The Colony Theater Presents TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT

The Colony Theatre is thrilled to present the fourth production of its 37th season of shows - the Los Angeles Premiere of TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT, written by Graham Greene, adapted for the stage by Giles Havergal, and directed by David Dean Bottrell. TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT will preview on Wednesday, November 9; Thursday, November 10; and Friday, November 11 at 8:00pm and will open on Saturday, November 12 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, December 18 at The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street (at Cypress) adjacent to the Burbank Town Center.

The adventure of a lifetime! Mild-mannered Henry Pulling leads a quiet life, but when his vigorous and eccentric Aunt Augusta suddenly appears with mysterious information about his past, Henry is drawn into an exotic international adventure. Four actors play more than 20 roles, including secret agents, thieves, and art smugglers in this exciting theatrical escapade. Adapted from the celebrated novel by Graham Greene, Travels With My Aunt is an irreverent, captivating, and unforgettable journey.

The award-winning Colony Theatre was founded in 1975 as a 99-seat Equity-waiver theatre in Silver Lake. Over the years the company was so successful artistically, and built such a large subscriber base, that in 2000 it was able to move into a 270-seat theatre created for it by the City of Burbank, becoming one of only 5 mid-size professional theatres in the LA area that produces a year-round season of plays and musicals, and that employs actors under contract with Actors' Equity Association. Since the move to Burbank, The Colony was named one of "25 Notable U.S. Theatre Companies" by the Encyclopedia Britannica Almanac for 8 years in a row and voted "Best Live Theatre in LA" in The Daily News Readers' Choice poll. The company's audience is so loyal that in an era when subscription is declining dramatically, and when the industry-wide "gold standard" renewal rate of 80% is considered unattainable, for the past two seasons The Colony has achieved a subscription renewal rate over 90%. This season, at a time when many theatres are shortening their seasons and canceling performances, The Colony is expanding, for the first time in its history presenting six shows instead of the usual five.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM

Graham Greene (Author) was one of the most widely read and praised British novelists of the 20th century. He wrote a number of short stories along with a handful of plays and screenplays, but he is best known for writing more than 25 novels, many of which have been adapted for film or television. Greene originally divided his fiction into two genres: "entertainments" were mystery or suspense books such as A Gun for Sale (1936, also entitled This Gun For Hire, filmed in 1942), The Confidential Agent (1939, filmed in 1945), and The Ministry of Fear (1943, filmed in 1945), that were very popular with the reading public; and "novels" were more serious literary works which he thought would shape his literary reputation. Catholic religious themes are at the root of four of his acclaimed novels: Brighton Rock (1938, filmed in 1948), The Power and the Glory (considered by some to be his finest novel, written in 1940, filmed in 1962), The Heart of the Matter (1948, filmed in 1953), and The End of the Affair (1951, filmed in 1955 and 1999). Other writings focused more on international politics and espionage, like the screenplay for The Third Man featuring Orson Welles (1949), and the books The Confidential Agent (1939), The Quiet American (1956, filmed in 1958 and 2002), Our Man in Havana (1958, filmed in 1959), The Comedians (1966, filmed in 1967) and The Human Factor (1978, filmed in 1979). Late in his career, both Greene and his readers found the distinction between "entertainments" and "novels" increasingly problematic.

When Travels with My Aunt was published in 1969, Greene designated it a "novel," even though the tone more closely resembled his "entertainments." Eventually, he referred to all of his writings as "novels." Greene left Great Britain in 1966, moving to Antibes, and he lived the last years of his life in Switzerland. He died at age 86 of leukemia in 1991.

