In Becky Shaw, newlywed Suzanna fixes up her best friend Max with her husband's beautiful but odd co-worker Becky Shaw. The blind date ignites a fuse that will soon set Becky off in the midst of Suzanna's entire family. The resulting blast of dysfunctional hilarity has everyone scrambling for cover, but finding none.
Gionfriddo's acclaimed play made its debut at the 2008 Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, KY, quickly becoming the breakout hit of that year's festival. It was subsequently produced in New York at the off-Broadway theatre Second Stage. The New York production was a sold-out smash, receiving rave reviews and extending its run due to popular demand. Becky Shaw was a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and received numerous nominations from the Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle awards.
Playwright Gina Gionfriddo is an award-winning writer. Her play U.S. Drag received the 2001-02 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. She is also the recipient of the Helen Merrill Award for Emerging Playwrights, a Lucille Lortel Fellowship and a Rhode Island State Council on the Arts Fellowship. Her plays include After Ashley, Safe, Trepidation Nation and Guinevere. She has also served as a writer and producer of TV's "Law & Order."The cast includes veterans of the Actor's Express stage, as well as some AE newcomers. Returning to the Express are Jill Hames (Grey Gardens, Once Upon a Mattress), Tony Larkin (Octopus, Fair Use) and Kathi Welch (Picnic, Auntie Mame). Suzi Bass Award winners Veronika Duerr (Theatre in the Square's Tradin' Paint) and Andrew Benator (ALLIANCE THEATRE's Eurydice) make their Actor's Express debuts.Actor's Express Artistic Director Freddie Ashley directs the production. The creative team includes Kat Conley (scenery), Joseph Monaghan III (Lighting and Sound), Elizabeth Rasmusson (Costumes), Melisa DuBois (Props) and Alicia Quirk (Stage Manager).
Becky Shaw preview performances begin August 26. Opening Night is Sunday, August 29, and the production runs through September 25.
