LAZARUS SYNDROME Begins 2/24 at RTP

LAZARUS SYNDROME, an acclaimed new comedy by Bruce Ward about the power of faith and family, is Richmond Triangle Players' entry into the city-wide Acts of Faith festival. The production opens Thursday, February 25 at 8 pm, following a low-priced preview on Wednesday, February 24 at 8 pm. RTP's production is the play's second, following its premiere at DC's Theatre Alliance in 2007.

LAZARUS SYNDROME centers on middle-aged Elliott, who has spent most of his adult life as HIV-positive. A former concert pianist who now teaches lessons at the local YMCA, he struggles with the survivor's guilt so common among those who continue to live while so many around them have passed away. His actor boyfriend has just left town for a tour of Fiddler on the Roof when Elliott's planned quiet evening at home is suddenly and unexpectedly interrupted by his brother and father, who arrive carrying Manischewitz, homemade matzo ball soup, brisket and family baggage.

Upon its premiere, DC's MetroWeekly raved that LAZARUS SYNDROME was "a quiet marvel, a play that reminds us how powerful the written word can truly be ... a rare beauty that manages to be moving without melodrama, heartbreaking without hysteria." Playwright Ward says it is far more than a play about someone living with the specter of AIDS. "The main character is a long-term survivor," he says, "but it's really a play about resilience, how human beings deal with grief, and about heritage and family -- how qualities like resilience can be passed on through blood from generation to generation."

Director Keith Fitzgerald (RTP's It's a Fabulous Life) has cast some of Richmond's finest actors for this production, including Andrew Firda (Richmond Theatre Critics Circle Award nominee as Roy Cohn in RTP's recent Angels in America: Millennium Approaches) as Elliott, Andrew C. Boothby (making his RTP debut after dozens of productions at Virginia Rep) as Elliott's brother Neil, Alan Sader (onstage at RTP in 5th Wall Theatre's The Lyons and RTCC Award winner for the title role in Richmond Shakespeare's King Lear) as father Jake, and Stevie Rice (Cliff in RTP's smash hit production of Cabaret) as Elliott's boyfriend Steven.

Playwright Bruce Ward has been writing about the AIDS epidemic since its inception. His one-act play, Paint By Numbers, first produced in 1983, was highlighted in American Theatre magazine as one of the first plays to acknowledge the developing epidemic. In the 1990s, Bruce performed his solo show, Decade: Life in the '80s in theaters, festivals, conferences and universities across the U.S. In 2007, his play Lazarus Syndrome was produced at Theater Alliance in Washington, D.C. and was the recipient of the 2007 2nd place VSA arts/Jean Kennedy Smith award, presented at the Kennedy Center. An excerpt from the play is included in a new anthology of literature from Art & Understanding magazine, published by Black Lawrence Press.

As an educator, Bruce acted as the Director of the National AIDS Hotline from 1986-1988 and worked for a decade as an AIDS educator in both NYC and Boston. He has recently completed a memoir, Fifteen Years, chronicling the early years of the epidemic. Bruce has an B.S. in Theatre from Northwestern University, an M.A. in Creative Writing/Playwriting from Boston University, and an M.F.A. from the New School's Creative Writing/Creative Nonfiction program in NYC. He has thrice been a Fellow at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, was an artist-in-resident at Byrdcliffe Colony in Woodstock, NY, and recently served as playwright-in-residence at SPARC's New Voices for the Theatre in Richmond.

. Set design for LAZARUS SYNDROME is by David Allan Ballas, costume design is by Alex Valentin, and lighting design is by Andrew Bonniwell. Stage Manager is T. Ross Aitken and Production Manager is Lucian Restivo.

RTP's production of LAZARUS SYNDROME will open Thursday February 25, and run Thursday through Saturday evenings at 8 pm through March 19, with Sunday matinees March 6 and 13. There will be a low-priced preview on Wednesday February 24. As part of the Acts of Faith Festival, free talkbacks with the cast and area clergy will take place after each matinee performance.

All performances will take place at Richmond Triangle Players' theater at 1300 Altamont Avenue, just northwest of the intersection of the Boulevard and West Broad Street. Reserved seat tickets ($30 for Fridays and Saturdays, $28 for Thursday and Sundays, with discounts for groups and students; and $18 on the Nov 18 preview) can be purchased online at RTP's web site at www.rtriangle.org, on RTP's facebook page, or by leaving a message on the RTP Ticket hotline at 804-346-8113.

RTP's theater at 1300 Altamont Avenue is a 4000-square foot performing arts facility accommodating flexible seating arrangements for up to 90 patrons. The building features fully ADA-compliant access and comfortable restrooms, as well as a generous bar, and catering capability, and is also available for cabaret performances and private events.

For more information, please contact RTP managing director Philip Crosby at 804-342-7665 or by e-mail at Crosby@rtriangle.org.

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