World Premiere of Theresa Rebeck's YEAH BABY Begins Performances Tonight at the REP

The Resident Ensemble Players (REP), the professional theatre company in residence at the University of Delaware, is presenting Yeah Baby, the World Premiere of a new cutting-edge comedy written and co-directed by Award-winning writer/director, Theresa Rebeck. Yeah Baby begins previews tonight (April 21) and plays through May 8, with an official opening night of April 23 at the Roselle Center for the Arts in Newark, DE.

Theresa Rebeck is a familiar name to theatregoers from her work on Broadway (Mauritius, Dead Accounts, Bernhardt Hamlet, Seminar), off-Broadway (The Understudy, Downstairs, Seared), and as creator of NBC's hit series SMASH. She has written Yeah Baby, a wild new comedy, specifically for the REP Acting Company. Yeah Baby is the fourth premiere of Rebeck's at the REP, following O Beautiful, Fever, and a new version of The Bells.

"I'm thrilled to have been asked to do it," says Rebeck. "I think the REP is astonishing. The company is so gifted - individually they are all wonderful actors, and they are all incredible comedians. As a unit, they are sort of beyond reckoning. It's an astonishing opportunity for me to be able to walk into a unit like that."

Yeah Baby is the hilarious story of a group of quirky, lovable theatre artists who discover that the world is not what they think it is as they attempt to make something out of nothing by mounting a production of an absurdist comedy in today's reality - where life is more absurd than any play could ever be. Stealing a page from Chekov and Pirandello, the REP presents their own sidesplitting, laugh-out-loud love letter to the theatre.

The world premiere of Yeah Baby will run from Apr. 21 through May 8, at the Roselle Center for the Arts in Newark, DE. Tickets can be purchased at the box office, online at www.rep.udel.edu, or by phone at (302) 831-2204. Tickets range from $30 - $39.

The cast includes REP company members Hassan El-Amin* (Jermaine); Lee E. Ernst* (Larry); Michael Gotch* (Greg); Elizabeth Heflin* (Merry); Mic Matarrese* (Bobby); Stephen Pelinski* (Duncan); Kathleen Pirkl Tague* (Brigit); Steve Tague* (Alan); and guest actor Erin Partin* (Tanya). *Member of Actors' Equity Association.

The creative team includes Theresa Rebeck (Playwright and Co-Director); Sanford Robbins (Co-Director); Christopher Swader and Justin Swader (Scenic Designers); Candice Donnelly (Costume Designer); Matthew Richards (Lighting Designer); Michael Keck (Sound Designer); and Yana Biryükova (Projection Designer).

TICKET INFORMATION AND PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Performances begin Thursday, April 21, and run through Sunday, May 8, in the Thompson Theatre at the Roselle Center for the Arts on the University of Delaware's Newark campus. Opening night is Saturday, April 23.

Tickets prices range from $30 - $39; discounts are available for students, seniors and University of Delaware faculty and staff. Tickets can be purchased online at www.rep.udel.edu or by contacting the REP box office at 302-831-2204 or visiting in person at 110 Orchard Rd. Newark, DE., Tuesday - Friday, noon to 5:00 PM.

The Thompson Theatre in the Roselle Center for the Arts is ADA-compliant and is equipped with a hearing loop system, which works with hearing aid t-coils, cochlear implants, and in-house hearing devices. Wheelchair and other seating requests can be made prior to the performance by calling (302) 831-2204 or emailing cfa-boxoffice@udel.edu.

ABOUT THE REP

The Resident Ensemble Players (REP) is a professional theatre company in residence on the campus of the University of Delaware. The REP's mission is to engage audiences throughout the tri-state region and beyond with frequent productions of outstanding classic, modern, and contemporary plays performed in a wide variety of styles that celebrate and demonstrate the range and breadth of an ensemble of nationally respected stage actors.

The REP is committed to creating and expanding audiences for live theatre by offering a diversity of productions at low prices that enable and encourage the attendance of everyone in the region, regardless of background or income. The REP performs in the Roselle Center for the Arts, 110 Orchard Road, Newark, Delaware on the main campus of the University of Delaware.