New Jersey Rep Presents MAD LOVE by Marisa Smith

Monday, September 19, 2016 - New Jersey Repertory Company, located at 179 Broadway in Long Branch, is proud to announce the new comedy MAD LOVE by Marisa Smith, the Author of "Saving Kitty".
Sloane Hudson, a wealthy, beautiful recent Ivy League graduate and product of the campus hook-up culture and frat basement pong tournaments, doesn't believe in love or marriage. She does, however, believe in babies and wants one soon so her tummy can bounce back and she can still wear a bikini. The problem is she needs a sperm donor who passes muster. Enter Brandon, who has all the right stats, but the wrong attitude. Brandon, meantime, has enough on his plate living with his brother Doug, who just fell in love with Katerina, the hooker from the Ukraine. Cabbage soup, a rare baseball card and a lizard named Pogo all play a part in this romantic comedy for cynical times.
The cast includes Brittany Proia, Jared Delaney, Graham Techler and Alex Trow, and is directed by Evan Bergman. Previews begin Thursday, October 20 with Opening Night Saturday, October 22 at New Jersey Repertory Company (179 Broadway, Long Branch), and will run through Sunday, September 25, 2016. Tickets may be purchased by calling 732-229-3166 or at www.njrep.org.
The production team includes: Jessica Parks (Set Design), Brian Snyder (Technical Director,) Jill Nagle (Lighting Design), Merek Royce Press (Sound Design), Patricia E. Doherty (Costume Design), and Jennifer Tardibuono (Stage Manager).
MAD LOVE by Marisa Smith
New Jersey Repertory Company (179 Broadway, Long Branch, NJ)Performance Schedule October 20 - November 20, 2016Thursdays & Fridays 8pm; Saturdays 3pm & 8pm; Sundays at 2pmTicket Price: $45Discounts available to groups of 10+Tickets are available at www.njrep.org or by calling 732-229-3166.For more information about New Jersey Repertory Company, visit www.njrep.org.
To arrange media interviews or press tickets, contact Communications Director Adele Sammarco at 732-229-3166 or adele@njrep.org.
Who's Who:
Marisa Smith (Playwright)
In the spring of 2016 Marisa's comedy, Mad Love, was the first new play produced at the brand new Northern Stage/Barrette Center in White River Junction, Vermont. Directed by Maggie Burrows. Mad Love was an O'Neill Playwright's Conference semi-finalist and won Best Play (2012) from NH in Portland Stages' (Maine) Clauder Competition. Marisa's full-length plays include Saving Kitty, winner of Best Play (2010) from NH in Portland Stages' (Maine) Clauder Competition. Saving Kitty premiered at Wellfleet Actors Harbor Theater in 2012, was produced by New Jersey Rep in 2013 and in the summer of 2015 Saving Kitty enjoyed an extended sold-out run at the Central Square Theater in Cambridge, Mass. produced by the Nora Theater Company and starred Jennifer Coolidge in the leading role. In 2017 Sex and Other Disturbances will be produced in Melbourne, Australia, directed by Nadia Tass. Marisa's 10-Minute plays have been produced in the Boston Marathon of 10- Minute Plays, Barrington Stage in NY and in other theaters in VT, NH, Florida, New York and Massachusetts. They include: The Dress Rehearsal, Getting into Vassar, The Pre-Nup, Polar Bear Swim, Day One, Welcome to the Beekman Arms, No Love, Please and Total Expression (Heideman Award Finalist, Actors Theater of Louisville). In 2014 Marisa penned her first film, Second Wind, shot in England, staring June Brown, Harriet Walter and Tamzin Merchant, an Andrew Silver Production and has just completed a second film for Andrew Silver Productions: Surprise Engagement. Marisa is an associate artist at the Lark Play Development Center, an artist in residence at the Hermitage Artists Retreat on Manasota Key, Florida for 2015-17 and an artist at the Marble House Project in Dorset, Vermont for the fall of 2016. She has developed work at the Lark, the Theresa Rebeck Writer's Colony, The University of Delaware Professional Repertory Company, at the Dorset Theater Festival, Dartmouth College and at the Williamstown Theater Festival. Marisa is the co-owner and Publisher of Smith and Kraus Publishers, publishers of theater books with over 650 titles in print, and a graduate of Wesleyan University.

