None Too Fragile's POSSUM DREAMS Comes to Theatre 54 This Spring

After a sold-out and critically acclaimed summer production on None Too Fragile's Akron stage, Ed Falco's Possum Dreams-directed by Sean Derry and starring Leighann Niles DeLorenzo and Andrew Narten-lands at Theatre 54 in New York for an eleven-performance run beginning March 18th.

"Possum Dreams feels like a kinky, unhinged cousin to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and God of Carnage; it's a play with similar DNA but willing to go further, break more windows, get into more trouble, than its older relations. In doing so, it's more absurd but somehow, more exhilarating," raved The Cleveland Plain Dealer, which ranked it among Cleveland's 10 best plays of 2014.

Set on Long Island, Possum Dreams is a two-hander, centered around the lives of Jan and Walter Landing. Over the course of one Friday evening their marriage implodes as Walter's relationship to a transsexual student is called into question and Jan's talent for domesticity is put to the test. Dead possums, sex toys, and bongs show up along the way.

Playwright Ed Falco, the widely published author of literary fiction and poetry, is best known recently for his novel The Family Corleone, the New York Times bestselling prequel to The Godfather. The New York Times has favorably compared his short stories to the work of Raymond Carver and Andre Dubus, and The Notre Dame Review has called him "one of the most powerful short fiction writers of his generation." The recipient of the Robert Penn Warren Prize from The Southern Review, a NEA Fellowship, and two playwriting fellowships from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, Falco teaches in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Virginia Tech. This production marks the New York debut of his theatrical work.

Director Sean Derry co-founded Northeast Ohio's acclaimed Bang and Clatter Theatre before founding None Too Fragile. He received his training at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, and has worked as both an actor and director in theater and film.

Leighann Niles DeLorenzo holds an MFA in classical theater performance from the University of South Carolina, and has performed extensively in Washington D.C. and Northeast Ohio. Andrew Narten has acted in numerous productions in Cleveland and Akron. BroadwayWorld wrote of their performances: "Andrew Narten and Leighann Niles DeLorenzo are superb . . . They rant, harass and taunt with glee. . . . They each present several powerful and hysterical monologues worth the price of admission . . ." The Cleveland Critics Circle awarded Narten's performance in Possum Dreams a nomination for best actor, and Derry for best director.

None Too Fragile Theater is famous locally for offering its audience complimentary shots of Jameson. They're not likely to try that at Theater 54, but the bracing spirit and energy of the troupe's performance will light up midtown Manhattan, nontheless.

Theatre 54 is located at 244 W. 54th, between Broadway and 8th. POSSUM DREAMS will be performed March 18 - 20 at 8pm; March 25 - 27 at 8 pm; March 21, 2 pm and 8pm March 28, 2pm and 8pm; and March 22, 2 pm. For more information, visit www.nonetoofragile.com.

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