Phoenix Theatre Presents WITH A BANG, Opens July 14

The Phoenix Theatre of Indianapolis announces the Midwest Premiere of With A Bang by Pete McElligott, a darkly comedic tale about an imminent apocalypse and whether one person, in this case our heroine Margaret, can save the world by finishing a mythological book started by her father. With A Bang opens Thursday, July 14, 2011, in the Frank & Katrina Basile Theatre at the Phoenix and plays through Sunday, July 14, 2011.

Does character shape destiny - or vice versa? Is fate fixed? Can one person change the world? These are just a few of the questions raised in Pete McElligott's postmodern superhero tale With A Bang. Imagine It's a Wonderful Life's George Bailey and Clarence the Angel directed by Quentin Tarantino. This dark comedy received its world premiere at Southern Rep. theatre and is coming to the Phoenix as the first of a trilogy - to be produced one each year through 2013. "The first Phoenix production - WARP I, II, & III by Stuart Gordon and Bury St. Edmond - was a science fiction trilogy," says Phoenix Producing Director and show director Bryan Fonseca, "so it seems right that as our 30th anniversary approaches, we produce another one."

With A Bang delves into a darkly comic and absurd world brought to life in a format similar to that of a graphic novel. Our young heroine, Margaret, finds out that her father, who was writing a book that is charged with keeping the world from ending, has died - again. She is tapped by an array of unwilling angels to take up the task of finishing the book to literally save the world. As the end draws nigh in a torrent of blood and magic, the world comes closer to conclusion. But how will the book end? With A Bang is stuffed with pop culture references and the angst of failed relationships.

Fonseca has assembled a talented cast to bring With A Bang to life. Lisa Ermel, making her Phoenix Theatre debut as our heroine Margaret, was seen last season in Becky's New Car at the IRT. Lisa loved the script from first reading and said "I was drawn to this script because of its brutal honesty amidst the most absurd circumstances. The comedy of With A Bang is drawn from our completely human response to grief, mixed with the universal, never-ending concern of the end of the world drawing near." Coming back to the Phoenix are Greg Howard (Some Men), Nick Carpenter (Take Me Out, The Lieutenant of Inishmore), Ben Rose (Take Me Out), Karen Irwin (The Most Damaging Wound, Love Person) and Matthew Van Oss (Speech & Debate, End Days). When asked what drew him to the script, Van Oss said "I love this script! It's so fun, dirty and hilarious. Plus the fight scenes. I love fight scenes!"

In addition to director Bryan Fonseca, the creative team for With A Bang includes Phoenix Resident Set Designer James Gross, Phoenix Resident Lighting Designer Laura Glover, Assistant Director Intern Lauren Thorne, Costume Designer Ashley Kiefer, Fight Choreographer Adam Noble and Sound Designers Davison Robie and Nicholas Hargrove.

About the Playwright

Pete McElligott is an actor, writer and teacher. A Chicago native, he graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Drama, studying at the Stella Adler Studio for four years. He is a member of The NOLA Project Theater Company in New Orleans, LA, where his acting credits include Padraic in The Lieutenant of Inishmore and Alceste in The Misanthrope. In New York, he most recently appeared as Richmond in The Orb Theatre Company's production of The Tragedy of King Richard 3. His writing has been performed in Chicago, New York, and New Orleans. He has taught Voice & Speech at Stella Adler, worked with the Actionplay Workshop at the Rebecca School, and helped to start the Harold Clurman Playwright's Reading Series.

Ticket Prices
All seating is general admission on a first-come, first-served basis and all Thursday tickets are $15, thanks to a grant by Duke Energy; Friday, Saturday and Sunday performances are $25. Performance times are: Thursdays at 7pm; Friday and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm. Doors open ½ hour prior to curtain for seating. The Phoenix Pub, located inside the theatre, offers beer, wine, soft drinks, coffee, and bottled water, as well as treats, and all refreshments may be taken into the theatre and consumed during the performance.
For more information about any Phoenix Productions or to purchase tickets, call The Phoenix Theatre box office at 317.635.7529. Tickets may also be purchased online. The theatre's website is www.phoenixtheatre.org.

ABOUT The Phoenix Theatre
"The Phoenix Theatre has cornered the market on hip new works." -- Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

The Phoenix Theatre is Indiana's only professional Contemporary Theatre, and has presented productions to challenge and entertain the Indianapolis community for 28 years. An Equity house, the Theatre presents the Midwest and Indiana premieres of many popular Broadway and Off-Broadway plays, and has presented more than 83 world premieres in its quarter century. The Phoenix operates the 130-seat proscenium Mainstage as well as the 75-seat cabaret-style black box Frank & Katrina Basile Theatre. The Phoenix Pub, located in the Basile Theatre, serves beer, wine, coffee, soft drinks, water, and treats, and patrons may take all refreshments into either theatre. Both venues are housed along with administrative offices in a renovated 1907 church in downtown Indianapolis' historic Chatham Arch neighborhood, part of the Mass Ave Arts & Theatre District. The Phoenix Theatre is a member of the National New Play Network and the League of Indianapolis Theatres, and is supported by the Indiana Arts Commission, the Arts Council of Indianapolis, and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as local corporate and foundation funders and more than 500 individual donors.

 

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