Furious Theater Co Presents BOOM, Previews 5/19

Furious Theatre Company remains in residence in the Carrie Hamilton Theatre for the Los Angeles premiere of boom by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, writer of Furious Theatre's much acclaimed, award-winning 2009 production of Hunter Gatherers. boom will preview on Wednesday, May 19; Thursday, May 20 and Friday, May 21 at 8 p.m. with an opening date of Saturday, May 22 at 8 p.m. and run through Sunday, June 20 at the home of Furious Theatre Company, the Pasadena Playhouse Carrie Hamilton Theatre, 39 S. El Molino Ave. in Pasadena. This premiere production will star 7-time Emmy award nominee Julia Duffy with Furious ensemble members Nick Cernoch and Megan Goodchild.

"We're thrilled to announce that our Los Angeles premiere production of boom will remain in the Carrie Hamilton Theatre as originally planned" Furious Theatre Company General Manager and Ensemble member Nick Cernoch said. "Our thanks go out to Sheldon Epps and Stephen Eich who have continued to work with us to secure our continued residence at Pasadena Playhouse while they work tirelessly to re-open the institution that Furious Theatre has called home for the past five years."

A comedy both epic and intimate that spans billions of years. It begins as a grad student's online personal ad lures a mysterious journalism student to his subterranean research lab under the pretense of an evening of "no strings attached" sex. When a major global catastrophic event strikes the planet, their date takes on evolutionary significance and the fate of humanity hangs in the balance. boom received its World Premiere at Ars Nova in New York and has since received productions at such theatres as Woolly Mammoth in Washington, DC and Seattle Rep.

PETER SINN NACHTRIEB is a San Francisco-based playwright whose works include boom (TCG's most produced play 2009-10), T.I.C. (Trenchcoat In Common), Hunter Gatherers (2007 ATCA/Steinberg New Play Award, 2007 Will Glickman Prize), Colorado, and Multiplex. His work has been seen off-Broadway and across the country including at Ars Nova, SPF, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Seattle Repertory, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Furious Theatre, Brown/Trinity Playwrights Rep, Wellfleet Harbor Actor's Theatre, Dad's Garage, and in the Bay Area at Encore Theatre, Killing My Lobster, Marin Theatre Company, Impact Theatre, and The Bay Area Playwrights Festival. He is under commission from South Coast Rep, A.C.T., and is a Resident Playwright at the Playwrights Foundation, San Francisco. Peter holds a degree in Theater and Biology from Brown and an MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. He likes to promote himself online at www.peternachtrieb.com.

DÁMASO RODRIGUEZ is a co-founder and co-artistic director of Furious Theatre Company and until its recent closure was the Associate Artistic Director of Pasadena Playhouse. His production of Paradise Lost by Clifford Odets is now playing at Seattle's Intiman Theatre. Pasadena Playhouse directing credits include: The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman, Orson's Shadow by Austin Pendleton, NOgoodDeed by Matt Pelfrey (Hothouse Reading), Another Part of the Forest by Lillian Hellman (Hothouse Reading). His directing credits for Furious Theatre include: The Pain and the Itch by Bruce Norris (Los Angeles Premiere in a co-production with the Theatre at Boston Court, multiple Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award nominations), Hunter Gatherers by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb (Los Angeles Premiere, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award Winner for Ensemble), Canned Peaches in Syrup by Alex Jones (World Premiere, Back Stage West Garland Award Honorable Mention for Production), 

An Impending Rupture of the Belly by Matt Pelfrey (World Premiere, four LA Weekly Theatre Award nominations including Production & Direction), Grace by Craig Wright (Los Angeles Premiere, three Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards including Production & Direction), Back of the Throat by Yussef El Gundi (Los Angeles Premiere), The Fair Maid of the West Parts I & II (World Premiere Adaptation), The God Botherers by Richard Bean (West Coast Premiere), The Shape of Things by Neil LaBute (Los Angeles Premiere), Scenes from the Big Picture by Owen McCafferty (U.S. Premiere), Chimps by Simon Block (U.S. Premiere), The Playboy of the Western World by J.M. Synge, and Saturday Night at the Palace by Paul Slabolepszy (U.S. Premiere, two NAACP Theatre Awards including Best Director. With Furious Theatre, Dámaso has received the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, Back Stage Garland Award, NAACP Theatre Award, and the Pasadena Arts Council's Gold Crown Award. He is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
ABOUT THE CAST AND THE DESIGN TEAM

Julia Duffy made her mark in television with her long starring run as ‘Stephanie', on "Newhart", the CBS hit starring Bob Newhart. Getting seven Emmy nominations, as well as three Viewers for Quality Television Awards, five American Comedy Award nominations and a Golden Globe nomination didn't hurt Julia's reputation either.

