TOSCANA, OR WHAT I REMEMBER Opens Tonight at Cherry Lane Studio

TOSCANA, Or What I Remember, a new play by Marta Mondelli, begins at Cherry Lane Theatre Studio tonight, September 15th, and runs through October 1st.

Tara Elliott directs a cast that includes Scott Barton* (York Theatre Company), Kat Kim, Marta Mondelli and Lance Olds* (Carnival! at Kennedy Center, Footloose 1st National Tour).

Emma, a native of Tuscany, and her paraplegic husband, Fred, seem to be visiting the small Italian hill town that Emma grew up in for the sake of attending her father's funeral. Frustrated by the weather and tormented by memories of her childhood, Emma finds every excuse to be annoyed with Fred and his physical condition which makes him dependent upon her. A fragile momentary truce between them is broken by two guests of the hotel they frequent; Larry, an expert on botany who's there to give a lecture and Sue, his pregnant wife. At first disdainful towards them, Emma finds Larry's intelligence a welcome distraction. Sue, initially uncomfortable with Fred's disability, finds herself opening up to him in a way she can't with her husband. Both of the couples are jolted out of their complacency with one another when confronted with painful truths brought about by Emma's temporary lapses of memory, forcing them to acknowledge that all is not as it seems.

Playwright Marta Mondelli is also a novelist, filmmaker and actress. Born and raised in Italy, she graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Bologna and then worked as an actress both in theatre and in film with Italian stars Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Adrianno Giannini. More than a decade ago she moved to New York to pursue a writing career while continuing her acting. Her first novel, "Occhi di cane, cuore di cervo" was published in Italy in 2011. Her 2010 feature film, The Contenders won the Aloha Accolade Award for Excellence in Filmmaking from the Honolulu International Film Festival. Her screenplay titled A Small Accident received Honorable Mention from the 2011 Sundance Film Festival's "Table Read My Screenplay" contest. The Window, her first play, was performed to critical acclaim at the Cherry Lane Theatre Studio in 2014. Keen on authenticity, after writing TOSCANA she searched for a disability actor with Christine Bruno of Inclusion in the Arts for the role of Fred.

Director Tara Elliott, also a writer, producer and educator, developed and directed the acclaimed one woman showBurk Off!. She is producer of the Gotham Award winning series Shugs and Fags and a member of the multi-media oriented Exquisite Corpse Company.

TOSCANA, or What I Remember will begin at Cherry Lane Studio (38 Commerce Street in Greenwich Village) tonight, September 15th at 7PM. The performance schedule is as follows: Evening shows at 7PM on Thu. 9/15 thru Sat. 9/17, Tue. 9/20 thru Sat. 9/24 and Tue. 9/27 thru Sat. 10/1. Saturday matinees at 3PM on 9/17, 9/24 and 10/1. Sunday matinees at 2PM on 9/18 and 9/25. Tickets are $18 general admission and $15 for students/seniors. For tickets go to www.cherrylanetheatre.org. For more information go to www.toscanaorwhatiremember.com.

*Member of Actor's Equity