Virginia Rep Announces the Opening of AIRLINE HIGHWAY

Virginia Repertory Theatre announces the opening of the Tony-nominated play Airline Highway, by playwright Lisa D'Amour on Friday, January 27 on the Arenstein Stage at the Sara Belle and Neil November Theatre, 114 West Broad Street. The play runs through February 12 with preview performances on Wednesday and Thursday, January 25 and 26. Set in post-Katrina New Orleans and echoing the spontaneity and rich texture of jazz, this gritty comedy celebrates the colorful, fractured characters that define the city's spirit. D'Amour, a fifth-generation New Orleans native, was a Pulitzer finalist for her work on Detroit. She was commissioned to write Airline Highway in 2014 for Steppenwolf Theatre Company. The show made its Broadway debut in 2015 and earned four Tony Nominations.

Virginia Rep's production of Airline Highway is directed by Laine Satterfield. Recent directing credits include Quill Theatre Company's Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe and Cadence Theatre's critically acclaimed The Mountaintop, for which she won the 2015 RTCC Best Director award. Additionally, Satterfield serves as the Director of Education for Cadence Theatre Company and Program Director for TRAIN, a competitive pre-professional training program for young actors in Richmond. Satterfield has received multiple nominations and awards for acting. Acting credits include Gideon's Knot, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Eurydice, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

Airline Highway's all-female creative team includes lighting designer Lynne Hartman (Gypsy, Mame, and Treasure Island for Virginia Rep), scenic designer Kate Field and costume designer Emily Laurelle Tappan. Field is a second year MFA candidate in Scenic Design and Technology at Virginia Commonwealth University. Recent credits at VCU include The Addams Family, In The Next Room or the vibrator play and It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. Tappan is a current MFA student in Costume Design at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Landon Nagel (1776, Treasure Island, and They're Playing our Song for Virginia Rep) and Susan Sanford (A Christmas Story, the Musical, Mame, Gypsy, and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike for Virginia Rep) return to the November Theatre in the roles of Bait Boy and Tanya. Emma Orelove returns from New York in the role of Krista. Orelove grew up in Richmond and had roles in various Virginia Rep shows as a child. Recent credits include The Flick for Cadence Theatre Company and Off-Broadway credits of The Church of Why Not at Theatre 167, Our Town at Transport Group, the First National Tour of The Hungry Hungry Games and upcoming independent feature film, Lemons. Barry Pruitt (White Christmas, Fiddler on the Roof for Virginia Rep, The Boy from Oz for Richmond Triangle Players), returns to Virginia Rep in the role of Wayne.

Making their Virginia Rep debuts are Starlet Knight (Green Day's American Idiot for Firehouse Theatre, Hedwig and the Angry Inch with Theatre Lab) as Miss Ruby, Andrew Firda (Clybourne Park, Sight Unseen for Cadence/Virginia Rep, Angels in America at Richmond Triangle Players) as Francis, St. Catherine's School student Kat Collin as Zoe, Anthony Wright (A Chorus Line, West Side Story, Les Miserable, All Shook Up at Cortland Rep) as Sissy Na Na, and Iman Shabazz (Merchant of Venice at Quill Theatre) as Terry. Shabazz serves as the Artistic Director of African American Repertory Theatre of Virginia. The full cast is listed below.

Ticket Information

Box Office 804-282-2620

www.virginiarep.org

Full Price Tickets: Adults $38 - $46.

Discounted Group Rates and Rush tickets available.

U-Tix for college and high school students $10. Available by phone or in person, day of show only. Valid Student ID required.

New Free Ticket Programming

Virginia Rep launched two new free ticket programs this fall. The Free-View Lottery will provide 50 free tickets through a lottery system on the first Wednesday Preview of all Signature shows. The Community Tickets Grant Program creates a process for nonprofit organizations to apply for up to 50 free tickets for the groups they serve who may not otherwise have the ability to attend a show. More information at www.virginiarep.org.

Four Thoughts Pre-Show Conversations

The new Four Thoughts discussion series will continue on Sundays, 30 minutes prior to the performance. Local experts on theatre will present four thoughts or ideas that provide context to the play. Open to public. No reservation needed.

Induction Loop

The Sara Belle and Neil November Theatre is equipped with a state-of the-art induction loop hearing system that is compatible with all telecoil-equipped hearing aids and cochlear implants. A handheld receiver and headphone system is also available free of charge for anyone who is hearing impaired.

Parking

Valet parking is available for $8 at all performances and free self-park is available for patrons within blocks of the theatre. Valet is complimentary for patrons who dine at Max's on Broad, before or after the show.

Press Kits Available at http://va-rep.org/press.html

Evening performances at 8:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 7:00 p.m. on

Thursdays and select Wednesdays

Matinee performances at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday and select Wednesdays and Saturdays

Direction & Design

Direction Laine Satterfield

Set Design Kate Field

Lighting Design Lynne M. Hartman+

Costume Design Emily Tappan

Stage Management Jocelyn A. Thompson*

Cast List

Bait Boy Landon Nagel*

Tanya Susan Sanford*

Krista Emma Orelove

Wayne Barry Pruitt

Francis Andrew Firda*

Miss Ruby Starlet Knight

Sissy Na Na Anthony Wright

Zoe Kat Collin

Terry Iman Shabazz

Party Guest 1/Ensemble Jacqueline O'Connor

Party Guest 2/Ensemble Lennon Hu

Nurse/Ensemble Tyra Robinson

Judge Harmon/Ensemble Bill Blair

Shady Character 1/Krista US Sian Lee Syring

Shady Character 2/Ensemble Charlotte I. Kulaki

Shady Character 3/Ensemble Dylan Douglasson

* Member of Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the U.S.A.

+ Member of USA United Scenic Artists: local 829

Full bios can be found at www.virginiarep.org.

About Virginia Repertory Theatre

Virginia Repertory Theatre is the regional professional theatre in Richmond, Virginia. With a budget of $5 million, four distinct venues, an educational touring arm, and an annual audience over 530,000, Virginia Rep is one of the largest performing arts organizations in Central Virginia. Virginia Rep stages four seasons annually: the Signature Season at the Sara Belle and Neil November Theatre, Theatre Gym Season in partnership with Cadence Theatre Company, Virginia Rep's Children's Season at Willow Lawn, and the Hanover Tavern Season.

Corporate Sponsors

Virginia Rep is grateful for the following support from Altria, The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The Virginia Commission for the Arts, the Nationals Endowment for the Arts, the Richmond Times-Dispatch.