Evan Bergman (Director)
Evan most recently directed the world premiere of A Better Place by Wendy Becket at the Duke Theater in New York. He also directed the world premiere of the long running New York and Los Angeles production of The Director starring John Shea. For NJ Rep: Marisa Smith's Saving Kitty, A View of the Mountains by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award nominee Lee Blessing, The M Spot by Michael Tucker, starring Emmy Award winner Jill Ekinberry, Tony Glazer's The Substance of Bliss and American Stare, The Tangled Skirt by Steve Braunstein (Edgar Award nominee); Deborah Rennard's For Worse, and Jack Canfora's Jericho and Poetic License. Other New York; Gryzk (Ensemble Studio Theater); The Glass House (workshops) with David Strathairn, Hope Davis, Laila Robbins (Connecticut); Geraint Wyn Davies (Barrington Stage);New York premiere with Harris Yulin (Resonance Ensemble, Clurman Theatre). Love Therapy by Wendy Beckett with Alison Frazer (Daryl Roth Theatre); Jack Canfora's Jericho (The New York Times Critic Pick, and Poetic License featuring Geriant Wyn Davis both for NJ Rep and The Directors Company (59E59). The first all African-American production of American Buffalo featuring Reg E. Cathy and Paul Butler (WHAT). Musicals include the world premiere of A Girl Called Dusty by Susann Flechter (Provincetown Playhouse) and The Last Five Years (NTW).

Jared Michael Delaney (Doug) is pleased to be making his debut at NJ Rep! Jared is the cofounder and Associate Artistic Director of Revolution Shakespeare (www.revolutionshakespeare.org). He has been seen off-Broadway at 59E59 and regionally at the Folger Theatre, Theatre Workshop of Nantucket, River Valley Rep, Sierra Rep. Theatre, Arden Theatre Co., Theatre at Monmouth, Walnut St Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Bristol Riverside Theatre, the Eagle Theater and Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, among others. As a playwright, his ?rst full-length play, The Hand of Gaul was produced in 2013 at Inis Nua Theatre and he is currently pursuing an MFA in Playwriting from the Queens University of Charlotte. MA in Theatre from Villanova University. Next up: Peter & The Starcatcher, Eagle Theatre, spring 2017. Many thanks to Evan Bergman and the good folks at NJ Rep!
Brittany Proia (Katerina) is thrilled to be making her NJ Rep debut! Brittany is an actor and songwriter originally from Olney, MD. Recent credits include Breadcrumbs (Urbanite Theatre), Taming of the Shrew (Nebraska Shakespeare), and A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (The Night Shift). Brittany has performed regionally and in NYC with The York Theatre Company, Peterborough Players, Frog and Peach Theatre Co, Ozark Actors Theatre, Nebraska Shakespeare, Toby's Dinner Theatre and The Asolo Repertory Theatre. MFA graduate of The FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training and she holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from NYU's Steinhardt School. Many thanks to Evan for this opportunity! Love to M&D. www.brittanyproia.com.Graham Techler (Brandon) An actor and writer from Boston currently based in New York, Graham's recent credits include: Song For A Future Generation and Jonah, A Musical Detour (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Gutenberg! The Musical! (Basement Arts), and Stupid F**king Bird (University Productions). His plays include Nantucket Sleighride (Beckwith Theatre, 2015), The Kid Cult Cosmology (Playfest), and Like Henry the Sixth But Cool. You can read his writing on The Big Jewel, Splitsider, and The Every Three Weekly. Follow him on twitter @grahamtechler.
Alex Trow (Sloane) New York credits include: London Wall (Mint Theater), Flamingo (Sanguine Theater Co.), Straight (u/s, Acorn Theater Off-Broadway), and Scarlett Fever (NY Fringe Fest). Regionally, she has appeared in Mad Love (Northern Stage, world premiere), Owners (Yale Rep), and Othello (Shakespeare Santa Cruz). TV/Web: "Blue Bloods," "Twenty Five," "Cooking for One with the Crying Chef" (Best Actress Award, ITV Fest), "Inappropriate Jane Austen." Alex received a BA and an MFA from Yale University. www.alextrow.com.

Support for NJ Rep is provided in part by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Shubert Foundation, the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the Stone Foundation of New Jersey, Edgerton Foundation, Investors Bank Foundation, OceanFirst Foundation, Dramatists Guild Fund, Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, JENNJOE Fund, the Darien Family Fund, the Jewish Communal Fund, the Community Foundation of New Jersey, Actors Equity Foundation, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and the Puffin Foundation. New Jersey Rep is a member of the National New Play Network, The New Jersey Theater Alliance, TCG, and the Monmouth and Long Branch Arts Councils.

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