SEX SATIRE ROMANCE AND DUCKS Celebrates Mamet 5/9- 6/7

If you think you know David Mamet, think again. This famously terse playwright is a master of biting comedy. The A.R.T. - producer of the world premieres of Mamet's Oleanna, Cryptogram, The Old Neighborhood, and Boston Marriage - is pleased to present Sex, Satire, Romance, and Ducks - a celebration of comic work spanning Mamet's career.

At the center of the festival is Romance - a courtroom farce that takes no prisoners in its quest for total political incorrectness. In Romance, Mamet creates a world in a microcosm in which shameless fawning and sheer caprice hold sway, and the noble apparatus of law and order degenerates into riotous mayhem. Directed by longtime Mamet collaborator Scott Zigler, Romance runs May 9 - June 7 at the Loeb Drama Center.

It's hay fever season, and in the courthouse a judge is popping antihistamines like candy. As a Mideast Peace Conference convenes nearby, an elusive court case is persistently interrupted by domestic squabbles, ethnic slur slinging, and a hallucinating judge. Lawyers and judges, Jews and Christians, homosexuals and chiropractors - no one gets off easy in Mamet's madcap skewering of the American legal system. The esteemed, noble practice of law degenerates into sheer comic chaos as Mamet ponders the most fundamental human question: Why can't we all just get along?

The cast includes A.R.T. actors Remo Airaldi as the Defendant, Thomas Derrah as the Prosecutor, Will LeBow as the Judge, and Jim True-Frost as the Defense Attorney. They are joined by graduating Institute actors Doug Chapman as the Doctor, Carl Foreman as Bernard, and Jim Senti as the Bailiff.

The performance schedule of Romance is as follows: May 9, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30 June 5, 6 at 8:00pm; May 12, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20, 21, 24, 26, 27, 28, 31, June 2, 3, 4, 7 at 7:30pm; May 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, 31, June 6, 7 at 2:00pm. Special performances include Under 35 Night on Thursday, May 14 with a post-show reception, and Out at A.R.T. for the GLBT community on Friday, May 22, with post-show reception. Ticket prices range from $25-79, with a $10 discount for seniors.

The A.R.T./MXAT Institute for Advanced Theatre Training contributes to the festival with their presentation of Seriously Funny, an evening of short comedies not just by Mamet, but also his friends and frequent collaborators Harold Pinter and Shel Silverstein. The production runs May 29 - June 6 at the Zero Arrow Club, and will be under the helm of actor, director, and longtime Mamet collaborator Jim Frangione. Performances are May 29, 30, June 5, 6 at 8:00pm; May 31, June 3, 4 at 7:30pm. Single ticket prices are $10, students and seniors $5, and free for A.R.T. season ticket holders.

Next up is a double bill of two of Mamet's early comedies - Sexual Perversity in Chicago and Duck Variations. Both showcase Mamet's command of lightning-quick comic banter, while skewering the antics of young and old alike. The production runs June 11- 28 at the Zero Arrow Club.

Sexual Perversity in Chicago examines relationships between men and women. Danny and Deborah meet on the North Side of Chicago. Bernard teaches Danny the secrets to wooing women as Joan warns Deborah about the dangers of men. When Danny and Deborah move in together, their friends panic. Will the young couple survive? Or will their friends regain control? Produced by the A.R.T. Institute, the cast of Sexual Perversity in Chicago includes Institute actors Tim Elliot, Susannah Hoffman, Scott Lyman, and Rebecca Whitehurst; the director is Paul Stacey.

Duck Variations presents us with George and Emil, two grey-haired friends sitting at a lakeshore bench watching ducks in the water. As they talk about nothing, they tell us just about everything about the value of friendship and the fear of being alone. A.R.T. Company actors Thomas Derrah and Will LeBow are the bench partners in Duck Variations, directed by Marcus Stern.

Performance dates and times of Sexual Perversity and Duck Variations are as follows: June 12,13, 19, 20, 26, 27 at 8:00pm; June 11, 14, 16, 17, 18, 21, 23, 24, 25, 28 at 7:30pm; June 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28 at 2:00pm. Single ticket prices range from $25-$39, with a $10 discount for seniors.

Student discounts include single tickets at $25 advance purchase, and $15 day of performance. Other discounts include 50 @ 15 at noon ($15 tickets on sale at noon on the day of performance; in person only, based on availability) and Pay What You Can (50 tickets available for every Saturday matinee performance of the season at the Loeb Drama Center for patrons to purchase at whatever amount they can afford (based on availability). Group rates, with extra savings for senior citizens and student groups are also available.

To learn more about these productions and the A.R.T.'s summer plans and upcoming season, log onto the A.R.T. website at www.amrep.org or call the A.R.T. InfoLine at (617) 547-8300. The InfoLine is also available 24 hours a day to provide directions to the theatre; to order brochures, calendars, and newsletters; and to allow direct access to the A.R.T. Box Office (hours are noon to curtain time on performance days, noon to 5 pm on non-performance days, closed on Mondays).

The AMERICAN REPERTORY THEATRE (A.R.T.) is one of the country's most celebrated resident theatres and the winner of numerous awards - including the Tony Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and numerous local Elliot Norton and I.R.N.E. Awards; it was recently named one of the top three theatres in the country by Time magazine. Over its twenty-eight-year history the A.R.T. has welcomed major American and international theatre artists whose singular visions generate and define the theatre's work, presenting a varied repertoire that includes new plays, progressive productions of classical texts, and collaborations between artists from many disciplines. The Company has performed throughout the country, and worldwide in twenty-one cities in sixteen countries on four continents. This fall the organization welcomed its new Artistic Director, Diane Paulus, who is planning for the 2009-10 Season, the Company's 30th in Cambridge.

The A.R.T., located at the Loeb Drama Center at 64 Brattle Street, and at the Zero Arrow Club at the corner of Arrow Street and Massachusetts Avenue, Harvard Square, Cambridge, are accessible to persons with special needs and to those requiring wheelchair seating or first-floor restrooms. Deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons can also reach the Theatre by calling the toll-free N.E. Telephone Relay Center at 1-800-439-2370.

Public transportation and discount parking are available nearby.