CLYBOURNE PARK to Bring Race and Real Estate to The Rep, 1/29-2/24

Winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize, London's Olivier Award for Best Play and the 2012 Tony Award for Best Play, Clybourne Park is a wickedly funny and fiercely provocative new play about the volatile combination of race and real estate. Clybourne Park runs in The Rep's Quadracci Powerhouse from January 29, 2013 - February 24 , 2013 and opens on Friday, February 1, 2013.

Act One opens in 1959, as a white couple sells their home to a black family (the Younger family in A Raisin In the Sun), causing uproar in their middle-class neighborhood; Act Two finds the same house, in 2009, changing hands again. And, while the stakes have changed over the years, the debate remains strikingly similar as neighbors wage a hilarious and horrifying pitchEd Battle over territory and legacy that reveals just how far our ideas about race and gentrification have evolved - or, have they?

Clybourne Park is written by Bruce Norris, and directed by The Rep's Artistic Director, Mark Clements. The cast features Associate Artists Lee E. Ernst and Gerard Neugent, and Rep favorites Marti Gobel, Grant Goodman and Jenny McKnight. The cast also features 2010/11 Rep Acting Intern Greta Wohlrabe, newcomer James T. Alfred, as well as current Acting Intern J.R. Yancher. Clybourne Park is a co-production with Arizona Theatre Company. The Executive Producers for this production are Robert H. and Carol O. Manegold.

"When I first read the truly extraordinary Clybourne Park, it knocked me off my feet. It confronts huge subjects: gentrification, race relations and political correctness, among others," says Director Mark Clements. "It's hard for any play to tackle any one of those things, but to take on so many and to take them on so brilliantly and fluidly without lecturing the audiences - while at the same time being hilariously funny - is an extraordinary feat. I've been looking forward to directing this modern masterpiece all season!"

"Mr. Norris' play is set in a fictitious area of Chicago, but every city in America, and indeed many overseas, has areas of 'gentrification,' including our own city of Milwaukee," added Clements. "This may help explain the extraordinary worldwide success of this play thus far - the only play, incidentally, to ever win the Pulitzer Prize, Olivier Award and Tony Award for Best Play for the same production."

Playwright Bruce Norris wrote Clybourne Park in 2010 as a response to Lorraine Hansberry's 1959 play, A Raisin In the Sun. It portrays fictional events set before and after Hansberry's play, exploring the neighborhood and house in which the central characters of A Raisin In the Sun decide to move. Clybourne Park premiered on February 21, 2010 at Playwrights Horizons in New York; it was directed by Pam MacKinnon.

THE CAST
James T. Alfred (Albert/Kevin) is making his Rep acting debut; regional credits include Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Guthrie Theatre, Denver Center Theatre Company and Penumbra Theatre; he has appeared Off-Broadway at New York's Public Theater, and on the TV shows Boss, Prison Break and ATF; he is an alumni of Cardinal Stritch University; Lee E. Ernst (Russ/Dan), a Rep Associate Artist, most recently appeared in the roles of Mr. Van Daan in The Diary of Anne Frank and Samuel Byck in Assassins; last season he appeared as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird and Vince Lombardi in Lombardi; Marti Gobel (Francine/Lena), a former Rep Acting Intern (2008/09), most recently appeared as Mrs. Cratchit/Mrs. Oatway in The Rep's production of A Christmas Carol at the historic Pabst Theater; other Rep credits include The Yankee Tavern (2009/10); Gobel is also the Producing Artistic Director of UPROOTED Theatre; Grant Goodman (Jim/Tom) returns to The Rep after appearing as Dr. Givings in last season's In the Next Room or the vibrator play and as Alfred Lunt in Ten Chimneys; other roles at The Rep include Fred in A Christmas Carol and Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice; Jenny McKnight (Bev/Kathy) returns to Milwaukee Repertory Theater where she most recently appeared in In the Next Room or the vibrator play and Ten Chimneys; other roles at The Rep include Speaking in Tongues and All My Sons; Gerard Neugent (Karl/Steve), a Rep Associate Artist, is now in his 11th season with The Rep; he most recently appeared as Jacob Marley/Old Joe/Reverend Waghorn in The Rep's productions of A Christmas Carol and Doug in Gutenberg! The Musical!; Greta Wohlrabe (Betsy/Lindsey), a former Rep Acting Intern (2010/11) whose recent credits include Twelfth Night, Troilus and Cressida and Skylight at American Players Theatre, and Honour at Renaissance Theaterworks; J.R. Yancher (Kenneth), a member of The Rep's Artistic Intern Ensemble, was just seen in The Rep's production of Sense and Sensibility, The Diary of Anne Frank and Assassins; he is a graduate of the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts.

