Contemporary Theater Of Dallas to Bring LONE STAR and LANDRY & BOURBON to NYC, 7/5-26

Contemporary Theatre of Dallas will make its New York debut in July 2014 with LONE STAR and LAUNDRY & BOURBON. The two one-acts by the widely-produced late playwright James McLure give a flavorful slice of life in rural Texas. Now in its 13th season, the celebrated regional theater company has been named "Best Theatre Company" by the Dallas Observer. Their productions are regularly selected in the "Top 10 Shows of the Year" from the Dallas Voice. LONE STAR and LAUNDRY & BOURBON, directed by Cynthia Hestand, will be performed at The Clurman Theatre (410 West 42nd Street) from July 5 to July 26.

LONE STAR - hailed as "an uproarious local-color comedy" by The New York Times - is a character study of a pair of Texas "good ol' boys" carousing on a Saturday night that was performed on Broadway in 1979. Originally conceived as a LONE STAR companion piece, LAUNDRY & BOURBON focuses on the discontent and very funny gossip of three small-town wives whose marriages have turned out to be less than ideal. The pairing of these complementary one acts has been a longtime regional staple. The McCarter Theater in Princeton, NJ presented them together with the title 1959 Pink Thunderbird, but this marks the first major New York production.

Contemporary Theatre of Dallas remounts the staging of their lauded 2004 and 2006 productions which, according to the Dallas Morning News, "earned some of the best reviews and most enthusiastic audiences in recent Dallas theatrical history." Director Cynthia Hestand collaborated with the late playwright on her interpretation of his work. "Getting inside a writer's head and hearing those things that aren't spelled out in the script is a great gift," she said. "Learning how his personal family dynamics informed the show was fascinating." Hestand, winner of the Dallas-Fort Worth Critics Forum Award and a Dallas Observer Jimmy Award, is a frequent collaborator with Contemporary Theatre of Dallas and has helmed plays at many important theaters throughout Texas.

The LONE STAR and LAUNDRY & BOURBON cast will feature Joey Oglesby ("Friday Night Lights"), Mike Schraeder, Ken Orman, Marisa Diotalevi, Marianne Galloway and Sue Loncar. The production features set design by Rodney Dobbs, props and set dressing by Jen Gilson-Gilliam, sound design by Rich Frolich, lighting design by Kenneth Farnsworth and costume design by Sue Loncar.

James McLure (1951-2011) was a prolific playwright whose work focuses on small-town life. His plays include Pvt. Wars, The Day They Shot John Lennon, Napoleon Nightdreams, Max and Maxie, Ghost World, The Very Last Lover of the River Cane, Thanksgiving and Wild Oats. His piece Drive-In Dreams was presented in New York at 59E59 Theaters' "Summer Shorts 2012." Pvt. Wars premiered in London at the Greenwich Studio Theatre in 1991. McLure's work has also been presented at the George Street Playhouse, Denver Center Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and Louisville Humana Festival, among many others.