Florida Studio Theater Extends SHEAR MADNESS

Due to popular demand, Florida Studio Theatre announces a second extension of the popular hit show, Shear Madness. The limited engagement opened on Friday, February 25, and was originally slated for a two-week run. "America's Favorite Comedy" will now run through Sunday, March 27, due to the overwhelmingly positive response from critics and audience alike.

On opening night, the Gompertz Theatre was buzzing with excitement. Audience members left the theatre singing their praises: "It's an absolute riot!" "Totally hilarious," and "Hysterical!" were a few of their comments. "The route to solving a murder in an apartment above a Sarasota beauty salon is different ever night thanks to a quick-thinking and extremely funny cast," said the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. "...even if you saw it before, you'll hear a fresh assortment of jokes that will keep you laughing."

Shear Madness returns for a second go-around at FST after a nine-week sold-out run last season. Shear Madness is an interactive murder mystery where the audience gets to solve the crime. Join your favorite salon owner Tony, his gum-chewing assistant, Barbara, and the rest of the gang as they piece together the crime scene after a murder happens upstairs.

Additional performances include:
Tuesday 3/15 @ 8 p.m.
Wed 3/16 @ 8 p.m.
Thursday 3/17 @ 8 p.m.
Friday 3/18 @ 8 p.m.
Saturday 3/19 @ 8 p.m.
Sunday 3/20 @ 3 p.m.

The dynamic cast includes Michael Kevin Baldwin as "light on his toes" Tony Whitcomb, Juliana Black as the sassy stylist Barbara DeMarco, Joseph Ditmyer as bad boy antiques dealer Eddie Lawrence, Jeremy EllisonGladstone as gumshoe detective Mikey Thomas, Timothy Goodwin as loud-mouth detective Nick O'Brien, and Lisa McMillan as the wealthy socialite Mrs. Schubert. Baldwin, Black, Ditmyer, and Goodwin all return to the Gompertz stage after performing in Shear Madness during last season's run.

Co-Creator and Original Director of Shear Madness, Bruce Jordan, returns to FST to direct the production. Jordan has been acting, directing and producing in theatre, television and film for the past 30 years, but never did he expect to be the producer/director of the three longest-running nonmusical plays in the history of American theatre. ("Shear Madness"- Boston, "Shear Madness"- Chicago, "Shear Madness"- Washington, D.C.). A founding member of Rochester's GeVa Theatre, Jordan has directed classic and Contemporary Theatre from Moliere to Coward and from Shaw to Simon. He's also appeared in scores of plays from Hedda Gabler to You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. He made his television debut in 1970 on All My Children and his "big screen" debut with Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were.

Shear Madness, by Paul Portner, adapted by Marilyn Abrams and Bruce Jordan, with original direction by Bruce Jordan, is in the Guiness Book of World Records for longest-running play in the world. Originally written by German writer, Paul Portner, in 1963 and titled Scherenschnitt, Shear Madness was a result of collaboration between two friends, Marilyn Abrams and Bruce Jordan in the summer of 1976. Shear Madness premiered at the Lake George Dinner Theatre in 1978, making its Off-Broadway debut at the Charles Playhouse Stage II in Boston, MA on January 29, 1980 and is still running with success. Shear Madness went on to open at The John F. Kennedy Center: Theatre Lab in Washington D.C. in 1987 and continues in 2010.

During its initial run in Lake George, Shear Madness was produced as a work in progress. Abrams and Jordan allowed the actors to improvise each night, playing on and using good audience response. This eventually formed the "final" script, which is also adapted to each city the show plays in. Jordan continues to encourage the actors to "let the audience win," keeping the magic in the show and pleasing audiences across the nation.

Shear Madness will run for a three-week limited engagement at Florida Studio Theatre's Gompertz Theatre, through March 27. Single tickets are priced $32 to $34 and may be purchased by calling the Box Office at 941-366-9000 or by visiting the website at www.floridastudiotheatre.org.

ABOUT FLORIDA Studio Theatre
Known as Sarasota's Contemporary Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre was founded in 1973 by Jon Spelman.

Starting out as a small touring company, FST traveled to places such as migrant camps and prisons. The company eventually settled down into a permanent home, acquiring the former Woman's Club building - now renamed the Keating Theatre. In the years that followed, Florida Studio Theatre established itself as a major force in American Theatre, presenting Contemporary Theatre in its three theatre venues: the Keating Theatre, the Goldstein Cabaret and its newest space, the Gompertz Theatre.

Even with its growth, Florida Studio Theatre remains firmly committed to making the arts accessible and affordable to a broad-based audience. Under Richard Hopkins, Artistic Director and CEO, FST develops theatre that speaks to our living, evolving, and dynamically changing world. As FST grows and expands, it continues to provide audiences with challenging, contemporary drama and innovative programs.