Giles Havergal (Adapter) was Director of Watford Palace Theatre from 1965-1969 where his directing work included the British premiere of Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth. From 1969 to 2003, he was co-Artistic Director of Glasgow's Citizens Theatre. In Glasgow, he directed over 80 plays including works by Shakespeare, Brecht, Orton, Shaw, and Arthur Miller. Havergal's production of Travels with My Aunt, adapted from the Graham Greene novel, was first produced in Glasgow in 1989, played in the West End in 1993 (where it won an Olivier Award), and was presented Off-Broadway in 1995. More recently, he co-adapted Death in Venice by Thomas Mann, first presented in Glasgow in 2000 and later at the New York's Manhattan Ensemble Theater in 2002. He has directed numerous opera productions throughout Europe and the U.S. and has taught classes as a visiting lecturer at University of Glasgow, University of Edinburgh, UCLA, The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and many others. He was awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 2002 and holds honorary doctorates from the University of Glasgow, Strathclyde University, and The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

David Dean BOTTRELL (Director) is an acclaimed writer and performer who is now turning his attention to directing. He got his start Off-Broadway in the late 1980s as both a performer and playwright at such theatres as The Second Stage, The Public Theatre, The Manhattan Punch Line, and La MaMa,Etc. Recently, he was an original cast member of both the LA and New York companies of Streep Tease, the long-running hit comedy revue where he performed his acclaimed six-minute rendition of the entire plot of "Out of Africa." He also starred in The Colony's recent production of Wayne Liebman's historical drama Better Angels. He has appeared on numerous TV shows, from HBO's "And the Band Played On" to more recent roles in "Harry's Law," "Castle," "Criminal Minds," "Days of Our Lives," "iCarly," and a recurring role as the psychotic Lincoln Meyer on "Boston Legal." He has written screenplays for Fox Searchlight, MTV Films, Paramount Pictures, and Disney Feature Animation, and he blogs about his experiences in show business for the Huffington Post. His sold out, one-man comedy show, David Dean Bottrell Makes Love, returns to L.A.'s Rogue Machine Theatre for a limited return engagement in November.

ABOUT THE CAST AND DESIGN TEAM

Mark Capri has appeared on some of the most prominent stages all over the world including recent Broadway productions of Private Lives and Blithe Spirit, and The Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Man and Superman in London. In southern California, he was most recently seen as Baptista in Kiss Me, Kate at Reprise (Ovation Award nomination for Best Ensemble) and as FDR in Annie at Musical Theatre West. Other local highlights include shows at The Mark Taper Forum (Arcadia and the Japanese tour of Terra Nova), Kirk Douglas Theatre (A Perfect Wedding), LA Opera (The Merry Widow), Pasadena Playhouse (Sherlock Holmes, Equus, and Light Up The Sky), South Coast Repertory (An Ideal Husband), Santa Barbara CLO (My Fair Lady, Camelot, 1776, and Triumph of Love), and The Old Globe (Henry V). Around the country, he has appeared in productions at Roundabout Theatre (Enemy of the People and a Theatre World Award for On Approval), Metropolitan Opera, Intiman Theatre, Seattle Repertory, Berkeley Repertory, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Denver Center, Hartford Stage, Yale Repertory, McCarter Theatre, Chicago Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC, and many more. His film and TV appearances include "The Empire Strikes Back," "Titanic," "Free Agents," "Hot in Cleveland," "Frasier," "According to Jim," "Sonotorious," "Whoopi," "The Naked Truth," "Cybill," and many more. Mark was trained at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Larry Cedar has become a highly recognizable face in LA theatre and on television. He returns to The Colony Theatre for his sixth show, having appeared in Celadine, Billy Bishop Goes to War, Around the World in 80 Days, Accomplice, and Stage Struck. Other theatre includes Nightmare Alley at The Geffen Playhouse and Reprise Productions of She Loves Me (Ovation Award, Best Featured Actor in a Musical), Li'l Abner (Ovation Award nomination), Anything Goes (Ovation Award nomination), On the Town, Brigadoon, 1776, and They're Playing Our Song. Larry also appeared at The Mark Taper Forum in Hoagy, Bix and Wolfgang Beethoven Bunkhaus (as Hoagy Carmichael) and productions at The Laguna Playhouse, The Complex, The Westwood Playhouse (now the Geffen), and The Odyssey Theatre. Larry recurred for three seasons as Leon, the opium-addicted card dealer, in the HBO hit series "Deadwood," and for six seasons on the Children's Television Workshop's "Square One TV." Film appearances include "The Crazies," "Midnight Son," "Towelhead," "Hollywoodland," "National Treasure 2," "Constantine," "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas," and the upcoming "0000."

