Georgia Ensemble Theatre Opens THE ELEPHANT MAN Tonight

Georgia Ensemble Theatre (GET), North Fulton's only professional theatre company, will produce The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance, with Atlanta favorite David Crowe taking the directing helm. GET's production will run concurrently with the Broadway revival which opens at the Booth Theatre in November. The Tony Award-winning drama runs at GET tonight, October 30 through November 16, 2014, at the Theatre's home, the Roswell Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest Street, Roswell, GA.

Winner! Tony Award for Best Play. This moving and beautiful powerhouse drama is based on the life of John Merrick, who lived in London during the latter part of the nineteenth century. A horribly deformed young man, a victim of rare skin and bone diseases, has become the star freak attraction in traveling side shows. Found abandoned and helpless, he is admitted to London's prestigious Whitechapel hospital. Under the care of celebrated physician Frederick Treves, Merrick is introduced to London society and slowly evolves from an object of pity to an urbane and witty favorite of the aristocracy and literati, only to be denied his ultimate dream: to become a man like any other.

David Crowe, director of the production, says of the play's relevance to a contemporary world, "For a play written in 1977 about characters living in 1884, The Elephant Man has a lot to say about the world in 2014. We are all still conditioned by these often dehumanizing forces just as people were two hundred years ago. We are programmed at a young age to believe, behave, and value a set of rules that may not actually speak to and address our own humanity."

The Cast: The Elephant Man features the first-rate company of Jonathan Horne (Camelot at GET) as John Merrick, Sam Ross (past winner of AJC Best Male Performance) as Frederick Treves, and Rachel Garner (The

Great Gatsby at GET) as Mrs. Kendal/Countess, along with an impressive ensemble playing multiple roles: Theo Harness (On Golden Pond at Stage Door Players), Robert Wayne (The Odd Couple at GET), Holly Stevenson (making her GET debut), and Steve Hudson (The Great Gatsby, Camelot at GET).

Tickets: Ticket prices for The Elephant Man range from $25 to $35 (Senior/Student discounts available for select performances). "Recession-Buster" perimeter tickets may also be purchased for $10 based on availability. Tickets are available now online at www.get.org, or by calling the Box Office at 770-641-1260.

Photo by Martina Schmidt