The Coen brothers recognized Julia's talent when they cast her opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones and George Clooney in the Universal Studios feature, "Intolerable Cruelty". Her other features include "Together Again For The First Time", "Be My Baby", "Dumb & Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd" And "Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure".
Her television series include starring in UPN'S "Social Studies," NBC's "The Mommie's", "Baby Talk," for ABC and the CBS hit show "Designing Women".
Julia's television movie credits also include the miniseries "Kidz In The Wood", "Children In The Crossfire," "The Blue And The Gray, "The Covergirl And The Cop," "Menu For Murder" And "Sooner Or Later."
Julia began her professional career in her hometown of Minneapolis at the Old Globe Theatre. After graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, she played ‘Penny"' on the soap opera "The Doctors" for four years.

While living in New York she did a number of plays in regional theatre including: "Three Sisters," "The Curse Of The Starving Class," "Never Too Late," "The Enchanted" at the Kennedy Center, the acclaimed revival of "Once In A Lifetime" on Broadway and played ‘Juliet' in a PBS production of "Romeo And Juliet."
The cast of boom will also feature Furious Ensemble members Nick Cernoch (Orson's Shadow, Pasadena Playhouse; Canned Peaches in Syrup, US Drag, Furious Theatre) and Megan Goodchild (US Drag, Furious Theatre; Romeo and Juliet and Charlotte: Life of Theatre? The Met Theatre).

boom has assembled an award-winning design team. The Scenic Design is by Kurt Boetcher (Hunter Gatherers, The Pain and the Itch). The Lighting Design is by Furious Ensemble member Christie Wright (Grace, The Pain and the Itch). The Sound Design is by Furious Ensemble member Doug Newell (The Pain and the Itch, Men of Tortuga). The Costume Design is by Leah Piehl (The Pain and the Itch, Furious Theatre at Boston Court; Paradise Lost, Intiman Theatre).

SCHEDULE AND PRICING

boom will preview on Wednesday, May 19; Thursday, May 20 and Friday, May 21 at 8 p.m. and will open on Saturday, May 22 at 8 p.m. and run through Sunday, June 20 at the home of Furious Theatre Company, the Pasadena Playhouse Carrie Hamilton Theatre, 39 S. El Molino Ave. in Pasadena.

Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.furioustheatre.org. For more info call 626-792-7116. Single ticket prices are $32; Students $10 rush; Previews are $15.
Should you have any questions or need additional press information, photos or to set up press interviews, please contact David Elzer at 818/508-1754 or by e-mail at ELZERD@aol.com.

The critically-acclaimed Furious Theatre Company are artists in residence at the Pasadena Playhouse committed to edgy, innovative and original works. The company debuted in April 2002 after they were generously granted the use of a 9,000 square foot section of Armory Northwest, a former plastics factory. The company converted the raw warehouse into an alternative performance space. Risers were constructed, the lighting grid hung and stage curtains built, all by the ensemble. In that converted warehouse, they rapidly produced five plays in 12 months. These productions earned 6 NAACP Theatre Award nominations, two LA Weekly Award nominations and numerous critics' picks from the Los Angeles media. The company also received the Pasadena Arts Council's Gold Crown Award and The Debut Award from Back Stage West. In September 2003, the City of Pasadena reclaimed the Armory Northwest and Furious needed to move.

After a 13-month search, the Pasadena Playhouse granted Furious a residency at its Balcony Theatre (later renamed the Carrie Hamilton Theatre), The Playhouse's 99-seat second stage. Since its 2004 debut at The Playhouse, Furious Theatre Company has produced 17 premieres, including the World Premieres of Alex Jones' Canned Peaches in Syrup and Matt Pelfrey's An Impending Rupture of the Belly (4 LA Weekly Award nominations, Garland Award) as well as Los Angeles Premieres of Neil LaBute's The Shape of Things, Yussef El Guindi's Back of the Throat (LA Weekly Award Winner: Best Playwright), Craig Wright's Grace (Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Award Recipient: Best Production, Best Direction, Best Writing), Gina Gionfriddo's US Drag (7 LA Weekly Award Nominations), Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's Hunter Gatherers (LADCC Award Winner) and Bruce Norris' The Pain and the Itch (3 LADCC Award Noms). Furious Theatre Company is led by co-founders and Artistic Council members: Sara Hennessy, Shawn Lee, Vonessa Martin, Eric Pargac, Brad Price and Dámaso Rodriguez as well as General Manager Nick Cernoch. Fellow ensemble members include Katie Davies, Doug Newell, Megan Goodchild, Matt Pelfrey Dana Kelly, Jr., Robert Pescovitz, Christie Wright, James C. Leary, Richard Hilton and Melissa Teoh. For more info visit www.furioustheatre.org.

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