Mainstage Production
Click images below for a larger version.
Photo credit: John B. Barrois.
DYING CITY
by Christopher Shinn
directed by Julie Hamberg
January 14 – February 8 . 2009
previews January 14 . 15 . 16
opening January 17
Pulitzer Prize Finalist
Starring
Pete McElligott & Angelena Swords
Designers . Geoffrey Hall Scenic . Marty Sachs Lights . Kellie Grengs Costumes . Mike Singleton Sound . Production Stage Manager Sarah Z. Singleton
DYING CITY, the powerful thriller Lincoln Center produced to wide acclaim, makes its regional premiere at Southern Rep.
DYING CITY at first seems to be a story of a wife and brother left grieving after a soldier’s baffling death in Iraq, but as the layers are peeled away, we find it a tender, then shockingly raw and complex, portrait of three very different people.
Young therapist Kelly, whose husband Craig was killed, is attempting to move on with her life when Craig’s twin brother arrives unannounced. Through a series of flashbacks to Kelly and Craig’s marriage, the former in-laws are forced to find the truth. Called “achingly compassionate” by Variety, this piece explores, with humor and grace, how profoundly outside events can affect each of us.
The Reviews for Southern Rep's Production
THE TIMES-PICAYUNE . Lagniappe 01.23.09 . David Cuthbert
'Dying City' is Another Stunning Stage Experience at Southern Rep
"A great play intrigues to the point that you want to confirm or question your initial reactions. / Christopher Shinn's "Dying City" is such a play. It was a revelation seeing it enacted on the stage of Southern Rep, even though I had read it several times, attended a rehearsal and interviewed its principals. "Dying City" still had the power to surprise and disturb as it delved with a vibrant immediacy into increasingly serious subject matter and dark humor."
"Angelena Swords makes an impressive local debut as Kelly...Pete McElligott plays both Peter and Craig. There are showy quick-changes, but more impressive is the way McElligott differentiates the roles...McElligott's Peter is an unsparing portrait of the actor...[his] intense Craig is a grenade about to go off."
"There are almost endless levels to "Dying City," and under Julie Hamberg's meticulous, penetrating direction, they are deftly unearthed and laid bare."
WYES-TV12 STEPPIN OUT . 01.16.09 . Al Shae
Don't Miss It ~ Top Rating 4 of 4"...a fascinating and so entertaining new play, DYING CITY..."
"...directed expertly by director Julie Hamberg with nary a push...giving her star acting couple, Angelena Swords and Peter McEligott, time to share their heartful problems powerfully but naturally."
"Never have a single couple held a stage so securely. It is a very impressive job."
Pre-Production Press . SRT's Regional Premiere
THE DAILY COMET . 01.09.09 . Janet McNight ... 'Dying City' looks at life of those left behind
THE TIMES-PICAYUNE . 01.09.09 . David Cuthbert ... 'Dying City' comes to life at Southern Rep
THE GAMBIT WEEKLY . 01.12.09 ... Picks of the Week
The Reviews . The Play
“Dying City is…satisfyingly spooky, crisp and corny as an episode of ‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents.’ But in answering the plot’s whodunit-type questions, it spawns a wriggling host of other, deeper questions that stay with you into the night. — The New York Times
“…[A] clever, intricately calculated and quietly moving new play.”
— London’s Daily Telegraph
“Anyone who doubts that Mr. Shinn is among the most provocative and probing of American playwrights today need only experience the…sophisticated welding of form and content that is ‘Dying City’”. — The New York Times
“Like a leaner, more droll Tennessee Williams” — Variety
“In this subtle and revealing play, Shinn is able to take the political and humanize it…”
— Associated Press
The Artists
The playwright Christopher Shinn is just 33 and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for DYING CITY, which had its U.S. premiere at Lincoln Center last year. His latest play, Now or Later, opened at the London’s Royal Court in September, while his adaptation of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler premieres on Broadway at The Roundabout in January. Shinn’s work has been produced at major theatres in the US and abroad. His many honors include: an OBIE Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and an NEA/TCG Residency.
Julie Hamberg will mount this taut two-hander. Hamberg was Associate Artistic Director at Vital Theatre in NYC where she’s known for her work on new plays, having directed over twenty premieres. She spent the last 18 years in NYC directing and producing theatre and relocated to NOLA in July. She’s directed plays in NYC at The Public, New Georges, Peculiar Works Project (OBIE Award), The Drama League Director’s Project, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Vital Theatre, FringeNYC, and many Off-Off Broadway venues. Hamberg is a Drama League Fellow and a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Director’s Lab. She is currently Managing Director and Artistic Associate at Southern Rep.
Pete McElligott is an active member of The NOLA Project, where he memorably starred in SRT’s co-production of The Lieutenant of Inishmore for which he won a Big Easy Award. An NYU grad, McElligott is also teaching and acting in New York, where his most recent role was in The Tragedy of King Richard 3. Angelena Swords is a Louisiana native and studied acting at LSU. She’s recently back from Los Angeles, where she appeared in episodes of “The OC,” “CSI: Miami,” and co-starred on “24”. Recently, she wrapped the Louisiana-based film Whisperwood.
January |
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3pm |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22
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February |
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| 1
3pm |
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| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
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3pm |
TICKET PRICES VARY BY DAY OF PERFORMANCE
| Previews | $18 |
| Opening Night & reception | $35 |
| Thursdays & Sundays | $25 / $20 students (with ID) & seniors |
| Fridays & Saturdays | $27 / $22 students (with ID) & seniors |
| Every performance | $10 Student Rush (with ID) at door . Cash only . 15 minutes before curtain |
Additional $1-$2 ticket service fees apply. Southern Rep cannot make refunds for any reason. If you are a single ticket buyer and need to exchange a ticket, you may do so by paying a $5 per ticket exchange fee. Subscribers may change their dates free of charge at any time before the date of the performance. Simply call the box office to reschedule - that's one of the beauties of being a subscriber. In deference to other audience members, late seating is at the discretion of the management. Thanks for coming to Southern Rep!
