WIESENTHAL to Run 10/23-11/8 at The Wallis

Wiesenthal, the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway production based on the life of Simon Wiesenthal, kicks off The Wallis' 2015-16 theater season in the Lovelace Studio Theater. This provocative solo performance is written and performed by Tom Dugan and directed by Jenny Sullivan. Beginning Fri, Oct 23, Wiesenthal will run for 17performances only. Opening night is Sat, Oct 24 at 8pm.

Filled with hope, humanity and humor, Wiesenthal tells the powerful true story of Simon Wiesenthal, often called the "Jewish James Bond," a Holocaust survivor who devoted his life to bringing more than 1,100 Nazi war criminals to justice after WW II.

Tickets range from $40.00 - $50.00 and are available at www.thewallis.org, by calling 310-746-4000, or in person at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Services located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210.

Nominated for both New York's Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award - Wiesenthal is an uplifting and highly entertaining one-man show that unfolds like a gripping spy thriller, telling the story of famed Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal and how, after cheating death at the hands of Hitler's S.S., spent his life bringing to justice the most notorious war criminals in human history.

Wiesenthal has received rave reviews. The New York Times said that Wiesenthal is "powerful and insightful ... these stories are heartbreaking and beautiful." The New York Post wrote, "Wiesenthal succeeds with skill and unexpected humor..." The Huffington Post praised Wiesenthal as "heartfelt and deeply moving." Backstage called Tom Dugan's performance, "masterful."

Simon Wiesenthal was born in 1908, in what is now Ukraine. He received his architectural engineering degree in 1932 and was married in 1936 to Cyla Mueller. During World War II, Wiesenthal was imprisoned in five different Nazi concentration camps and by 1942, eighty-nine members of his and his wife's relatives had perished from being sent to these death camps. After Wiesenthal survived World War II, he dedicated his life to Holocaust memory and education and founded the Jewish Documentation Center in Vienna. He worked tirelessly to investigate and locate Nazi criminals for prosecution, including Adolph Eichmann and Franz Stangl, earning him the nickname "Nazi Hunter." Simon Wiesenthal died in 2005 in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 96. Los Angeles' The Simon Wiesenthal Center is named in his honor.

Tom Dugan (Playwright/Actor) was honored with nominations for the New York Drama Desk Award, NY Outer Critics Circle Award, Los Angeles Ovation Award, United Solo Award and winning the LA Drama Critics Circle Award for Wiesenthal. Dugan has produced a number of critically acclaimed one-person plays including The Ghosts of Mary Lincoln, Lee at Appomattox, Oscar to Oscar, Frederick Douglass, In the Shadow of Slavery and the upcoming Jackie which will premiere in 2017. On the Los Angeles stage Dugan has appeared at The Colony Theatre, The California Theatre of The Arts, The Ensemble Theatre, Theatre 40, The International City Theatre, and The Rubicon Theatre.

Tom Dugan comments on his connection with the material: "My father was a WWII veteran who was awarded The Bronze Battle Star and The Purple Heart. He helped liberate the Buchenwald Concentration Camp in 1945. Although I'm an Irish Catholic, I married a Jewish woman, and now we are raising two beautiful Jewish boys, so Simon Wiesenthal's message of tolerance has a deep resonance for me. Wiesenthal was not only a Jewish hero, he fought for the rights of all Holocaust victims, including Soviet, Polish, Gypsy, and homosexual victims as well."

Jenny Sullivan (Director) was director of the Geffen Playhouse production of Nora and Delia Ephron's Love, Loss and What I Wore and the long running Los Angeles Canon Theatre production of The Vagina Monologues; Her world premiere of Jane Anderson's The Baby Dance began at Pasadena Playhouse and then moved to Williamstown Theatre Festival, Long Wharf Theatre (CT Critics' Directing Award) and the Lucille Lortel Theatre Off-Broadway. She has directed productions throughout the U.S. and spent six seasons at Williamstown Theatre Festival: (A Macaroni Requiem), Defying Gravity, Hotel Oubliette, Dirt and The Ferry Back. Film credits: Access All Areas and The Next Best Thing (in which she had the good fortune to direct her father Barry). Jenny is most proud of the world premiere of her play J for J with Jeff Kober and the late great John Ritter.

Photo by Carol Rosegg

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