SLAP&TICKLE Plays Provincetown Prior To Its Run In NY

Starting July 6th at the Provincetown Theater, producer Robert Driemeyer, in association with Jim A. Landé, is proud to present David Parr's provocative new play SLAP&TICKLE. The production will be directed by Obie Award winner David Drake, whose critically acclaimed mounting of Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning classic OUR TOWN enjoyed a extended run at the Provincetown Theater this spring. Following its six-week summer engagement at the Provincetown Theater, producers Driemeyer and Landé plan to take SLAP&TICKLE to New York City for a commercial production Off-Broadway.

Playing in P'town through August 14th, SLAP&TICKLE* is a sexy and powerful new play about how drugs, politics, HIV and the Internet have dramatically changed the sexual and emotional landscape for gay men in America over the past twenty-five years. Set in a contemporary bathhouse, six actors portray twenty recurring characters whose lives all intersect in surprising, humorous and revealing ways. The stories shared range from first kisses to last loves; from on-line hookups to off-line breakups; from sleeping bag seductions to bathroom rapes. Like Terrence McNally's THE RITZ and Eve Ensler's THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES, David Parr's SLAP&TICKLE shines fresh light on the darkest of places, giving voice to the defining experiences of our lives that are too often kept silent. What emerges is a play not just about sex, but about our universal desire to connect.

Although not a musical, the Provincetown production of SLAP&TICKLE features original music by the world-renowned DJ Susan Morabito. Lighting design is by Chris Page, with set design and direction by David Drake. By special arrangement, SLAP&TICKLE is sponsored by Manhunt.

SLAP&TICKLE performs Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. at The Provincetown Theater, 238 Bradford Street, Provincetown, MA 02657 from July 6th through August 14th, 2010. All tickets are $33.50; and can be obtained by calling (866) 811-4111; or online at www.slapandtickleonline.com; or at the theater box office on performance days, starting at 6 p.m.. The play runs approximately 80 minutes with no intermission.

*WARNING: SLAP&TICKLE contains strong language and nudity. It is recommended for mature audiences only.

Playwright David Parr's first play ZACK&JILL premiered as part of Bailiwick Theatre's 1994 Director's Festival in Chicago where it was chosen as Best of the Fest. His short WHERE WERE YOU? appeared in Live Bait Theatre's 1995 omnibus Dear Jackie: Queen of Camelot Remembered. His comedy-drama ELEANOR RIGBY IS WAITING premiered at the 2004 New York International Fringe Festival. He wrote the book and lyrics for the musical THE GREAT WHITE WAY, with music by Rebecca Cordes, which workshopped at the 2007 New York International Dance Festival. In June 2008, his short play SOUTH DELANCEY was selected as part of The Metropolitan Playhouse's East Village Chronicles. His most recent play, MIMI AT THE 44TH PARALLEL, made its world premiere at Dallas's Out of the Loop Festival in March of 2010.

Director David Drake, who won an Obie Award for his long-running hit solo show, THE NIGHT Larry Kramer KISSED ME, is a full-time resident of Provincetown, who most recently directed a cast of 27 in the critically acclaimed production of Thornton Wilder's OUR TOWN -- produced by CTEK Arts at the Provincetown Theater this spring in what was the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic's first mounting in P'town in 40 years. Last fall in NY, David directed a cast of 40 in the world premiere of Taylor Mac's five-act, five hour musical extravaganza THE LILY'S REVENGE at the HERE Arts Center, which landed at the top of the "10 Best" lists of 2009 in The Village Voice, The New York Post, Paper Magazine, Time Out/NY and The New Yorker. In May, playwright/performer Taylor Mac won a 2010 Obie Award for THE LILY'S REVENGE. With an emphasis on new developing new works, David has staged new plays in NY at The Public, Manhattan Theatre Source, Theatre for the New City, Rattlestick Theatre, NYC Fringe Festival, and regionally at Provincetown's Art House Theater, Baltimore's Theatre Project, San Francisco's Lorraine Hansberry Theatre and the Out North Contemporary Art House in Anchorage. David has twice been a Directing Fellow at the Sundance Theater Lab.

Original Music for SLAP&TICKLE will be composed by Susan Morabito; one of the most distinctive and unique DJs working today. She has played virtually every club in New York City, and has been among the legendary Saint-at-Large DJs since 1994, having played the Black Party, the White Party, Halloween, New Year's Eve and the Sleaze Ball. Susan is currently a co-producer of Odyssey Parties and the newly developed Gay Pride events in NYC.

Lighting Design for SLAP&TICKLE will be created by Chris Page, whose work can currently be seen on tour in THE 3 REDNECK TENORS. Born and raised in Harwich, MA, Chris is currently resident stage manager for the summer season at the Harbor Stage/Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater.

Producer Robert Driemeyer is currently represented on Broadway as an Associate Producer of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES starring Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge. His first foray into producing was a cabaret for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS in 1991. Since then, he has produced numerous cabaret performances and benefits as well as sketch shows for Gotham City Improv. He co-produced DEAR GEORGE: LETTERS TO THE PRESIDENT starring Rue McClanahan, Rex Reed and Tina Louise as a benefit for benefited Actors' Fund of America, and licensed the property to 40 theatres across the country as a 2004 pre-election event.

Producer Jim A. Landé is making his first outing into the Provincetown theater community with his role in SLAP&TICKLE. He is a backer of the Broadway revival of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES starring Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge. He supports musical performance as a member of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera Society (UK) and as a promoter of independent roots rock, alt-country and Americana bands. He is an Executive Producer of the independent feature film BEAR CITY, directed by Douglas Langway, which premieres on the U.S. and international film festival circuits mid-year, 2010.

Manhunt is the proud sponsor of SLAP&TICKLE. Manhunt's mission is to provide the biggest and best place online for men to meet men. Launched as Online Buddies' flagship site in 2001, Manhunt has become an international phenomenon-a unique community for men with over 4 million profiles worldwide. www.manhunt.net.

The Provincetown Theater, Provincetown's state-of-the-art community theater, is building on a legacy. Long considered to be the birthplace of Modern American Theatre, Provincetown is where EuGene O'Neill and Susan Glaspell formed the original Provincetown Players in 1916. Throughout the 20th century, Tennessee Williams and countless other playwrights, actors and directors have realized their talents on the outermost tip of Cape Cod. Formed from a merger of two existing companies in the fall of 2005, The Provincetown Theater is forging a distinguished new identity using the best elements of professional and community theatre to create its current and future seasons. www.provincetowntheater.org.