Twomey’s Teacher’s Lounge, and Joe Orton’s What The Butler Saw. Andrew previously served as the Head of Theater at United States International University in San Diego, where he directed acclaimed productions of West Side Story and The Venetian Twins at the Theater At Old Town. He also served as Associate Artistic Director at North Coast Repertory Theater, where his numerous directing credits include the San Diego premiere of Torch Song Trilogy. Andrew directed Gunmetal Blues at the Colony Theatre in Burbank and the female version of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple at Michigan’s LORT Meadow Brook Theatre. He has appeared in a myriad of television and film roles, and played major roles at the San Diego Rep, Alaska Rep, Alabama Shakespeare Festival and Michigan’s Meadow Brook and Hilberry Theatres. He has also appeared in several Off-Broadway productions including three at SoHo Rep and True West at the Cherry Lane Theater. Andrew appeared at the Playhouse as the Actor / Guardsman in Enter the Guardsman and also as gumshoe Sam Galahad in Gunmetal Blues, and he can also be heard on the cast recording. Playhouse audiences have also seen him as David in To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, Austin in True West, and David in Strange Snow.
Playwright CATHERINE BUTTERFIELD started her theatrical career as an actress and segued into writing plays, initially with an eye toward giving herself an interesting role to play. She played roles in Joined at the Head (Manhattan Theatre Club), Snowing at Delphi (WPA Theatre), Where the Truth Lies, (Irish Repertory Theatre) and No Problem, the first act of Life in the Trees at the West Bank Cafe. Events then took her to Los Angeles, where she began to write for television (“Party of Five,” “FAME LA”) and film, currently developing film versions of her plays Under My Skin and The Sleeper. Awards include New York Newsday’s Oppenheimer Award and a Drama Desk nomination for Joined at the Head as well as the Kennedy Center-American Express/Roger L. Stevens Award for outstanding promise as a playwright. The Sleeper won the Kaufman and Hart award for best new American comedy, 2004. She is currently a writer and producer for the CBS television series, The Ghost Whisperer, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt.
The cast of THE SLEEPER includes Cynthia Beckert, Ray DeJohn, Eric Curtis Johnson, Jeff Marlow, Tim Meinelschmidt, Clarinda Ross and Amy Tribbey.
THE SLEEPER has assembled an award winning design team. The set design is by Bruce Goodrich. The lighting design is by Paulie Jenkins. The sound design is by David Edwards. The Costume design is by Julie Keen.
Tickets are now on sale. Subscription packages including this play are available for purchase now.
THE SLEEPER Performance & Ticket Information:
Ticket Prices: $20 to $59
Previews:
Tuesday & Wednesday, Feb. 14 & 15, 8 pm, $32, $20
Thursday, Feb. 16, 2 pm & 8 pm, $32, $20
Friday, Feb. 17, 8 pm, $36, $20
Opening Night Gala:
Saturday, February 18, 7:30 pm
By invitation only
Regular Performances:
February 19 – March 19: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, 8 pm, $49, $30, $20
Saturdays, Sundays, 2 pm, $49, $30, $20
Fridays, 8 pm, $55, $30, $20
Saturdays, 8 pm, $59
Also, Thursday, March 2, 2 pm, $49, $30, $20
FOR INFORMATION & TO PURCHASE TICKETS:
CALL: 949.497-ARTS (2787) - GROUP SALES CALL 949.460-8676
VISIT: www.LagunaPlayhouse.com
THEATRE: 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, California
For further information, press photos or to schedule an interview, please contact David Elzer/DEMAND PR at 818-508-1754 or at ElzerD@aol.com.
