Beowulf Alley Theatre's A PIECE OF MY HEART by Shirley Lauro Closes 6/13

As a follow up to our April production of Last of the Boys honoring our American soldiers' families for their shared sacrifice, Beowulf Alley Theatre will continue its recognition of our military families with a three-week run of A Piece of My Heart by Shirley Lauro, adapted from the Keith Walker book of the same name. Whitney Morton will direct this poignant chronicle of the women of the Vietnam War.

This play will replace the originally scheduled Extra Presentation! selection, The Vertical Hour, with performances from May 28, 2010 through June 13, 2010. The theatre is located at 11 South 6th Avenue, 85701 in Downtown Tucson between Broadway and Congress.

More than 15,000 American women volunteered to serve in Vietnam. Many were wounded and eight were killed. Ms. Lauro's play memorializes these brave women as it bring to life true stories of six courageous women who volunteered to serve their country and the men who were part of their lives. The women struggle to make sense of the war that irrevocably changed them and the nation that shunned them. Their every limit tested, A Piece of My Heart portrays their strengths, weaknesses and sheer endurance. It embraces the music, confusion, heroism, and idealism of the late 60s, portraying both the women's sorrows and their intense joys and looks beyond politics to reflect on the incredible human experience of living and working in the midst of violence and chaos - and surviving. This tale of women in a conflict that forever changed America's relationship to war is searingly relevant today amidst the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. It is important to educate our young people about the sacrifices and bravery of these young women, then in their late teens and early 20s, who are now the mothers and grandmothers of a new generation faced with a new kind of war.

A Piece of My Heart has earned The Susan Blackburn Prize (Finalist) as Best English Language Play by a Woman, The Barbara Deming Prize for Women Playwrights, and The Kittredge Foundation Award. The Vietnam Vets of America, Inc. has cited the work as "the most enduring play in the nation on Vietnam."
...Shirley Lauro's ... play A PIECE OF MY HEART, is a catharsis as well as a coup de theatre...There have been a number of plays dealing with Vietnam...but none with the direct, emotional impact of Ms. Lauro's work...(she) has turned first hand impressions into a disturbing drama that evokes empathy for survivors as victims. -The New York Times

Performances are as follows:
Friday, May 28, 7:30 p.m. - Preview Performance

Saturday, May 29, 7:30 p.m. - Opening Night with Reception

May 30, 2010 1:30 p.m. - Dialogues with... Sunday, following the performance

Thursdays-Saturdays, June 3 - 5, June 10 - 12, 7:30 p.m.

Sundays June 6, June 13, 1:30 p.m.
For more information consult our website at www.beowulfalley.org.

Beowulf Alley Theatre Company, a 501 (c)(3) organization, is committed to enriching the community and enhancing appreciation of the arts through the production of innovative, invigorating theatre and theatrical education with the highest standards for acting and production. Equal and fair treatment will be provided to all participants regardless of race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, familial status and/or marital status. Founded on the basis of dialogues with local theatre artists who wanted a permanent home to practice their craft, its intimate 95-seat theatre provides a facility that meets professional standards where performing artists, educators, and technicians can present their skills. Because Beowulf Alley engages a talent and volunteer pool that calls Tucson "home" for its productions, the Theatre is committed to helping grow a new generation of Tucson talent with its programs including education for adults and youth, late night theatre to experiment with and gain experience, readers theatre for playwrights' unpublished works, lunchtime theatre to bring art to the workday and screenings of independent film artists. And true to its roots, the Theatre maintains ongoing dialogues with the community, including Dialogues with theatergoers after the first Sunday matinee performance of each of its main stage plays, at Readers' Theatre nights, and other presentations, providing an opportunity for theatergoers to discuss the plays with the director and artists. Writers who cover the Tucson arts scene say the Theatre provides its audiences with "the best total package"-plays, performances and productions that are high in artistic and technical quality. Beowulf Alley has received critical acclaim, including two Mac Awards and seven MAC nominations. The company has presented over 325 performances to Tucson audiences since 2002 and has served hundreds of theatre artists. The theater also provides performance and rehearsal space for other Tucson theater companies. For more information, log on to www.beowulfalley.org. We thank the National Endowment for the Arts, the Arizona Commission on the Arts, the Tucson Pima Arts Council, the Janet S. Brunel Residuary Trust, and our business sponsors for their support.

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