Actors Theatre to Present GOOD PEOPLE, 4/25-5/11

Actors Theatre brings Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire's darkly funny and surprisingly touching look at a struggling south Boston woman's backdoor attempt to find a fresh start, Good People, to the Arizona Opera Center, 1636 N. Central Ave., from April 25 to May 11.

Producing Artistic Director Matthew Wiener will direct Actors Theatre's third show of 2013-14 season that the New York Times' Ben Brantley described as not unlike Abaire's Pulitzer-Prize winning Rabbit Hole in his scrupulous presentation of "people who are consistent in their inconsistencies."

The story focuses on Margie (with a "hard" "g"), a "Southie" from the wrong side of Boston, who is fired from her Dollar Store job for persistent tardiness and is one Bingo game away from homelessness. Margie reaches out to an old flame who escaped South Boston, now a successful doctor, to guilt him into a job to help her support her disabled adult daughter.

The result is an exploration of the struggling, shifting loyalties and the unshakable hope that come with having next to nothing in America.

Actors Theatre veteran Katie McFadzen is Margie. She's joined by fellow Actors Theatre regulars Cathy Dresbach (Dottie), Maria Amorocho Weisbrod (Jean) and Rusty Ferracane (Mike) and first-timers Tyler Eglen (Stevie) and Sabrina Scott (Kate), both Master of Fine Arts candidates at Arizona State University.

Good People's supporting crew includes Jeff Thomson (set design), Paul Black (lighting design) and Connie Furr (costume design).

Good People was the 2011 Tony Award nominee for Best Play and earned the 2010-11 season Best Play Award from the New York Drama Critics Circle.

Ticket prices range from $18 for students (with ID) to $45 for reserved seats and can be purchased online at www.actorstheatrephx.org. Pay What You Can performances are scheduled Sunday, April 27 and Wednesday, May 7 and half-price rush tickets are often available at the door.