PICT Hosts Benefit Screening of Julie Taymor's 'The Tempest' 10/22

Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre is hosting a benefit screening of Julie Taymor's theatrical film version of The Tempest, and will include an introduction and reception with the film's producer. The film stars Helen Mirren as a cross-gendered Prospera, alongside an all-star cast including Djimon Hounsou, Alan Cummings, David Strathairn, Chris Cooper, Russell Brand, Reeve Carney (currently in Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark on Broadway) and Alfred Molina.

The event will take place on Saturday, October 22nd at 7:00 p.m. on the 7th floor of Alumni Hall on Fifth Avenue in Oakland, and is sponsored in part by the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh and The Priory. Disney has generously donated the 35 mm print for this special event.

Lynn Hendee, president of Chartoff Productions and producer of The Tempest, will introduce the film. A "Meet the Producer" reception with Ms. Hendee will be held after the screening. Ms. Hendee, a member of the Producers Guild of America, was previously Vice President of Barry and Enright Productions and before that, a Production Executive with Thorn EMI Films. Her 2005 production of "In My Country," starring Juliette Binoche and Samuel L. Jackson, was awarded the Diamond Cinema for Peace Award at the Berlin Film Festival as well as the Washington, D. C. based Common Ground Award for Film.

This modern retelling of William Shakespeare's final masterpiece is an exciting, mystical and magical fantasy. The film stars Academy Award-Winner Helen Mirren (best actress The Queen, 2006) leading a star-studded cast including Russell Brand (Get Him to the Greek) and Alfred Molina (The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Tony-Award nominee for Art, Fiddler on the Roof, Red). Exiled to a magical island, the sorceress Prospera (Mirren) conjures up a storm that shipwrecks her enemies, and then unleashes her powers for revenge.

The Tempest was honored as the closing night film at the 2010 Venice Film Festival, as the Centerpiece selection for the 2010 New York Film Festival, as well as the Chicago International Film Festival, Hawaii International Film Festival, the Mill Valley Film Festival and the 2011 Moscow International Film Festival.

American director Julie Taymor is one of the most celebrated and controversial artists working today. Her production of The Lion King earned her the honor of being the first woman to ever win a Tony Award for directing a musical, as well as a Tony Award for Costume Design. Her highly-publicized production Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark is currently running on Broadway. Other films by Taymor include Titus, and Frida, which was nominated for six Oscars, winning two. Her film Across the Universe, a love story set to the music of The Beatles, received a Golden Globe nomination.

For more information about the movie, visit www.tempest-themovie.com.

Tickets for the benefit screening of The Tempest are $25; screening and reception is $35. Youth tickets (under 26) for the screening are $15. (Youth add $10 for the "Meet the Producer" reception.) Tickets are available through Pitt Theatre Arts at 412.624.7529 (or at the box office in the basement of the Stephen Foster Memorial from noon-5 Monday-Friday) or through ProArtsTickets by calling 412.394.3353.

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