Canadian Play SEXY LAUNDRY Receives Regional Premiere at Park Square Tonight

Park Square opens its season this month with Michele Riml's delightful comedy, SEXY LAUNDRY tonight, September 12 through September 28. A critically acclaimed playwright from Vancouver, British Columbia, Riml turns the rom com on its head and paints a moving and hilarious portrait of a marriage on the rocks. Twin Cities favorites Charity Jones* and John Middleton return to Park Square as the married couple in crisis.

"I am thrilled to be working with Charity again. I so enjoyed working with her on The Sisters Rosensweig," said director Mary M. Finnerty. "She is a consummate professional who brings characters to life in stunning detail. And I have wanted to work with John for some time. He has such a fascinating relationship with audiences and his capacity to humanize comic characters seems limitless. I think their combined energies will create a hilarious, joyful, and moving rendition of Michele Riml's smart creative script. Her dialogue is so human and realistic that audience members may get the feeling that someone has been recording their private conversations.

After twenty-five years of marriage, three kids, stress and responsibilities have taken their toll on Alice and Henry. Preoccupied with their careers and family, the once-happy couple have to come to terms with their disappointment and frustration. Armed with a copy of Sex for Dummies, they check into a trendy hotel in a last-ditch effort to jumpstart their marriage. Will Alice master the fine points of tantric massage? What if Henry decides he isn't into leather? While sharing erotic fantasies and exchanging recriminations, the couple reckon with their midlife crises as they search to renew the strength of their marriage.

From Dr. Oz to The Four Agreements, from Idiot's Guides to Dr. Phil, the self-help movement has boomed over the past decades, allowing people of all stripes the opportunity to help themselves. As they hunker down in a boutique hotel neither of them is thrilled with, the couple leaf through exercise after exercise in their new book, trying to make contact that isn't only physical. Alice and Henry try to rediscover themselves and each other, but they quickly realize that love and marriage are not for dummies.

The SEXY LAUNDRY production team includes Elin Anderson (Costume Designer), Michael Hoover (Set Designer) Sarah Holmberg (Properties Designer), and Michael P. Kittel (Lighting Designer); Katharine Horowitz (Sound Designer). Jamie Kranz is stage manager and Megan Dougherty, assistant stage manager.

Park Square will continue its 39th season in October. Moisés Kaufman's 33 Variations (October 10 - November 2) is a haunting story of music, obsession and two geniuses separated by two centuries. A new adaptation of Sandra Cisneros's adored novella The House on Mango Street (October 24 - November 9) will inaugurate the Andy Boss Thrust Stage, as it brings to life the trials, tribulations and joys of growing up in the Chicago barrio.

Performance Schedule: Previews begin Friday, September 5 and run through September 11. September 12 is Opening Night, and the run continues through September 28. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. except for Sunday performances, which begin at 2 p.m. All performances are in the company's 348-seat proscenium stage in Saint Paul's historic Hamm Building, 20 W. Seventh Place.

Ticket prices: Previews: $25 and $35. Regular Run: $38 and $58. A $2 facility fee will be added to each ticket to help maintain Park Square's two stages. Discounts are available for seniors, those under age 30, and groups. Tickets are on sale at the Park Square box office, 20 W. Seventh Place, or by phone: 651.291.7005, (12 noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday), or online at www.parksquaretheatre.org. *Member, Actors Equity Association

Alice and Henry have to make a change. After twenty-five years of marriage, three children and stalled careers, the couple has fallen into the same old dull routine. They desperately hope a staycation at a fancy hotel - and a copy of Sex for Dummies - will cure all that ails them. Can the once-happy couple reignite a passion that's more than skin deep? A laugh-out-loud romantic romp from one of Canada's most acclaimed playwrights.

PARK SQUARE THEATRE. 20 W. Seventh Place, Saint Paul. Box office: 651.291.7005. www.parksquaretheatre.org.

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