Seth Gordon, Associate Artistic Director of Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and director of past Stages productions The Whipping Man, The Spiritualist and The Unexpected Man, returns to Stages Repertory Theatre to direct the Regional Premiere of Lauren Gunderson's I AND YOU, running tonight, May 4, through May 22, 2016.
On the night before a high school assignment is due, Anthony arrives unexpectedly at his bedridden classmate's house to seek her help with the project. They awkwardly join forces to plumb the mysteries of Whitman's "Leaves of Grass"...unaware that a deeper mystery has brought them together. Winner of the 2014 ATCA/Steinberg New Play Award and a Susan Smith Blackburn Prize finalist, I AND YOU is a quick-witted mashup of poetry and punchy slang, adolescent uncertainty and profound beauty.
I AND YOU will star Mateo Mpinduzi-Mott (Marie Antoinette) and Melissa Molano (The Book of Maggie, Dollhouse). On the creative team are: Properties Designer - Jodi Bobrovsky; Lighting Designer - Renee Brode; Costume Designer - Nara Lesser; Sound Designer - Phillip Owen; and Scenic Designer - Jon Young. I AND YOU had its World Premiere in 2013 at Marin Theatre Company, after an appearance at the Pacific Playwrights Festival at South Coast Repertory, in 2012. Since then, it's been produced throughout the country, including Geva Theatre (2014) and The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (2015).Regular performances play Wednesdays, Thursdays 7:30p, Fridays, Saturdays 8:00p, Sundays 3:00p at Stages Repertory Theatre, 3201 Allen Parkway Houston, TX 77019. This show is approximately 80 minutes long. Tickets: $21 - $65; 713.527.0123 or www.stagestheatre.com.
About Playwright Lauren Gunderson - Lauren is a playwright, screenwriter and short story author from Atlanta, GA. She received her BA in English/Creative Writing at Emory University, and her MFA in Dramatic Writing at NYU Tisch, where she was also a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship.
She was named on of the most produced playwrights in America by American Theatre Magazine in 2015, was awarded the 2016 Lanford Wilson Award from the Dramatist Guild, and was awarded the prestigious 2014 Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for her play, I AND YOU (also a Susan Smith Blackburn Blackburn finalist). That play was an NNPN Rolling World Premiere that started at Marin Theatre Company and has seen over 30 productions nationwide. Bauer, commissioned by San Francisco Playhouse, premiered there and in NYC at 59E59 in 2014 with The New Yorker calling it "beautifully written... brings it audience to tears". Her play Silent Sky (Jane Chambers Award finalist) premiered at South Coast Rep in 2011 and was further developed and rewritten for TheatreWorks, which opened to raves calling it "sheer magic". Her 2011 3-city rolling world premiere of Exit, Pursued By A Bear, was featured in American Theatre Magazine and The Week, and has reached over 20 communities across the US winning "Best Comedy" accolades. Bear is now published by Playscripts, as is her comedy, Toil And Trouble and The Taming which the SF Chronicle called "a laugh riot with timely food for thought."Videos