Jeffrey Brian Adams and More Lead DOGFIGHT, Starting Tonight at San Francisco Playhouse

San Francisco Playhouse opens its thirteenth Mainstage season with the San Francisco premiere of the musical Dogfight, directed by Bill English. The show will feature Jeffrey Brian Adams* (Promises, Promises), Jordan Bridges, Caitlin Brooke, Nikita Burshteyn, Brandon Dahlquist*, Sally Dana*, Kathryn Hart, Andrew Humann, Amy Lizardo*, AeJay Mitchell, and Michael Gene Sullivan*.

Set in San Francisco and Vietnam, Dogfight is a tender and brutal tale based on the 1991 film starring River Phoenix and Lili Taylor. Dogfight the musical made its off-Broadway debut at Second Stage in 2012. The musical is the winner of the 2011 Richard Rodgers Studio Production Award.

What happens when trouble meets tender? It's 1963 and three young marines are headed to Vietnam. But before they go they've got one last night. One night to party and play, to tease and taunt. Eddie takes on a cruel bet with his buddies, and the trusting, unsuspecting girl he meets, Rose, becomes his victim. But Rose turns out to be more than Eddie bargained for. What's Eddie going to do when Rose rewrites the rules and his last night turns into a lesson on the power of compassion?

San Francisco Playhouse's production of Dogfight is made possible by Executive Producer Robert Hulteng, Producer Cynnie Anderson and Associate Producers Jim and Sandy Robbins.

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Music and Lyrics) projects include A Christmas Story (national tour 2011, 5th Avenue Theatre 2010) and James and the Giant Peach (Goodspeed 2010). Other works include Edges (licensed by Music Theatre International, with over 150 productions worldwide from South Korea and Australia to South Africa and the Philippines) and various TV assignments, as well as Duck for President and If You Give a Pig a Pancake for Theatreworks USA. In addition to the 2011 Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theatre, they have received the 2011 Sundance Institute Fellowship, 2011 ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award, 2011 ASCAP Songwriters Fellowship Award, 2007-2008 Dramatists Guild Fellowship, 2007 Jonathan Larson Award, 2010 Fred Ebb Award Finalists, Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project, and were among the "50 to Watch" from Dramatist Magazine. They both received BFAs from the University of Michigan in Musical Theatre. For the record, they share credit for both music and lyrics.

Peter Duchan (Book) co-wrote the screenplay for "Breaking Upwards," released by IFC Films in 2010. He co-wrote a short, "Unlocked," an Official Selection of the Tribeca Film Festival, among others. His play, Lavender Scare, was presented as part of the Geva Theatre's 2011 Plays-in-Progress series. He graduated from Northwestern University.

Bill English (Director) is a co-founder of San Francisco Playhouse, and in 12 years with Susi Damilano, has guided its growth from a barebones storefront to the second largest theatre in San Francisco. He designed the first theatre space at 536 Sutter and personally reconfigured a barn-like 700-seat hall to the current gracious and intimate 200-seat venue. Along the way he has served as director, actor, set, light, and sound designer, winning Bay Area Critic's nominations or awards in all those categories. Bill is also an accomplished musician and builder. Milestone accomplishments include bringing Pulitzer-winner Stephen Adly Guirgis to the Bay Area by directing three of his plays, commissioning 12 playwrights and moving world premieres from work shop to Sandbox Series to Mainstage to New York, including the recent New York transfer of San Francisco Playhouse production of Bauer, the upcoming New York transfer of Ideation, and presenting the very first production of Grounded by George Brant which recently opened at The Public Theater. He coined the phrase, "the empathy gym," and it drives everything at San Francisco Playhouse.

Founded by Bill English and Susi Damilano in 2003, San Francisco Playhouse has been described in the New York Times as "a company that stages some of the most consistently high-quality work around." Located right in the heart of the Union Square Theater District, San Francisco Playhouse is the city's Off-Broadway style company, an intimate alternative to the larger more traditional Union Square theater fare. The San Francisco Playhouse provides audiences the opportunity to experience professional theater with top-notch actors and world-class design in a setting where they are close to the action. The company has received multiple awards for overall productions, acting, and design including the SF Weekly Best Theatre Award and the Bay Guardian's Best Off-Broadway Theatre Award. Presenting a diverse range of plays and musicals, San Francisco Playhouse produces new works as well as re-imagining classics, "making the edgy accessible and the traditional edgy." The San Francisco Chronicle raved: "On the verge of opening its 10th season, the company that lived a hand-to-mouth existence for its first few years has become 'the little playhouse that could.' It quickly established a reputation for attracting some of the Bay Area's best acting and directing talent, as well as for its exciting play choices. And with its bold Sandbox Series, it's become a player in developing new works as well." San Francisco Playhouse is committed to providing a creative home and inspiring environment where actors, directors, writers, designers, and theater lovers converge to create works that celebrate the human spirit.

IF YOU GO:

DOGFIGHT

SHOWS: Previews September 22, 23, 24, 25 at 8pm; Opens September 22nd through November 7th; Regular Run - Tuesday through Thursday 7pm, Friday & Saturday 8pm/Saturday 3pm, Sunday 2pm; No matinee September 26th and 27th.

WHERE: 450 Post Street, San Francisco, 2nd Floor of the Kensington Park Hotel

TICKETS: For tickets ($20-$120) or more information, the public may contact the San Francisco Playhouse box office at 415-677-9596, or http://sfplayhouse.org/sfph/2015-2016-season/dogfight/

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