Stage West presents Melissa James Gibson’s New Play This 1/13

Four best friends, a handsome outsider, impending middle-age, and the messiness that comes with life-all wrapped with heart and humor in Melissa James Gibson's This, which will have its regional premiere at Stage West beginning on Thursday, January 13.

Jane's life is not exactly on track. She's a poet who hasn't published lately, the mother of a 9-year-old girl, and a widow of just a year. Her long-time best friends would love to see her happy and productive, but it's not so much happening. Marrell, a talented singer, is determined to fix Jane up with a handsome Frenchman who is part of Doctors Without Borders, but Jane's not very enthusiastic. Marrell's own life with husband Tom is less than perfect-he's feeling unfulfilled in work, their newborn isn't sleeping for more than 15 minutes at a time, and they're feeling disconnected from each other. And Alan, who is blessed (or cursed) with an eidetic memory, is a tad too immersed in his own melancholy to be of much help with any matchmaking.

This could all deteriorate into self-absorbed whining, but Melissa James Gibson refuses to go there. Her characters are fallible, but also bright, talented, very funny-and completely, lovably human. And their journey is one which those of us who have been there and done that can relate to, absolutely. It's a warm and funny theatrical experience which the New York Times' Christopher Isherwood called "...the best new play to open Off-Broadway this fall." He added, "...the play's delicate pace, richly patterned wordplay and undercurrent of rue combine to cast a moving spell that lingers in the memory..."

Melissa James Gibson's recent plays include [sic] (Obie for playwriting, Kesselring Prize, The Best Plays of 2001-02); Suitcase, or Those That Resemble Flies from a Distance (NEA/TCG Theatre Residency Program for Playwrights) and Brooklyn Bridge (produced at The Children's Theatre Company). She has been commissioned by the Mark Taper Forum, Playwrights Horizons, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Children's Theatre Company, the La Jolla Playhouse and the Adirondack Theatre Festival. She has received fellowships from the Jerome Foundation and the MacDowell Colony, and her work has received development support from the National Endowment for the Arts; the Rockefeller MAP fund; the New York State Council on the Arts; Theatre Communications Group; the Greenwall Foundation and AT&T Onstage. She is the recipient of a Whiting Writers Award, a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and a proud member of New Dramatists.

Director Jerry Russell has put together a great group of five for this one. Central character Jane will be played by Morgana Shaw, critically praised for such roles as Billie Trix in Uptown Players' production of Closer to Heaven and Bette Davis in the Spoleto Festival production of All About Bette; An Evening with Bette Davis. Marrell will be played by Rhianna Mack, whose work in No Child... for Amphibian earned rave reviews. Playing her husband Tom will be Ashley Wood, whose credits include Howie in Rabbit Hole at Contemporary Theatre of Dallas and Robert In Theatre Three's Don't Dress for Dinner. Randy Pearlman, most recently seen as Hornby in Pinter: Art, Politics, Truth/A Kind of Alaska for Upstart Productions, will play Alan. And Chip Wood, whose credits include William Murdoch in the Lyric Stage production of Titanic, will be seen as Jean-Pierre (and heard as the television host).

The set is designed by Jim Covault, with Lighting Design by Michael O'Brien. Costumes will be by Jim Covault and Peggy Kruger-O'Brien, with props and set decor by Lynn Lovett.

This will preview Thursday, January 13 at 7:30 and Friday, January 14 at 8:00, and will run through Sunday, February 13. There will be a special Valentine's Day Eve brunch before the performance on February 13. Performance times will be Thursday evenings at 7:30, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00, with Sunday matinees at 3:00. The opening night reception will be Saturday, January 15 following the play. Ticket prices range from $26 to $30, with discounts for students and seniors. Preview tickets are priced at only $15. Pay What You Can performances will be Sunday, January 16 and Thursday, January 20. Food service is available 90 minutes prior to performances (reservations are generally necessary), and all Friday nights after January 14 will feature the $35 Prix Fixe Special. Reservations and information are available through the Box Office (817-784-9378), or on the website, www.stagewest.org. 

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