OpenStage Theatre Presents DEAD MAN'S CELL PHONE, 4/16-5/21

A cell phone rings incessantly in a quiet café. A stranger at the next table has had enough and answers the phone. Only afterwards does she discover the cell phone owner is dead ? and with a lot of loose ends. And so begins Dead Man's Cell Phone, a wildly imaginative comedy that blends the mundane with the metaphysical, the blunt with the obscure and the patently bizarre with the bizarrely moving.
"The most essential characteristic of Dead Man's Cell Phone is the human component," said director Peter Anthony. "The characters are wounded and isolated. They want to reach out to be touched and have some connection. It's a quirky, comic terrain with highly believable characters, despite its hallucinatory poeticism."
Pulitzer Prize nominee Sarah Ruhl's surreal romantic comedy takes surprising twists and leaps on its modern day odyssey of morality and redemption in a technologically obsessed world.
Anthony is playing with the metaphysical aspects of the piece by presenting the play on a white stage textured by clouds, sky and a portal. "It creates an expanse of space in a visual way. Everything shape shifts into what's needed."
Ultimately, Dead Man's Cell Phone humorously explores the lack of privacy in the modern world, despite the separation created by technology.
Dead Man's Cell Phone features an all-star OpenStage Theatre cast with Brenna Freestone as Jean, Mark Terzani as the Dead Man, Matthew Stalker as the Dean Man's Brother, Ann Whiteman as his Mother, Sydney Parks as his Widow and Tomily Z. Munir as his Mistress.
Performances of Dead Man's Cell Phone are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights from April 16 to May 21 with Sunday matinées at 2 p.m. on April 24 and May 1, 8 and 15. Performances are at Pine Street Theatre, 216 Pine Street in Old Town Fort Collins.
Individual tickets range from $20-$25 for adults, and $15-$18 for seniors, students and groups of 10 or more. Matinee tickets range from $15-$20 per person. Prices increase as each individual performance starts to sell out, so it is recommended that patrons purchase their tickets early.
Tickets for FAB Friday, sponsored by Boulder Beer, on April 29, are $12 and include a free beer at intermission.
There is an additional "pay-what-you-can" performance on Wednesday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m. Admission to "pay-what-you-can" is by donation at the door with no advance reservations.
Tickets are available from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays, through the Lincoln Center box office at (970) 221-6730 and online at HYPERLINK "http://www.LCTIX.com" www.LCTIX.com.
PlayClub on Saturday, May 7 at 8 p.m. will include a post-show discussion facilitated by Matter Bookstore. Interested individuals can purchase scripts of Dead Man's Cell Phone through Matter Bookstore, 144 N College Avenue in Old Town Fort Collins.
Childcare is available for the Friday performances on May 6 and 20 through Young People's Learning Center, 209 E. Plum St. Call Young People's Learning Center at 970-482-1212 for childcare reservations.
A free performance for students and educators, funded by The Thornton Family Foundation, will be presented on Wednesday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. To make reservations for the student/educator performance, contact OpenStage Theatre at 970-484-5237.
A play guide containing information on the play and the playwrights is available online at HYPERLINK "http://www.openstage.com/"www.openstage.com. Click on the Dead Man's Cell Phone button on the home page and then select the Play Guide icon at the top of the show page.
Audiences are invited to meet the cast of Dead Man's Cell Phone following every performance.
Major funding for Dead Man's Cell Phone is provided by Harper Point Photography and Citizen Printing with additional funding from The Armstrong Hotel.
OpenStage Theatre's 38th anniversary season is sponsored by A-Train Marketing Communications, Shaw and Associates, Beet Street and Witt Gross of Coldwell Banker. Support is also provided by grants from the Fort Collins Downtown Development Authority, the City of Fort Collins Fort Fund, Colorado Creative Industries and the National Endowment for the Arts.
For more information, visit OpenStage's website at HYPERLINK "http://www.openstagetheatre.org/"www.openstage.com or call 970-484-5237. Founded in 1973, OpenStage Theatre is a recipient of the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts and a member of Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for not-for-profit professional theatres.
A not-for-profit organization, OpenStage Theatre relies heavily on the support of sponsors and patrons who help make each season a success. With assistance from corporations, foundations and the general public, OpenStage has been able to maintain high quality productions for 38 years. For information on sponsorship and charitable gifts and on how you can support OpenStage Theatre, please call 970-484-5237.

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