Brelby's BLACKLISTERS Serves Up a Gritty Violence, Hard Language and Great Tragedy

Michael Sean LeSueur is an actor and author from Scottsdale, Arizona. Past roles include Valentine Coverly in Arcadia, Carmen Ghia in The Producers, Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Benny in Epic Proportions. LeSueur's debut novella, Pixiegate Madoka, was published by Eraserhead Press in November of 2015 as part of their New Bizarro Author Series.

Alexandra (Ixy) Utpadel is a local actor and self described "crazy cat lady." Previous Brelby credits include Little Girl in Imagine, Layla in Quest for Claus: the musical, Jane Austen in After Hours at Rosie's Pub, Player in Postcards from the Apocalypse (for which she was nominated for an ariZoni award), Ferdinand in The Tempest, and Jo March in Little Women: the musical. Other credits include playing herself in Love is Here to Stay: A Gershwin Cabaret, Angel City 6 in City of Angels, Putrice in Cinderella: A New Musical, Avery in Rapture, Blister Burn, Mrs. Bergen in Dark of the Moon, and Haley Quinn in Mama Won't Fly. She will be making her design debut with 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Brelby in March.

Blacklisters is Samantha-Elise Tennant's fourth show at Brelby Theatre Company. Her past roles include Girl in After Hours at Rosie's Pub, Janna in Cold War Kids and Lacey in the short play Better Half.

"Noah is the Director/Writer among of the artists," said LeSueur. "He is the most experienced out of all of them, and is a skilled and cunning strategist. This story of a dystopian, fascist regime deciding who or what is appropriate for public consumption is more relevant than it should be. Like any classic piece of dystopian art, Blacklisters serves as a warning for what should not happen."

Utpadel said, "Though the question is never asked directly by the characters, the play demands the audience to answer, "Why is art important?" She continued, "Utpadel continues, "And really, why is it? Art isn't always a pretty thing - this play proves it. There is unbelievable violence, hard language, and great tragedy in this play. Luke Gomez, the playwright, paints a world in which hope is far past a dying ember and has instead already faded to ash. No character is truly a good person. Why is showing the ugliness of human nature so important? Why, when the world we live in already has so much darkness?"

"I play the character of Boise, or as the script calls her "an unhinged artist," Utpadel explained. "Boise is a hard-edged, violent woman whose main mission in life seems to be making everyone around her want to punch her in the face. Underneath the angry facade is a woman who has experienced a lot of pain, and doesn't think she can take it anymore. She'll break the world before the world breaks her."

"Daisy is a young dancer that is captured by Runt and brought into the archive warehouse with her fellow artists," Tennant said. "At the beginning of the play Daisy appears to be an innocent and naive young woman, but she has her own strategy to get out of The Warehouse that is not so innocent and sweet. Her experiences throughout the play bring out a darkness within her that may surprise the audience. Blacklisters is a play in tune with books such asFahrenheit 451 that make people think about what a world without art might be like. The dialogue is gritty and the plot will take the audience away from reality for a ride that will leave them at the edge of their seat."

Utpadel interjected, "I think the character of Runt, of all the people in Blacklisters, puts it best: "Artists. They let the truth be up to you." Luke gives us a fascist regime that censors art callously and without mercy - Iago is no longer painted as the villain, Marvin Gaye's name is whispered only in the underground, and Golden Girls is lost to history. It's outrageous and absurd for a government to decide what you shouldn't listen to or read. The truth isn't up to them. It's up to you. That's why art is important. That's why this play is important."

"On a lighter note," she laughed, "I get to have an amazing hairstyle in this show and work with some phenomenal actors, so who doesn't want to see that?"

Brelby partners with local downtown Glendale businesses to offer more options for audience members. By showing their digital ticket, audiences can receive 10% off of their bill at the Hop Stop Diner, 10% off of any entrée at Haus Murphy's Restaurant, and 10% off of a customer's bill at the Olde Towne Glendale (OTG) Beer & Wine Bar or the Gaslight Inn.

Blacklisters plays Feb 17-18, 24-25 and March 3-4 at 7:30pm and at 2pm Feb 19 and 26. Tickets are available by visiting the official web site at brelby.com/tickets. General admission is $15 per performance. Admission to Blacklisters is included in the benefits of Brelby's ShowGO subscription: brelby.com/showgo. The Brelby Playhouse is located at 7154 N 58th Dr, Glendale, AZ 85301.