Actor's Express to Continue 34th Season With DESIRE UNDER THE ELMS in August

Actor's Express will continue its 34th season with a production of Desire Under the Elms, a landmark American play by Eugene O'Neill, American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. In this scorching classic that pulses with the intensity of a fever dream, tyrannical patriarch Ephraim Cabot returns to his rural New England farm with a seductive new wife, Abbie, hoping to produce a new heir to the estate. Fearing disinheritance, his impetuous youngest son Eben hates his new stepmother. But hatred gives way to lust, unleashing tragic consequences on the Cabot family forever. One of the great masterpieces by one of America's most important dramatists.

Desire Under the Elms hearkens to AE's muscular productions of classic American dramas like Angels in America and The Crucible. Desire Under the Elms is directed by Actor's Express Artistic director Freddie Ashley. The play explores themes such as desire, lust, revenge, love, faith and the need for a home of one's own . The Daily Herald named Desire Under the Elms "A provocative examination of passion and greed, loneliness and manipulation, all of which is underscored by the deeply rooted need for a place to call one's own."

Desire Under the Elms was first produced in 1924 by The Provincetown Players and Greenwich Village Theatre. Desire moved to Broadway shortly after where the production ran for 420 performances. Desire Under the Elms was one of the first plays to modernize greek plot elements and themes and is inspired by the greek tragedy of Phaedra, Hippolytus, and Theseus. A film version of Desire Under the Elms was produced in 1958 starring Sophia Loren, Anthony Perkins and Burl Ives.

According to Artistic Director Freddie Ashley, "It's hard to believe that this scathingly erotic play is almost 100 years old. Written in 1924, it still burns with dangerous sexual ferocity. Desire Under the Elms was O'Neill's first foray into adapting ancient Greek tragedy into a modern context, in this case riffing on Euripedes' Hippolytus. O'Neill had keen insights into the dark corners of American family mythology, and Desire Under the Elms digs into domestic savagery with penetrating results that reverberate today."

ABOUT Eugene O'Neill

"Man's loneliness is but his fear of life."
-Eugene O'Neill

Eugene O'Neill was a great American playwright born in 1888 and winner of both the Pulitzer Prize (four times) and the Nobel Prize. He is known as the first playwright to introduce realism into American drama and his famous works include The Iceman Cometh, Long Day's Journey Into Night, and A Moon for the Misbegotten. Many of O'Neills tragic plays are a reflection of his struggle with depression and alcoholism. O'Neill's plays focus on the "disillusionment and personal tragedy of those on the fringes of society." O'Neill famously died in a hotel room in New York City in 1953 whispering at his deathbed, "I knew it. I knew it. Born in a hotel room and died in a hotel room."

ABOUT Freddie Ashley

Freddie Ashley is Artistic Director of Actor's Express. He has directed around 45 AE
productions, including Fun Home, The Crucible, Stupid f-ing Bird and Murder Ballad. Locally, his work has been seen at Dad's Garage, Atlanta Lyric Theatre, Jewish Theatre of the South, Theatre Gael and Aurora Theatre. He has been a frequent guest director at universities, including Virginia Commonwealth University, Hendrix College, University of Georgia, Austin Peay State University and Oglethorpe University.

He has developed new plays around the country with the Playwrights Center, Kennedy Center, New Group, Page 73 and the Alliance Theatre, where he served as Literary Manager. Ashley has worked on new play projects with some of the most compelling and important writers working in the American theatre today, including John Patrick Shanley, Joshua Harmon, Lindsey Ferrentino, Jen Silverman, Kenneth Lin, Janine Nabers, Marco Ramirez and Michael Lew.

He is a four-time Suzi Bass Award winner and has been named Best Director in Atlanta three times by Creative Loafing. He has received the Elliot Hayes Award for Dramaturgy from the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas and the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Medallion of Excellence.

Ashley is Part-Time Assistant Professor of Theatre at Kennesaw State University, where he has served on the faculty since 2002 and serves on the National New Play Network Board of Directors. He holds an MFA in Theatre Performance from the University of Southern Mississippi.

ABOUT DESIRE UNDER THE ELMS

By Eugene O'Neill
Directed by Freddie Ashley
August 4-28th, 2022

Desire Under the Elms begins previews August 4th and opens August 6th. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM. Tickets start at $20 and may be purchased online at actors-express.com or by calling 404-607-7469.

In this scorching classic that pulses with the intensity of a fever dream, tyrannical patriarch Ephraim Cabot returns to his rural New England farm with a seductive new wife, Abbie, hoping to produce a new heir to the estate. Fearing disinheritance, his impetuous youngest son Eben hates his new stepmother. But hatred gives way to lust, unleashing tragic consequences on the Cabot family forever. One of the great masterworks by one of America's most important dramatists.

Leading this six-person cast is Precious West, Ryan Vo and Tim McDonough. Vo and West are both AE apprentice company alumni. West recently served as choreographer for AE's production of Heathers and Vo recently starred in AE's world premiere of Hometown Boy. McDonough is a professor at Emory University and a Suzi-award winning actor.

PERFORMANCE DATES & TICKETS

Previews: Thursday-Friday, August 4-5, 2022 at 8 PM
Opening Night: Saturday, August 6, 2022 at 8 PM
Regular Performances: August 6-28, 2022
Wednesday-Saturday at 8 PM
Sunday at 2 PM

Purchase tickets online at actors-express.com or by calling 404-607-7469.
Group pricing is available. For info, email tickets@actorsexpress.com.

Regular ticket prices range from $20-$38.
Student tickets are always $20.
Discounts for seniors 65+, groups and active or retired military.
Ticket prices are subject to availability. Order early for best pricing.

CAST

Cabot Tim McDonough*
Abbie Precious West
Eben Ryan Vo*
Peter Brian Ashton Smith
Simeon Jason Kirkpatrick*
Sheriff Brian Ashton Smith

Cabot Understudy Corey Smith (AE apprentice)
Abbie Understudy Abbey Kincheloe (AE apprentice)
Eben Understudy Greg Lloyd (AE apprentice)
Peter Understudy Tyshawn Gooden(AE apprentice)
Simeon, Sheriff Understudy Jesse Smith (AE apprentice)

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