Actor's Express to Open MAPLE AND VINE, 3/22

Actor's Express and Artistic Director Freddie Ashley have announced Maple and Vine, by Jordan Harrison, directed by Kate Warner. The production opens Saturday night, March 22, 2014, 8pm curtain, preview performances are March 20 and 21, and the ever-popular pay-what-you-want sneak peek, "Director's Rough Cut", is Wednesday, March 19. Atlanta's own Kate Donadio leads the cast as Katha, and Michael Sung-Ho, in Atlanta from Minneapolis for this engagement, is opposite Kate as Katha's husband, Ryu (Ree-oo). Complete cast list below. Single tickets for Maple and Vine are on sale now at the box office (404-607-7469) or online at www.actors-express.com. Preview tickets are $15, and single tickets start at $26; student and senior discounts available. Actor's Express is located at 887 W. Marietta Street, Suite J-107, Atlanta, Georgia 30318.

When the fast-paced demands of modern society become unbearable, successful couple Katha and Ryu escape to a community of 1950s re-enactors, where life is slower, boys are boys and girls are girls, and what happens behind closed doors does not get discussed at Tupperware parties. Will replacing Wi-Fi with hi-fi provide the answers this couple so desperately craves? A hit at the 2011 Humana Festival of New Plays, Jordan Harrison's provocative comedy thrusts retro attitudes about gender, race, and sexuality into a modern world.

"I saw Maple and Vine at the Humana Festival a couple years ago, and have looked forward to producing it since that moment," says Ashley. "It's smart, funny and really very moving. It makes us think hard about modern life and how we've gotten where we are and asks the question: can we go back to a simpler time?"

The cast includes Kate Donadio, as Katha, the successful New York publisher, and married to Ryu. Kate was most recently seen on the AE stage in last season's Wolves, by Steve Yockey. Michael Sung-Ho is Ryu, a plastic surgeon, married to Katha, is in Atlanta for this production from Minneapolis. John Benzinger (Dean) returns to AE having appeared in last season's Kiss of the Spider Woman, and Jeremy Harrison (Roger), and Tiffany Morgan (Ellen) round out the cast.

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