Annette Bening & Mark Harelik Set for Reading of DEAR LIAR at A.C.T.

Kicking off its 50th anniversary festivities, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) will present a one-night-only reading of Jerome Kilty's Dear Liar on Sunday, October 2 at 7 p.m. at A.C.T.'s Geary Theater. Starring Academy Award nominee and M.F.A. graduate Annette Bening and A.C.T. favorite Mark Harelik, this special event will be directed by fellow A.C.T. alum Nancy Carlin, whose mother Joy Carlin was A.C.T.'s associate artistic director in 1986.

Tickets for Dear Liar can be reserved by invite only, but A.C.T. will be giving away 25 pairs of tickets to this one-night-only special event. Visit www.act-sf.org/specialevents to enter the giveaway.

Written by Jerome Kilty, who directed A.C.T.'s 1967 production during its opening season in San Francisco, Dear Liar is based on letters exchanged between playwright George Bernard Shaw and his leading lady, Mrs. Patrick Campbell, as they sparred across stage and stationary over a staggering period of 40 years. Witty, wistful, and surprising, Dear Liar is an evergreen delight with an A.C.T. pedigree-not only did it appear in 1967, but it was also produced in 1982.

Says A.C.T. Artistic Director Carey Perloff: "The first season at A.C.T. included a delicious epistolary play by Jerome Kilty featuring the letters of George Bernard Shaw and his sometime muse and great actress Mrs. Patrick Campbell. To kick off the series of special events associated with our 50th anniversary season, we asked beloved A.C.T. alums Annette Bening and Mark Harelik to return to the Geary stage to perform this wonderful piece, in a reading directed by fellow alum Nancy Carlin. This is the first of many exciting evenings in honor of A.C.T.'s history and in celebration of its future."

In addition to Dear Liar, A.C.T. will present a lineup of celebratory events and one-of-a-kind theatrical experiences to commemorate their 50th anniversary milestone. These events will be announced at a later date.