Cast Announced for For BABY EYES

Jon Lawrence Rivera, Artistic Director of Playwrights' Arena - the first and oldest theater dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights - is thrilled to announce the cast for BABY EYES by Donald Jolly, which includes Jason Caceres, James Kaemmerling, Rudy Martinez, Ted Monte, Dennis Renard and Melvin Ward.

The world premiere play is a re-imagining of the Ancient Greek myth of the god Zeus and his boy-lover Ganymede, placing it in the seedy streets of 1950s Baltimore when one boy dares to transgress common ideas of sexual mores and racial division in this cautionary tale of taboo and myth.

Playwright Donald Jolly was born and raised in the District of Columbia. Jolly last collaborated with director Jon Lawrence Rivera on the historical drama bonded (nominated for Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovation, GLAAD Media, and NAACP Theatre Awards and winner of the Arch and Bruce Brown Playwright Award for LGBT Historical Plays). In association with the Watts Village Theatre Company, Jolly wrote Riot/Rebellion, an immersive ensemble-driven docudrama that was staged in 2013 and again in 2015 in commemoration of the 50thAnniversary of the '65 Watts Uprising (GO!LA Weekly). Jolly's work has been developed at Horizon Theatre Company in Atlanta, CalArts, Celebration Theatre, Company of Angels, The Vagrancy, EST/LA, and Playwrights' Arena. The playwright is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America, an Associate Artist with Playwrights' Arena, and an alum of Center Theatre Group's L.A. Writers Workshop. Jolly holds an A.B. from Dartmouth College and an M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts. Although most often referred to as "he/him/his," Jolly is undecided on pronoun usage.

The play will be directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera who is the recipient of the first Career Achievement Award from Stage Raw. He recently directed the following critically-acclaimed world premieres for Playwrights' Arena: I GO SOMEWHERE ELSE by Inda Craig-Galván, BILLY BOY by Nick Salamone; LITTLE WOMEN [a multi-cultural transposition] by Velina Hasu Houston; THE HOTEL PLAY by Paula Cizmar, Velina Hasu Houston, Jennifer Maisel, Nahal Navidar, Julie Oni, Janine Salinas Schoenberg and Laurie Woolery; BLOODLETTING by Boni B. Alvarez (also at the Kirk Douglas Theatre); @THESPEEDOFJAKE by Jennifer Maisel; CIRCUS UGLY by Gabriel Rivas Gomez; PAINTING IN RED by Luis Alfaro. He is the recipient of a NY Fringe Festival Award, an LA Weekly Award, and a five-time Ovation Award nominee.

Production Team includes: Christopher Scott Murillo (scenic design), Derek Jones (lighting design), Katerina Pagsolingan (projection design), Jesse Madapat (sound design), Mylette Nora (costume design). Casting Director was Raul Clayton Staggs. It will be staged managed by Letitia Chang and produced for Playwrights' Arena by Henry 'Heno' Fernandez.

Previews begin October 11, with an opening set for Saturday, October 13, 2018, at Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave., Los Angeles. Regular performances are Saturdays 8 PM, Sundays 4 PM and Mondays 8 PM. It closes on Monday, November 5, 2018.

Tickets are $25 advance on line or $30 at the door. For reservations go to www.playwrightsarena.orgor call 800-838-3006.

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