Turner to Lead Red Hot Patriot at Geffen Playhouse in 2011-2012 Season

Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins starring two-time Tony and Oscar nominee Kathleen Turner is the first production announced as part of the Geffen Playhouse's 2011/2012 season.

Turner sizzles as Molly Ivins, the brassy Texan reporter whose liberal journalism skyrocketed her to the national stage. From writing Elvis Presley's New York Times obituary to becoming the most widely-read self-proclaimed "pain in the ass to whatever powers come to be," Ivins - often described as a modern-day Mark Twain - made rabid fans and enemies alike with her sharp-tongued humor and unabashed political criticism. This acclaimed one-woman show captures the red-headed reporter's indomitable character by weaving personal anecdotes with her colorful take on national politics. Written by twin sisters Allison Engel & Margaret Engel, Red Hot Patriot will be in the third slot of the Geffen's season, which will ultimately include five plays and run from September 2011 through July 2012.

Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins had its world premiere at the Philadelphia Theatre Company, where Kathleen Turner originated the role. A subsequent production (featuring Barbara Chisholm) was produced by the ZACH Theatre in Austin. The Geffen Playhouse production marks the West Coast premiere.

Kathleen Turner was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Body Heat. She won a Golden Globe Award for each of her performances in Romancing the Stone and Prizzi's Honor. Her work in Peggy Sue Got Married brought her both an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe nomination, and she earned yet another Golden Globe nomination for The War of the Roses. Turner's extensive film credits also include The Man with Two Brains; Jewel of the Nile; Crimes of Passion; The Accidental Tourist; V.I. Warshawski; Serial Mom; Naked in New York; Moonlight and Valentino; and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? In addition to her film career, Turner frequently returns to live theater. In the fall of 2000, she received rave reviews and broke box-office records starring at the Gielgud Theatre in The Graduate. She then took The Graduate to Broadway. Turner starred as Tallulah Bankhead in Sandra Ryan Heyward's one-woman show Tallulah - which she toured in across the U.S. In July 2011, Turner returns to the stage as a recovering alcoholic nun in the Broadway play High by Matthew Lombardo. Other stage work includes Indiscretions, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Broadway's production of Gemini, and Camille at the Long Warf Theater in New Haven, Connecticut. Turner also starred in Travesties, The Seagull, Toyer, and A Midsummer's Night's Dream at the prestigious Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.

The Geffen Playhouse has been an integral part of Los Angeles theater since opening its doors in 1995. Noted for its intimacy and celebrated for its commitment to the development of new plays and musicals, the Geffen Playhouse continues to present a body of work that has garnered national recognition. Honored with nearly 50 regional theater awards, The Playhouse is also a proud recipient of grants from the Edgerton New American Play Foundation and the
Steinberg Charitable Trust, enabling the theater to commission nine new works over the next three years. Named in honor of entertainment mogul and philanthropist David Geffen, who made the initial donation to the theater, the organization is helmed by Producing Director and President of the Board Gilbert Cates, Artistic Director Randall Arney, Managing Director Ken Novice and Chairman of the Board Frank Mancuso. For more information please visit www.geffenplayhouse.com.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos

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