CREATIVE TEAM
The Creative Team for Clybourne Park includes: Mark Clements (Director/Artistic Director - see bio below); Todd Edward Ivins (Scenic Designer & Projection Designer) a Rep Associate Artist, whose recent designs for The Rep include the scenery for Assassins and Next to Normal, as well as scenery and costumes for Cabaret and Othello; Off-Broadway credits include The Milliner, Fathers & Sons, Time of Your Life and Our God's Brother; regional credits include Walnut Street Theatre Company, 5th Avenue Theatre and Prince Music Theatre; Rachel Healy (Costume Designer), a Chicago-based designer whose designs have been seen at Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, among many others; her recent Rep credits include The Diary of Anne Frank, To Kill a Mockingbird, Ten Chimneys and Death of a Salesman; Jesse Klug (Lighting Designer) has previously designed To Kill a Mockingbird and My Name is Asher Lev for The Rep as well as the National Tour of The Screwtape Letters; Off-Broadway credits include Second Stage (The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity), Westside Arts (The Screwtape Letters) and 59E59 (Hunchback Variations); regional credits include Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater and Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Barry G. Funderburg (Sound Designer), a frequent Rep collaborator, has designed Off-Broadway for The Pearl Theatre Company (Wittenburg), regional credits include Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Utah Shakespeare Festival and Actors Theatre of Louisville, among others; Sandy Ernst (Casting Director) is The Rep's Associate Artistic Director, the Artistic Intern Company Director, and has served as The Rep's Casting Director for over a decade; she formerly served as a member of the directing staff and as the Production Stage Manager at American Players Theatre; Bri Sudia (Sign Language Coach) is a member of The Rep's Artistic Intern Ensemble and was recently seen in the ensemble in A Christmas Carol; Jill Walmsley Zager (Dialect Coach) recently returned to Milwaukee from three years as Co-Head of Voice and Dialects and the Company Coach at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco; recent Rep credits include: The Diary of Anne Frank, The Mountaintop, Assassins, To Kill a Mockingbird, A Christmas Carol, Lombardi, Yellowman, Ten Chimneys, Cabaret, My Name is Asher Lev, Laurel and Hardy and The 39 Steps; Laura F. Wendt (Stage Manager) is in her seventh season with The Rep; regional credits include Riverside Theater Shakespeare Festival, American Players Theatre and Nebraska Shakespearean Festival; Kimberly Ann McCann (Assistant Stage Manager) returns for her second show at The Rep; Broadway credits include Curtains; Off-Broadway credits: Bill W. and Dr. Bob, How to Save the World and John Ferguson; Marissa Robinson (Stage Management Intern) is a graduate of Emerson College in Boston, and has previously worked for Anne Bogart's Siti Company; Maggie Ellsworth (Assistant Director) is a 2012/13 Directing Intern, and has received an MFA in Theatre Directing from Western Illinois University; Rep credits include Gutenburg! The Musical!, The Mountaintop, Blues in the Night and A Christmas Carol.

Bruce Norris (Playwright) is a 1982 graduate of Northwestern University with a degree in theater. He began his career as an actor, appearing in productions at Victory Gardens Theater and Goodman Theatre, as well as on Broadway in Neil Simon's Biloxi Blues. He also appeared in film, playing the stuttering teacher in 1999's The Sixth Sense. In the late '90s, Norris committed himself to playwriting full time, moving from Chicago to New York. In addition to Clybourne Park, Norris has written The Infidel (2000), Purple Heart (2002), We All Went Down to Amsterdam (2003), The Pain and the Itch (2004) and The Unmentionables (2006), all of which had their premieres at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago. His newest play, titled A Parallelogram, premiered there in July of 2011. His work has also been seen at Playwrights Horizons (New York), Lookingglass Theatre Company, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Staatstheater Mainz (Germany) and The Galway Festival (Ireland), among others. He is the recipient of the Steinberg Playwright Award (2009), and The Whiting Foundation Prize for Drama (2006) as well as two Joseph Jefferson Awards (Chicago) for Best New Work. As an actor he can be seen in the films A Civil Action, The Sixth Sense and All Good Things.