Other television includes "Community," "House," "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," "The Riches," "Without A Trace," "Alias," "The Closer," "Stargate," "NCIS," "The Shield," "Enterprise," "Frasier," "Gilmore Girls," and "Boston Legal."

Thomas James O'Leary starred on Broadway in the title role of The Phantom of the Opera (Broadway's longest-running show), directed by Harold Prince, for more than three years. He was also in the original casts of Broadway's Miss Saigon, directed by Nicholas Hytner, and the first national companies of Les Miserables and Chess. Thomas recently received the 2010 LA Weekly Theatre Award for Supporting Male Performance in the critically acclaimed production of Take Me Out at The Celebration Theatre. This past summer, he starred in Hays Days, a one-man show about legendary gay activist Harry Hay, also at The Celebration. His Off-Broadway and regional work includes You Never Can Tell at Yale Rep, Jonathan Tolins' Last Sunday in June at Century Center, The Suicide at Trinity Rep, and Medal of Honor Rag, Bee-Luther-Hatchee, and Lee Blessing's Two Rooms at Blue Heron Theatre. TV and film credits include "Law & Order," "Monk," "Related," "General Hospital," "All My Children,""Through the Door," "Inside," "The Watch," "Coma" with Michael Madsen, and "The Cookout" with Queen Latifah. Thomas is a graduate of Trinity Rep Conservatory.

Sybyl Walker has been seen on Broadway in The Tempest and Off-Broadway in Dinah Was, The Good Doctor, Henry VIII (Shakespeare in the Park), and Insurrection: Holding History (The Public Theatre). She also appeared in Off-Broadway and regional productions of From The Mississippi Delta which earned her a Drama Desk Award nomination, a Helen Hayes Award (Arena Stage), a Connecticut's Critics Circle Award (Hartford Stage), and a Joseph Jefferson Award (Northlight Theatre). Other awards include a Joseph Jefferson Award for The Colored Museum (Victory Gardens Theatre) and a Barrymore Award nomination for Another Midsummer Night (American Music Theater Festival). Sybyl was last seen performing her critically acclaimed, Ovation Award-nominated and NAACP Award-nominated solo show Beneath Rippling Water at the 2011 Hollywood Fringe Festival. Other LA and regional theatre appearances include The Pasadena Playhouse, The Matrix Theatre, Canon Theatre, The Egyptian Theatre, and Black Dahlia, and regional appearances include Seattle Repertory, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, and Long Wharf Theatre. Film and TV credits include "Dreamgirls," "Numb3rs," "NYPD Blue," "American Dream," "The Last Shot," "24 Nights," "Related," "Dragnet," "Lizzie McGuire," "Oz," and "Law & Order."

TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT has assembled an award-winning design team. The Scenic Design is by Michael C. Smith (Candida). The Lighting Design is by Jared A. Sayeg (Ovation Award Nomination - Trying). The Costume Design is by Sherry Linnell (Garland Award - Candida). The Sound Design is by Cricket S. Myers (Tony Award nomination - Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo). Props design and set dressing is by Colony Theatre resident designers MacAndMe.

ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING

TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT will open on Saturday, November 12 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, December 18. Performances for TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT are Thursdays & Fridays at 8:00pm; Saturdays at 3:00pm & 8:00pm; and Sundays at 2:00pm. Ticket prices range from $20.00 - $42.00 (student, senior and group discounts are available). TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT will preview on Wednesday, November 9; Thursday, November 10; and Friday, November 11 at 8:00pm at The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street (at Cypress) adjacent to the Burbank Town Center.

There will be no performances during the weekend of November 24 to 27.

Opening night performance with reception - all tickets $50.00. There are question-and-answer talkbacks after the performances on Friday, November 18 and Thursday,
December 8. For tickets, call the Colony Theatre Box Office at 818/558-7000 ext. 15 or online at www.ColonyTheatre.Org.