Amy Brenneman & Original NYC Cast Open RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN at Geffen Playhouse Tonight

The original New York cast -- Amy Brenneman (Judging Amy, NYPD Blue, Private Practice), Beth Dixon, Virginia Kull, Kellie Overbey andLee Tergesen (Monster, Wayne's World, Weird Science) - are set for the West Coast premiere of Rapture, Blister, Burn, written by Gina Gionfriddo, in the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse, opening tonight, August 21, 2013 (previews began August 13).

The Geffen Playhouse presents the Playwrights Horizons production of Rapture, Blister, Burn - directed by Peter DuBois (Artistic Director for the Huntington Theatre Company which just won the 2013 Regional Theatre Tony Award). The comedy was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize; playwright Gionfriddo was also a finalist in 2009 forBecky Shaw.

Rapture, Blister, Burn tackles feminism's foibles in what The New York Post called a "wonderful new show. It's fun!" The Huffington Post said it is "piercingly sharp, roaringly funny comedy on the effect of Internet porn on gender politics, the women's movement and way-post-feminism, and the fate of Western civilization." Variety said Rapture is full of "sharp dialogue and smart ideas - lots of fun and full of insights."

Three generations of women share their raucous and refreshing approaches to navigating work, love and family. Rock star academic Catherine envies her friend Gwen who finds her domestic responsibilities less than satisfying. Meanwhile the witty and wry student Avery wonders whether she has more in common with Catherine's aging mother than any of today's modern feminists. This new comedy takes a sharp look at how women, and men, find happiness and conquer disappointment.

Playwright Gionfriddo said about her play, "I don't want to say too much about what happens in this play, but age and generation loom large. My [previous] play, Becky Shaw, feels to me a play about years 30-35; it's still possible to launch a career or start a family, but you need to hurry up. Rapture, Blister, Burn feels like a play about years 40-45. Big, unfulfilled dreams are still possible, but they're statistically less likely. If you're going to take a big leap and remake yourself, you have to do it now."

The New York Times said, "Immensely funny, rich in new perspectives ... heady with sharp-witted dialogue about the particularities of women's experience (there's a joke about pornography and Google maps - believe it or not - that's worth the ticket price alone), Rapture more largely illuminates how hard it can be to forge both a satisfying career and a fulfilling personal life in an era that seems to demand
superhuman achievement from everyone. Under the finely honed direction of Peter DuBois, the cast brings Ms. Gionfriddo's characters to fully felt life."

Gina Gionfriddo's other plays include After Ashley (Humana Festival and Off Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre) and US Drag (Off Broadway by the stageFRAM). She has received an Obie Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, an Outer Critics Circle Award, The Helen Merrill Award for Emerging Playwrights, and an American Theatre Critics Association/Steinberg citation. She has written for the television dramas Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Cold Case, Borgia, andHouse of Cards.

Director Peter DuBois is in his fifth season as Artistic Director at the Huntington Theatre Company, which just won the 2013 Regional Theatre Tony Award. His directing credits there include the world premieres of Evan M. Wiener's Captors, Stephen Karam's Sons of the Prophet, Bob Glaudini's Vengeance is the Lord's and David Grimm's The Miracle at Naples, the regional premiere of Gina Gionfriddo's Becky Shaw and Craig Lucas' Prelude to a Kiss. His West End/London credits include All New People with Zach Braff (Duke of York's Theatre) and Becky Shaw (Almelda Theatre). His New York credits include Rapture, Blister, Burn (Playwrights Horizons); Sons of the Prophet (Roundabout Theatre Company); Modern Terrorism, Becky Shaw, Trust with Sutton Foster, and All New People (Second Stage Theatre); Measure for Pleasure, Richard III with Peter Dinklage, Morn, How Did You Meet the Beatles? and Biro (The Public Theater/NYSF); Jack Goes Boating with Philip Seymour Hoffman and The View From 151st Street (LAByrinth Theater Company/The Public Theater); and The Power of Duff with Greg Kinnear (New York Stage and Film).

Rapture, Blister, Burn begins previews in the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse on Tuesday, August 13, with the official opening on Wednesday, August 21. Ticket prices currently range from $39 to $64 for preview performances and from $39 to $79 for the regular run. Tickets are available in-person at the Geffen Playhouse box office, via phone at 310-208-5454 or online at www.geffenplayhouse.com.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride

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