Mark Clements (Artistic Director/Director) began his tenure as The Rep's Artistic Director with the 2010/11 Season. He is an award-winning international theater director whose work has appeared in over 100 major theaters throughout Europe and the United States. Recent productions include: Assassins, Othello, Next to Normal, Death of a Salesman, Bombshells and Cabaret at The Rep; Oliver!, Born Yesterday, Great Expectations, Les Miserables (2008 Barrymore Award - Best Production of a Musical) and Of Mice and Men (2007 Barrymore Award - Best Director and Best Production of a Play), all for Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia; The Milliner (Off-Broadway, World Premiere), CSC, New York; My Fair Lady, Copenhagen; The Browning Version (Barclays/TMA Regional Theatre Award) at Derby Playhouse and Blunt Speaking (World Premiere), Chichester Festival Theatre U.K. and Lucille Lortel Theatre, New York. He serves on the National Advisory Board for the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program at Ten Chimneys.

Tickets for Clybourne Park are from $10.00 - $65.00 (prices are subject to change). Single Tickets for all of Milwaukee Repertory Theater's 2012/13 productions are on sale. Single Tickets can be purchased online at www.MilwaukeeRep.com, through The Rep's Ticket Office by calling 414-224-9490 or in person at 108 E. Wells Street. Group tickets are also available for purchase by calling Patron Relations Manager Christine Yundem at 414-290-5340.

To learn more about The Rep or its productions, visit www.MilwaukeeRep.com.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS AND EVENTS

· Rep in Depth begins 45 minutes before every performance in the Quadracci Powerhouse and gives an insider's look at the play from a member of the cast or artistic team with a pre-show discussion. This Rep in Depth will be led by Rep Associate Artist Lee E. Ernst.

· Audio-Description Performance - on Tuesday, February 5 at 6:30 p.m. there will be an Audio-Described Performance for patrons who are blind or have low vision.

· American Sign Language Interpreted Performance - On Thursday, February 21 at 7:30 p.m. there will be an American Sign Language Interpreted Performance for patrons who are deaf or have low hearing.

· Captioned Theater Performance - On Sunday, February 24 at 2:00 p.m. there will be a Captioned Theater Performance.

· The Rep Talkbacks will be held after the 8:00 p.m. performances on Friday, February 8, 15 and 22. The Rep Talkbacks are offered immediately after select performances and offer an opportunity for audience members to ask questions about the play to Rep Associate Artists and actors in the production. For more information on The Rep Talkbacks, please contact the Ticket Office at 414-224-9490 or refer to The Rep's Patron Guide.

· New this year - The Rep is hosting an event called 'Round Six Happy Hour. The event will start with a pre-show reception in Quadracci Powerhouse lobby. The fourth event will be held on Thursday, January 31 and features complimentary appetizers and free beer provided by Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery. The event will also feature live music. This event is sponsored in part by 88Nine. The cost to attend the event is only $20 and includes the show ticket and pre-show reception. The reception begins at 6:00 p.m. and the performance of Clybourne Park at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.Milwaukeerep.com/entourage/ or by calling The Rep's Ticket Office at 414-224-9490. For more information, please contact Kaitlin Schlick, Marketing Coordinator, at 414-290-0712.

· Matinee Lunch - Join us for lunch and a conversation about Clybourne Park on Wednesday, February 20 from 11:45 - 1:15 p.m. at the InterContinental Milwaukee in Salon A. Cost is $15 per person. Please RSVP by Monday, February 11 to Jennifer Bloomer at 414-291-4790 or jenniferbloomer@intercontinentalmilwaukee.com.

· 2013 Friends of The Rep Fraffle - The Friends of The Rep's annual raffle (aka Fraffle) will be held during the run of Clybourne Park. Prizes include an Arizona winter retreat, an Ozarks condo vacation, subscriptions to The Rep, a historical tour of Milwaukee with John Gurda and a night on the town, courtesy of The Rep. All winners will also receive a one year membership to The Friends of The Rep. Tickets are $5 for one ticket, $20 for six tickets, and $50 for 20 tickets and can be purchased in the Quadracci Powerhouse lobby before each performance of Clybourne Park. Look for the Friends of The Rep volunteers in red aprons to purchase raffled tickets. For more information, contact Casey Harding at charding@milwaukeerep.com or call 414-290-0717.