THE FATHER, Starring Artistic Director David Lamb, Heads to The Kavinoky Theatre

The Kavinoky Theatre has announced that Florian Zeller's THE FATHER will complete its 2016/2017 season.

The play only recently completed triumphant runs on Broadway, where it was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play, and in London's West End. The Kavinoky Theatre's Founder and Artistic Director, David Lamb, will play the title role under the direction of Robert Waterhouse, The Kav's associate director. Aleks Malejs, Adriano Gatto, Kristin Bentley Kacala and Christopher Evans round out the cast.

As LE PERE, Florian Zeller's play won three coveted Moliere Awards in Mr. Zeller's native France, and was translated into English by Christopher Hampton, a playwright who has himself won two Tony Awards. Frank Langella won the Tony for Best Actor during THE FATHER'S Broadway run, which had to be extended.

"We applied for the rights just as the play was opening on Broadway, so it was a long wait, but a worthwhile one," said Lamb, who added "It's a beautifully written play, and does what the Kav is really all about: it invites our audiences in, across the footlights, to share a journey."

THE FATHER teases audiences by showing the world through the eyes of an elderly man who is losing his memory, so that we come to share the disorientation of the title character. Florian Zeller has said that what interests him as a playwright is "bringing the audience into the play so that, in a way, it becomes an actor, too." Both THE FATHER and a recent comedy, THE TRUTH, about a man losing his footing during an affair, have audiences second guessing their own perceptions as the plays unfold.

"There's a trickery to these plays, but THE FATHER is also heart-breakingly beautiful, and very funny," said Waterhouse. "And the role might have been written for David," he added, noting that Lamb's own appearance in the title role can only add to the play's appeal in Western New York.

THE FATHER completes a line-up that opens in September with DON'T TALK TO THE ACTORS by Tom Dudzick, whose recent comedies OVER THE TAVERN and KING O' THE MOON were enormous hits with playgoers. The season also includes a revival of THE 39 STEPS directed by David Lamb, GROUNDED, by George Brant, which will star Aleks Malejs, under the direction of Kristen Tripp Kelley, about a fighter pilot assigned to drone duty and Arthur Miller's A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE.

Tickets are $42.00, with discounts available to seniors, students, military, and groups. For tickets, call (716) 829-7668 or visit kavinokytheatre.com. The Kavinoky Theatre is a professional theatre on the campus of D'Youville College.

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