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Sunday, October 16, 2016

“MAD LOVE,” A ROMANTIC COMEDY FOR CYNICAL TIMES, OPENS @ NJ REP IN LONG BRANCH

mad-love-finalMAD LOVE
by Marisa Smith

WHEN: October 20 – November 20, 2016. Previews begin Thursday, October 20 with Opening Night Saturday, October 22  at and will run  through Sunday, November 20, 2016. Thursdays & Fridays 8pm; Saturdays 3pm & 8pm; Sundays at 2pm
WHERE: New Jersey Repertory Company, 179 Broadway, Long Branch
TICKETS: $45
Discounts available to groups of 10+
Tickets are available at www.njrep.org or by calling 732-229-3166.
For more information about New Jersey Repertory Company, visit www.njrep.org.

Sloane Hudson, a wealthy, beautiful recent Ivy League graduate and product of the campus hook-up culture and frat basement pong tournaments, doesn't believe in love or marriage. She does, however, believe in babies and wants one soon so her tummy can bounce back and she can still wear a bikini. The problem is she needs a sperm donor who passes muster. Enter Brandon, who has all the right stats, but the wrong attitude. Brandon, meantime, has enough on his plate living with his brother Doug, who just fell in love with Katerina, the hooker from the Ukraine. Cabbage soup, a rare baseball card and a lizard named Pogo all play a part in this romantic comedy for cynical times.

The cast includes Laurel Casillo, Jared Delaney, Graham Techler and Alex Trow, and is directed by Evan Bergman. The production team includes: Jessica Parks (Set Design), Brian Snyder (Technical Director,) Jill Nagle (Lighting Design), Merek Royce Press (Sound Design), Patricia E. Doherty (Costume Design), and Jennifer Tardibuono (Stage Manager).

Marisa Smith (Playwright) In the spring of 2016 Marisa’s comedy, Mad Love, was the first new play produced at the brand new Northern Stage/Barrette Center in White River Junction, Vermont. Directed by Maggie Burrows. Mad Love was an O’Neill Playwright’s Conference semi-finalist and won Best Play (2012) from NH in Portland Stages’ (Maine) Clauder Competition. Marisa’s full-length plays include Saving Kitty, winner of Best Play (2010) from NH in Portland Stages’ (Maine) Clauder Competition.  Marisa is the co-owner and Publisher of Smith and Kraus Publishers, publishers of theater books with over 650 titles in print, and a graduate of Wesleyan University. 

Evan Bergman (Director) Evan most recently directed the world premiere of A Better Place by Wendy Becket at the Duke Theater in New York. He also directed the world premiere of the long running New York and Los Angeles production of The Director starring John Shea. For NJ Rep: Marisa Smith’s Saving Kitty, A View of the Mountains by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award nominee Lee Blessing, The M Spot by Michael Tucker, starring Emmy Award winner Jill Ekinberry, Tony Glazer’s The Substance of Bliss and American Stare, The Tangled Skirt by Steve Braunstein (Edgar Award nominee); Deborah Rennard’s For Worse, and Jack Canfora’s Jericho and Poetic License.

Jared DelaneyJared Michael Delaney (Doug) is the cofounder and Associate Artistic Director of Revolution Shakespeare (www.revolutionshakespeare.org). He has been seen off-Broadway at 59E59 and regionally at the Folger Theatre, Theatre Workshop of Nantucket, River Valley Rep, Sierra Rep. Theatre, Arden Theatre Co., Theatre at Monmouth, Walnut St Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Bristol Riverside Theatre, the Eagle Theater and Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, among others. As a playwright, his first full-length play, The Hand of Gaul was produced in 2013 at Inis Nua Theatre and he is currently pursuing an MFA in Playwriting from the Queens University of Charlotte. MA in Theatre from Villanova University. Next up: Peter & The Starcatcher, Eagle Theatre, spring 2017.

Brittany ProiaBrittany Proia (Katerina) is an actor and songwriter originally from Olney, MD. Recent credits include Breadcrumbs (Urbanite Theatre), Taming of the Shrew (Nebraska Shakespeare), and A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (The Night Shift). Brittany has performed regionally and in NYC with The York Theatre Company, Peterborough Players, Frog and Peach Theatre Co, Ozark Actors Theatre, Nebraska Shakespeare, Toby’s Dinner Theatre and The Asolo Repertory Theatre.  MFA graduate of The FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training and she holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from NYU's Steinhardt School.  

Graham Techler headshotGraham Techler (Brandon) An actor and writer from Boston currently based in New York, Graham’s recent credits include:  Song For A Future Generation and Jonah, A Musical Detour (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Gutenberg! The Musical! (Basement Arts), and Stupid F**king Bird (University Productions). His plays include Nantucket Sleighride (Beckwith Theatre, 2015), The Kid Cult Cosmology (Playfest), and Like Henry the Sixth But Cool. You can read his writing on The Big Jewel, Splitsider, and The Every Three Weekly.

 

Alex TrowAlex Trow (Sloane) New York credits include: London Wall (Mint Theater), Flamingo (Sanguine Theater Co.), Straight (u/s, Acorn Theater Off-Broadway), and Scarlett Fever (NY Fringe Fest). Regionally, she has appeared in Mad Love (Northern Stage, world premiere), Owners (Yale Rep), and Othello (Shakespeare Santa Cruz). TV/Web: "Blue Bloods," "Twenty Five," "Cooking for One with the Crying Chef" (Best Actress Award, ITV Fest), "Inappropriate Jane Austen." Alex received a BA and an MFA from Yale University.

Support for NJ Rep is provided in part by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Shubert Foundation, the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the Stone Foundation of New Jersey, Edgerton Foundation, Investors Bank Foundation, OceanFirst Foundation, Dramatists Guild Fund, Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, JENNJOE Fund, the Darien Family Fund, the Jewish Communal Fund, the Community Foundation of New Jersey, Actors Equity Foundation, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and the Puffin Foundation. New Jersey Rep is a member of the National New Play Network, The New Jersey Theater Alliance, TCG, and the Monmouth and Long Branch Arts Councils.