GROUP THERAPY to Play Theatre 68 Arts Complex Beginning This Month

Sweet Talk Productions has announced the world premiere of Group Therapy, a serious comedy by Peter Lefcourt, at the Theatre 68 Arts Complex in North Hollywood. Directed by Terri Hanauer, the cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Andy Hoff, Ashley Platz, and Marnina Schon; Sawyer Fuller and Cat Masterson serve as alternates. There will be one preview on Friday, July 21, at 8pm, and opening is set for Saturday, July 22, at 8pm. The run will continue with performances Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm through August 20.
 
Group Therapy is a serious comedy about three people trapped in a therapist's waiting room, where they learn things about one another they would rather not know. Running time is 85 minutes with no intermission.
 
Scenic design is by Celine Diano, lighting design is by Donny Jackson, costume design is by Mylette Nora, sound design is by Stephanie Yackovetsky, and properties designer is Jenine MacDonald. Combat consultant is Julie Ouellette and graphic design is by Nancy Nimoy. Casting is by Michael Donovan, CSA, and Richie Ferris, CSA. Misha Riley is general manager, and the production stage manager is Roella Dellosa.
 
Andy Hoff's film and TV credits include King Richard, Birds of Prey, Criminal Minds, American Crime Story: Impeachment, NCIS, NCIS: LA, Justified, Mad Men, Lethal Weapon, and many more. Favorite theatre credits: Father Flynn in Doubt and Joey in A Steady Rain.
 
Ashley Platz has a BFA in theatre from Pace University. Her TV acting credits include Yellowstone, NCIS, GLOW, Atypical, 9-1-1, Hawaii 5-O, among others. She will be seen in season three of The Morning Show. She has also produced and starred in several award-winning short films, most recently Fight Like a Mother directed by Meagan Fulps. Los Angeles theatre credits include Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Marcia in Our Lady of 121st Street, Bobbi in Last of the Red Hot Lovers, and Erin in Never Ever Land. She has previously worked with Terri Hanauer and Peter Lefcourt as Kari in Cafe Society and as Teresa in The Assassination of Leon Trotsky: A Comedy. 
 
Marnina Schon is a Los Angeles-based actor whose first big break was as a singing fence post. Other favorite theatre credits include Menstruation: A Period Piece (Davidson/Valentini Theatre), More Guns! (Second City Hollywood, SF tour), Anne, A New Play (Museum of Tolerance), Once (South Coast Rep), Tony Kushner's Brundibar (Berkeley Rep), and workshops at Center Theatre Group, A Noise Within, and Geffen Playhouse. She stars in the dramedy series Chanshi, an official 2023 Sundance Selection and winner of Best Independent Comedy Pilot at SeriesFest. Select film and TV credits include Dollface (Hulu), Play It By Ear (Dropout), A Man's World (NoBudge), Bourn Kind (Tribeca). She co-creates sketch comedy with her partner Michael O'Konis and performs monthly at Upright Citizens Brigade with Quick & Funny Musicals.
 
Sawyer Fuller is a Los Angeles-based actor and singer with a BFA in Musical Theatre from Emerson College. She has worked on Vet TV, Brat TV, MeetCute Podcasts, New Musicals Inc., Wicked Lit, The Queen Mary's Dark Harbor and Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum, in a variety of roles.
 
Cat Masterson's previous credits include Perdita (The Winter's Tale), Miss Prism (The Importance of Being Earnest) and Mrs. Gottlieb (Dead Man's Cell Phone) on Pepperdine University's mainstage. She was also a member of the Pepperdine Improv Troupe and served as its president. 
 
Playwright Peter Lefcourt has worked in television, film, and theatre, with many of his plays produced locally and nationally, including Remembering the Future, Sweet Talk, La Ronde de Lunch, Mutually Assured Destruction, The Death of Leon Trotsky: A Comedy, The Way You Look Tonight, Café Society, and The Death and Life of Mary Jo Kopechne. He is the author of eight published novels — The Deal, The Dreyfus Affair, Di & I, Abbreviating Ernie, The Woody, Eleven Karens, The Manhattan Beach Project, and Purgatory Gardens. The Deal was adapted as a movie in 2008. His television career spans more than 30 years, and he won an Emmy Award as a writer/producer. Notable credits include Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Our Family Honor, Studio 5B, Due South, Beggars & Choosers, Karen Sisco, and Desperate Housewives. Among his longform TV credits are Cracked Up, The Women of Windsor, Fine Things, and the miniseries Monte Carlo.
Director

Terri Hanauer has worked in the United States and Canada as an actress in film, television, commercials, and theatre. Stage directing credits include Remembering the Future (winner, 2022 BroadwayWorld Best LA Director Award), The Death and Life of Mary Jo Kopechne, The Way You Look Tonight, Mutually Assured Destruction, The Assassination of Leon Trotsky: A Comedy, Drama Queens from Hell, Café Society, Father, Son and Holy Coach, and Collected Stories (all at the Odyssey Theatre); April, May & June (Theatre 40), The Trip Back Down (Whitefire Theatre), Mutant Olive (Beverly Hills Playhouse, Lounge Theatre), and La Ronde de Lunch (Katselas Theatre Company), among others. Film and TV directing credits include Recycling Flo, Sweet Talk, Smothered (Amazon Prime), and Zane's Chronicles (HBO/After Dark).

Admission is $20 for the preview on Friday, July 21, and $25 for regular performances beginning July 22. Tickets are available online at www.OnStage411.com/therapy. The Theatre 68 Arts Complex is located at 5112 Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood, 91601.

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