Fine Arts Center Theatre Co Presents THE WOMEN 3/25-4/10

The Fine Arts Center Theatre Company presents a biting social satire, The Women, at the SaG?Ji Theatre from March 25 - April 10.

The Fine Arts Center was founded by three visionary women in April of 1936: Alice Bemis Taylor, Elizabeth Sage Hare and Julie Penrose. In that same year, Clare Boothe Luce wrote a brilliant contemporary comedy that became a modern classic, featuring an all-female cast of nearly 40 characters, set in the world of high society wives in New York City during the height of the Great Depression.

"Our founders built the Fine Arts Center to serve the community," said Sam Gappmayer, the FAC President and CEO. "As we celebrate our 75th Anniversary, we honor our founders and all female artists, actors, volunteers, instructors, and staff, who make the FAC special."

The plot involves the efforts of a group of women to play their respective roles in an artificial society - the established socialites, the up-and-comers - digging under the surface, revealing a human understanding for and sympathy with each other.

The cast features a veritable who's who of Colorado Springs actresses:

· Sally Lewis Hybl (Mary Haines, the heroine); 2007 PPAC Award winner and Ovation Award nominee for Into the Woods
· Susan Dawn Carson (Sylvia Fowler, the troublemaker); A Broadway veteran featured in the FAC's The Full Monty, Into the Woods
· Kara Whitney (Edith, the matron); Starred in the FAC season opener, An Ideal Husband
· Eryn Carman (Countess De Lage, the heiress); 2010 Gazette's 'Best Actress' Award winner for Sweeney Todd

Also featuring, Christina Bakken (Crystal Bakken, the mistress), Colleen M. Arnold (Miriam Aarons, the starlet), Jane Fromme (Nancy Blake, the single one), and Youth Rep alumnus Rhea Amos (Peggy, the young married one).

The Women is directed by Sandra Womochil Bray, who directed The Pirates of Penzance at the Fine Arts Center that won the 2005 Denver Post Ovation Award for Best Musical. She also directed such hits as Fiddler on the Roof, Damn Yankees, Hot Mikado and Camelot. Bray teaches creative dramatics and music at the Colorado Springs School, where she also writes, produces and directs theatre for children.

About Clare Boothe Luce

· Clare Boothe Luce was an understudy to Mary Pickford on Broadway at age 10. In life she played many roles, including socialite and playwright.

· Luce was familiar with the New York society scene. She wasn't a fan. As associate editor of Vanity Fair, she began writing satirical pieces about New York society.

· She married Henry R. Luce, publisher of Time and Life magazines in 1935.

· She then wrote The Women in 1936.

· In the 1940s, she traveled to battlefronts in Europe, China, and, Burma as a war correspondent for Life magazine and was a two-term U.S. Congresswoman (R- Conn.).

· In 1951, she was nominated for an Academy Award for screenwriting for Come to the Stable.

· She was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Italy in 1953 by President Eisenhower

· President Reagan awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1983.

Tickets and Show times
Thursday 7:30 p.m. $26 FAC members; $31 non-members
Friday, Saturday 7:30 p.m. $30 FAC members; $35 non-members
Sunday 2:00 p.m. $26 FAC members; $31 non-members

Pre-Theatre Dining
Enjoy a gourmet meal, themed to match the production, at Amuzé at the FAC prior to the show. Reservations can be made at 719.477.4377.

Girls Night Out
Each Thursday is Girls Night Out during The Women. Mention the promotion at the Box Office on March 31 and April 7 and received a free drink coupon for the Deco Lounge.

The Women is sponsored by the El Pomar Foundation (FAC Annual Sponsor), Colorado Springs Independent,
Wells Fargo, KKTV, KLITE, All-Classical 88.7 KCME, the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado.