ROOTED Comes to Lyric Stage Boston in June

The 2022/23 Lyric Stage season concludes with Rooted by Deborah Zoe Laufer and directed by Courtney O'Connor°.

Family is complicated. And funny. And infuriating. But in the end it's what really matters and is brought to comedic light in Rooted. It's one family that is literally "up a treehouse" that comes to find courageous discovery in the end.

In the claustrophobic town of Millerville, Emery Harris lives alone in a treehouse named Mabel surrounded by a dozen or so plants she researches, names, and talks to. Her overbearing sister Hazel is Emery's only connection to reality, along with her YouTube channel where she documents her studies that have garnered several thousand followers. When her calm and quiet is disrupted by an entourage of devotees chanting and singing to her - their botanical, new-age messiah --she is forced to look down from the branches and face the outside world.

Director Courtney O'Connor° says, "What a joy it is to meet more of the vibrant, quirky, and complex characters dreamed up by Deborah Zoe Laufer. "'The family tree' takes on deeper meaning as Emery and Hazel are both forced to examine how deeply connected they are to the tree, their lives, and each other. We are so fortunate and thankful to have Deborah here with us as we explore and bring this new script to life."

Playwright Deborah Zoe Laufer says, "This was the dream. Rooted was commissioned to be a companion piece for Be Here Now and I

dreamt that the two would be produced, one season after the next. Lyric Stage is the first place to do that. And it's all the sweeter that Courtney directed both productions, that the design team has returned, and that Katherine Callaway is back to play Luanne."

Performances begin Friday, June 2 and run through Sunday, June 25.

Featuring Katherine Callaway, Karen MacDonald*, and Lisa Tucker*.

Scenic Design is by Janie E. Howland**, Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl, Lighting Design by Karen Perlow**, Original Music and Sound Co-Design by Dewey Dellay, and Sound Co-Design by Andrew Duncan Will.

Katherine Callaway (Luanne Cooper) - Lyric Stage: Be Here Now (Luanne Cooper). Boston Theater Company: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Hermia). Emerson College: What Remains Hidden (Is Still Known) a devised play with Rinde Eckert, Who Donut (Lexie), Hamlet (Claudius). Katherine holds a BFA in Acting from Emerson College and is a West Virginia native. Website: KatherineCShaver.com

Karen MacDonald* (Hazel) - Lyric Stage: The Cake, Red Hot Patriot and Superior Donuts. Recent credits include Merrimack Repertory Theater: A Christmas Carol. SpeakEasy Stage Company: Heroes of the Fourth Turning. Huntington Theater: Common Ground. Regionally, she has appeared at Gamm Theatre, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Greater Boston Stage Company, Trinity Repertory, New Repertory Theater, Gloucester Stage, Portland Stage, Boston Playwrights Theatre, Boston Theatre Company, Sleeping Weazel, The Vineyard Playhouse, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Shakespeare and Co. and Berkshire Playwrights Lab. A Founding Company Member of The American Repertory Theatre, she appeared in 74 productions, including The Seagull, Mother Courage and Her Children, and No Exit. On Broadway, she understudied and performed the role of Amanda Wingfield in John Tiffany's revival of The Glass Menagerie. Nationally, she has performed at Hartford Stage, The Maltz Jupiter Theatre, The Alley Theatre and Berkeley Repertory, among others. She is the recipient of several IRNE Awards and Elliot Norton Awards for her performances. She received The Robert Brustein Award for Sustained Achievement in The Theater and the Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence. She teaches at the Harvard Extension School and is a faculty member at Theater, Dance & Media at Harvard University.

Lisa Tucker* (Emery) - Lyric Stage: Living Out (Wallace), Beau Jest. Moving Theatre (founding member - selected roles): The Remarkable Rooming-House of Mme. Le Monde (Mme. Le Monde; IRNE Award for Outstanding Show), Samurai 7.0 (Ensemble; Elliot Norton nominee, Outstanding Show), Krazy Kat (Elliot Norton Award, Outstanding Show). Boston Playwrights Theatre: Rx Machina (Deb). Plays in Place: The Nature Plays (Asa Grey). Next Door Theatre: God of Carnage (Veronica). AIMStage: Be A Good Little Widow (Hope). Centastage: Plays on Tap (Ensemble). Fort Point Theatre Channel 4:48 Psychosis (Doctor). New Century Theatre: The Cocktail Hour (Nina). Foothills Theatre: The Scarlet Letter (Mistress Hibbins). Greater Boston Stage Company: A Christmas Story (Mom), A Prayer for Owen Meany (Barb). Shear Madness (Mrs. Shubert). BFA, Emerson College.

* Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

** Represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829 of the IATSE

° Stage Directors and Choreographers Society

Season Sponsors: Paul Kastner

G. Lee and Diana Humphrey

Production Sponsor: Mary & Doug Woodruff

Cast Sponsor: James & Judith Barr

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