PHILLY FAN Makes a Return Appearance at Act II Playhouse

"The Fan" makes a second visit to Ambler in February, as Act II Playhouse favorite Tom McCarthy stars in a return engagement of Bruce Graham's popular sports play The Philly Fan. The show, which sold out for 14 performances last February, comes to the Act II stage Feb. 9-21, 2010.

McCarthy's Philly fan, a union worker who served in Korea and is most comfortable in a flannel shirt, takes audiences on a journey through Philadelphia's sports history of the last 50 years, and the frustrations that go along with it. This tell-it-like-it-is romp through the eyes of a hard core sports fan will have commiserating audiences rolling in the aisles.

McCarthy has appeared in five productions during Act II Playhouse's 11-year history - most recently in November 2009 as Norman Thayer, Jr. in the critically acclaimed On Golden Pond. The Barrymore Award-winning actor came up with the idea for The Philly Fan and asked Philadelphia's own Bruce Graham if he would pen it. "I'm in my 70s," he recently told The Philadelphia Inquirer, "and I wanted to do something about a half-century of following Philadelphia pro sports."

The Philly Fan had its premiere at the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival in 2004 and was first rewritten after the Eagles reached the Super Bowl in 2005.

Graham made another significant update to the play in 2008 after the Phillies won the World Series. "The bulk of The Philly Fan will still take place the night before the Super Bowl and deal with that frustration (which we still have)," says Graham, "but we've added some scenes and projections to acknowledge the Series. In other words, it's the Philly Fan...with a new and improved ending." He opted not to make additional changes last year after the Phillies lost the 2009 World Series to the New York Yankees and the Eagles disappointed fans for another season.

Tickets for The Philly Fan are $25 for all Wednesday-Thursday performances and $30 for Friday through Sunday shows, with discounts available for groups of 10 or more. Performance time runs about 70 minutes. Tickets are available by calling the Act II Box Office at (215) 654-0200, in person at 56 E. Butler Ave. in Ambler, or online at www.act2.org.

Act II follows up The Philly Fan with the world premiere of another Graham play, Any Given Monday, a co-production with Theatre Exile. Act II Associate Director Harriet Power directs this part-dark comedy/part-morality play, which she says "is the most unusual theatrical combination I've encountered in 30 years of professional directing." Press Opening for Any Given Monday is Friday, March 5 at 8 p.m.

Act II is offering a special "double shot of Bruce Graham" promotion: patrons who purchase tickets to The Philly Fan are eligible to receive half-price tickets to Any Given Monday when they use coupon code BGFAN50.

ABOUT ACT II PLAYHOUSE
Act II Playhouse, celebrating 11 years of professional theatre in the Philadelphia suburb of Ambler, PA, is committed to creating world-class theatre in a venue whose intimacy draws audiences and actors into dynamic interaction. Act II produces new, classic, and contemporary plays and musicals that reflect the highest artistic standards, under the direction of Bud Martin (Producing Artistic Director) and Harriet Power (Associate Artistic Director).

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