Philadelphia Theatre Company Gets Steamy with SEX WITH STRANGERS This Spring

By: Mar. 09, 2016
Enter Your Email to Unlock This Article

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe.




Existing user? Just click login.

Philadelphia Theatre Company's next production promises to excite with SEX WITH STRANGERS by Laura Eason on April 8-May 8 at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre (Broad and Lombard Streets). Directed by David Saint, the production features Kyle Coffman as the young, brash writer Ethan Kane and JoAnna Rhinehart as novelist and teacher Olivia Lago.

Previews begin Friday, April 8 with Opening Night on Wednesday, April 13. Performances run Tuesdays through Sundays until May 8. Tickets starting at $15 are available by calling the PTC Box Office at 215-985-0420 or visiting PhiladelphiaTheatreCompany.org. Sex with Strangers is a co-production with George Street Playhouse.

SEX WITH STRANGERS is the story of an affair between Ethan, a brash, young blogger-turned-best-selling writer who shares his sexual exploits with the world, and Olivia, a reserved teacher whose would-be writing career stalled after one book published years earlier. It does not take long for opposites to attract and chemistry to ignite. Sex is imminent. But is their attraction driven by love, passion or opportunity? The play is recommended for mature audiences only due to adult themes and nudity.

Laura Eason (Playwright) is the author of more than 20 full-length plays, both original work and adaptations, a musical book writer, and a writer for the Netflix hit series House of Cards. In addition to SEX WITH STRANGERS, her full-length plays include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Around the World in 80 Days, Ethan Frome and When the Messenger is Hot.

David Saint (Director) is in his 18th season as Artistic Director of George Street Playhouse where he has directed 34 mainstage productions and overseen the world premieres of many award-winning works including The Toxic Avenger, Proof, The Spitfire Grill, Clever Little Lies and It Shoulda Been You. In addition to directing Clever Little Lies at Guild Hall in East Hampton, N.Y. NYC's Westside Theatre and the National Tour of West Side Story, he has directed regionally at Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, Primary Stages, McCarter, Williamstown, Seattle Rep, Pasadena Playhouse, Pittsburgh Public, and Long Wharf Theatre. He is the recipient of the Alan Schneider Award, Helen Hayes Award, L.A. Drama Critics Award, several Drama-Logue Awards and is the President of The Laurents/Hatcher Foundation.

Kyle Coffman (Ethan) made his Broadway debut as an original cast member in the 2009 revival of West Side Story and was also seen in the original Broadway casts of Newsies and The Mystery of Edwin Drood . He is featured on the cast albums of all three shows and served as the original Newsies logo. He has appeared twice on the Tony Awards, as well as multiple performances on TV shows, such as Good Morning America and The View. In 2012, he had a featured role in the film Someday This Pain Will Be Useful.

JoAnna Rhinehart (Olivia) has appeared in In White America and The Jones Men at New Federal Theatre/Castillo Theatre, the premiere of The Sleeping Girl at Playwrights Horizons, and the National Shakespeare Company tour of The Comedy of Errors. She has appeared recently on a number of television shows, such as Elementary, Unforgettable, The Following and Damages. Film credits include Double Negative, for which she earned Best Actor/Outstanding Female Lead/Short Subject Film at New York's VISIONFEST15. .

Sex with Strangers brings together the creative team of set designer Jason Simms, costume designer Michael McDonald, lighting designer Christopher Bailey, and sound designer/original music composer Scott Killian.

PTC's 2015-2016 season concludes with the East Coast premiere of Hillary and Clinton by Lucas Hnath (May 27 - June 26). PTC will also continue its Theatre Masters series with stage, film and television star David Morse on March 21, interviewed by American Theatre Wing's Howard Sherman

Founded in 1974, Philadelphia Theatre Company is a leading regional theatre company that produces, develops and presents entertaining and imaginative contemporary theatre focused on the American experience. By developing new work through commissions, readings and workshops, PTC generates a national impact and reaches broad regional audiences. Under the guidance of PTC's Executive Producing Director, Sara Garonzik, since 1982 and Executive Managing Director Priscilla M. Luce, who joined the leadership team in early April of 2013, PTC supports the work of a growing body of diverse dramatists and takes pride in being a home to many nationally recognized artists who have participated in more than 140 world and Philadelphia premieres. PTC has received 57 Barrymore Awards and 180 nominations. PTC's home on the Avenue of the Arts, the Suzanne Roberts Theatre which opened in October 2007, has helped revitalize of Center City Philadelphia's thriving arts district.



Videos