World Premiere Of HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN At Boston Court Pasadena

By: Aug. 19, 2019
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World Premiere Of HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN At Boston Court Pasadena

Boston Court Pasadena continues their 2019 theatre season with the world premiere of E.M. Lewis's How The Light Gets In, directed by Emilie Pascale Beck, September 19 - October 27 (press opening: September 28). How The Light Gets In features Amy Sloan as Grace, Ryun Yu as Haruki, Chelsea Kurtz as Kat and Dieterich Gray as Tommy Z.

"There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in."
-Leonard Cohen

A travel writer who never travels. A Japanese architect who can't figure out how to build a simple tea house. A gifted tattoo artist who resists the power of his talents. And a homeless girl who lives under a weeping willow tree in the Japanese Garden. Four lonely people, their stories written on paper, earth, and skin, find each other when one of them falls apart. Together they realize the heart is as strong as it is fragile, and that the safety of home might be found in the most fearsome explorations. A beautiful, haunting, and richly human world premiere from the author of The Gun Show and Song of Extinction.

Quotes from the New Play Exchange praise How the Light Gets In as "classic E.M. Lewis--lyrical, theatrical, and personal. Lewis knows how to distill humanity to its essence, and she does it beautifully here while also imbuing the experience with gorgeous language and symbolism."

Last year, How the Light Gets In was one of the four plays workshopped at Boston Court Pasadena's New Play Reading Festival. Director Emilie Pascale Beck, who directed both the Boston Court Pasadena workshop as well as a recent workshop at Chautauqua Theatre Company said, "E.M. Lewis and I have been looking to partner on a project for years. This script has personal resonance for both of us. Ellen sent it to me when it wasn't even a fully formed play yet, and it's been exhilarating to collaborate with her as story, characters, and theme have deepened and found their surprising connections. I'm eager to get in the room with our wonderful actors and give it all the dimension it deserves."

E.M. Lewis adds, "Director Emilie Pascale Beck and I had a wonderful experience workshopping the play last summer at Boston Court Pasadena and again at Chautauqua Theater Company, this past July. In both rehearsal rooms, there was such a sense of excitement and discovery." As far as her connection to Leonard Cohen and how he has influenced her artistically, the playwright says, "I love him. In his songs, he delves into spiritual questions and human frailties in a way that resonate for me. His song Anthem has a line that has always stuck with me, and ended up becoming the title of this very personal play of mine. 'Ring the bells that still can ring,' he says. 'Forget your perfect offering. There's a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in.'"

Single tickets range from $20 - $39 and are available now. Visit BostonCourtPasadena.org or call 626.683.6801 to subscribe or purchase single tickets.



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