Judith Ivey Stars In Shirley Valentine on Long Wharf Theatre's Stage II

Tony Award-winner Judith Ivey teams up again with Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein, the director of her Lucille Lortel Award winning performance in The Glass Menagerie, for the hit comedy Shirley Valentine by Willy Russell, on Long Wharf Theatre's Stage II from Dec. 2 through Jan. 2.

The press opening is Wednesday, December 8 at 7:30 p.m.

The creative team is comprised of Frank Alberino (sets), Martin Pakledinaz (costumes), Rui Rita (lights), Ryan Rumery (sound). Jason Hindelang is the stage manager.
Wondering what happened to the joy and vibrancy in her life, Shirley Valentine, an English housewife, finds herself talking to the walls. But when she is offered a chance to go to Greece, Shirley is introduced to the adventure, hope, laughs and ultimately, love she had been missing. Ivey's tour de force performance in this comic masterpiece will charm and inspire. "Judy is a brilliant comic actress. She'll bring warmth, depth, humanity and charm to this role. It will be a joyous, inspirational evening," Edelstein said.
Ivey has recently finished an acclaimed run as Amanda Wingfield in Long Wharf Theatre's 2008-09 production of The Glass Menagerie, which went on to successful runs at the Roundabout Theatre in New York and the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Her performance in the role of Amanda was honored with a Lucille Lortel Award and has been described as a "benchmark performance" by the New York Times.

She is the recipient of the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for her portrayals in Steaming and Hurlyburly, the Obie Award for her performance in The Moonshot Tape, and countless others for her stage and film work. She also recently toured the United States in the one-woman show, Irene O'Garden's Women On Fire. Some film credits include The Devil's Advocate; Washington Square; Mystery, Alaska; Brighton Beach Memoirs; Love Hurts; Compromising Positions; What Alice Found; and Flags Of Our Fathers. Ms. Ivey starred in four television series, the most memorable being "Designing Women." Some television film credits include "The Long, Hot Summer," "What The Deaf Man Heard" (Emmy nom.), "Rosered" and "Half A Dozen Babies." Ms. Ivey's most recent directing credit is Secrets Of A Soccermom off-Broadway and she will be directing the musical Vanities to open this August at the Pasadena Playhouse. Prior directing jobs include The Butcher Of Baraboo at the Second Stage Uptown Series, Fugue at the Cherry Lane Theatre, and Southern Comforts at Primary Stages in NYC. Judith directed Bad Dates both at the Northlight Theatre in Chicago, and the Laguna Playhouse, the acclaimed Steel Magnolias at the Alley Theatre, and More with Yeardley Smith at Union Square Theatre, and the Falcon Theatre in Los Angeles. Other directing credits include Two For The Seesaw at the Westport Playhouse, The Go-For-It Guy at the Aspen Comedy Festival, and Soccer Moms at Fleetwood Stage. Judith starred in Edward Albee's revival of The American Dream and The Sandbox at the Cherry Lane Theatre. And she portrayed Ann Landers in David Rambo's The Lady With All The Answers at the Northlight Theatre.
Shirley Valentine made its West End debut in 1988 with Pauline Collins, directed by Simon Callow, winning Olivier Awards for Best New Comedy and Best Actress. The play moved to Broadway in 1989, where it was honored with Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Tony awards. Russell adapted his play for the screen in 1989, with Collins again reprising her role as Shirley. "This is a one-woman show that earns its stage time," according to the New York Times. The Daily Telegraph said that the play's "mixture of anxiety, humor, wonder and mischief [...] proves completely infectious."

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.longwharf.org or call 203-787-4282.

Shirley Valentine

Dec. 2, 2010 to Jan. 2, 2011
Stage II
Tickets: $45-$65
Performance Schedule: Tuesdays at 7 p.m., Wednesdays, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Box office phone number: 203-787-4282
Website: www.longwharf.org.
ABOUT THE THEATRE

Long Wharf Theatre (Gordon Edelstein, Artistic Director and Ray Cullom, Managing Director), entering its 46th season, is recognized as a leader in American theatre, producing fresh and imaginative revivals of classics and modern plays, rediscoveries of neglected works and a variety of world and American premieres. More than 30 Long Wharf productions have transferred virtually intact to Broadway or Off-Broadway, some of which include Durango by Julia Cho, the Pulitzer Prize-winning plays Wit by Margaret Edson, The Shadow Box by Michael Cristofer and The Gin Game by D.L. Coburn. The theatre is an incubator of new works, including last season's Have You Seen Us? by Athol Fugard. Long Wharf Theatre has received New York Drama Critics Awards, Obie Awards, the Margo Jefferson Award for Production of New Works, a Special Citation from the Outer Critics Circle and the Tony® Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre.

www.LongWharf.org

 

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