WHAT THE BUTLER SAW Brings The Seduction, Blackmail & More To PICT 6/11-27

PICT turns conventional morality upside down with its production of Joe Orton's masterpiece What the Butler Saw, a fast-paced, hilarious farce set ablaze with seductions, cross-dressing, mistaken identity, infidelity and blackmail!

The trouble begins as a middle-aged doctor (Douglas Rees) convinces an attractive young woman (Amanda Jane Cooper) to undress during her job interview at a psychiatric hospital. His plans for a quick afternoon seduction are dashed by the unexpected arrival of his harpy of a wife (Helena Ruoti), followed in rapid succession by a randy bell-hop from the local hotel (Sam Trussell), an eccentric government official charged with oversight of mental institutions (Martin Giles), and a dim-witted policeman who gets in over his head (Jeffrey Carpenter)! Separating the mad from the sane becomes an impossible job, as Dr. Prentice runs into one complication after another while trying to keep his wife from finding out about his interrupted infidelity. Leading the pack of lunatics is director Simon Bradbury, with a design team comprised of Gianni Downs (set), Andrew David Ostrowski (lighting), Erin Collins Rittling (costumes), Elizabeth Atkinson (sound), and Jason Strom (properties).

What the Butler Saw skewers a number of sacred cows, including religion, the authority of the government and ruling class, military/political hero worship, and sexual prudery and repression. Because of adult themes and partial nudity, the show may not be appropriate for all audience members.

Pittsburgh native Douglas Rees comes home from New York to play Dr. Prentice. Rees' most recent Pittsburgh appearance was in the City Theatre Company production of Marriage Minuet. His previous PICT shows include The School for Scandal and Travesties. Helena Ruoti comes to Butler straight off her bravura performance as Eleanor/Esme in PICT's season opener, Rock ‘n' Roll. She also appeared in PICT's critically-acclaimed 2008 production of King Lear, as well as Heartbreak House, A Woman of No Importance and The Seagull.

PICT regular and Pittsburgh favorite Martin Giles plays Dr. Rance. Giles' most recent PICT Productions include Rock ‘n' Roll, Synge Cycle (as an actor and a director), and St. Nicholas, and he returns to PICT in August for The History Boys. Other recent local appearances include Die Fledermaus with Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh and The Seafarer for City Theatre Company. His play Beautiful Dreamers, with the music of Stephen Foster, will receive its world premiere in a co-production between PICT and Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh in April of 2010.

Jeffrey Carpenter plays the police officer, Sergeant Match. Carpenter was in the PICT production of The White Devil, and he serves as the founder and artistic director of Bricolage. He has been seen in many recent local productions, including barebones' Take Me Out, Quantum Theatre's Mouth to Mouth, and City Theatre Company's The Missionary Position.

Amanda Jane Cooper plays the innocent secretarial candidate Geraldine Barclay. She returns to PICT after performing in Synge Cycle last season, and will be a senior in the musical theatre program at Carnegie Mellon University. She was recently seen as Little Red Riding Hood in CMU's Into the Woods, and Feste in CMU's Twelfth Night.

Sam Trussell makes his PICT debut as Nicholas Beckett. A recent graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, he has been seen in Ring Around the Moon, Evita, and The Phantom Tollbooth. Later this summer, Sam will perform in The Broadway Rising Stars Concert in New York City.

Butler marks Simon Bradbury's debut as a PICT director, but he has graced the PICT stages numerous times as an actor, most recently in Rock ‘n' Roll. In previous seasons, Bradbury has appeared for PICT in King Lear, The Pillowman, The Shaughraun, and his own one-man play, Chaplin, among others. Bradbury's previous directing experience includes The Burning Tree, The Pregnant Pause and the workshop version of Chaplin for the Shaw Festival Academy; Arms and the Man for the University of Toronto and Brock University; and Big Rock Candy Mountain for BackRoad productions, Vancouver.

The set is designed by PICT Resident Scenic Designer Gianni Downs. His previous PICT credits include:

Boston Marriage, Stuff Happens, Synge Cycle, and Salome, among others. Lighting is designed by Andrew David Ostrowski (PICT's King Lear, Private Lives and Hedda Gabler, among others), costumes by Erin Collins Rittling (Rock ‘n' Roll, Dublin Carol, and St. Nicholas), and sound by Elizabeth Atkinson (Rock ‘n' Roll, Synge Cycle, BeckettFest, The Pillowman, Henry, Copenhagen, among others). What the Butler Saw plays June 11th through the 27th in the Charity Randall Theatre.

In conjunction with the production, PICT is sponsoring an online photo contest. Participants are asked to submit a photo of what they think the butler saw. Fun, random, and imaginative photos are encouraged; they need bear no direct relation to the play itself. Photos must be jpg format at 300 dpi or greater, and must be submitted to mgrande@picttheatre.org on or before June 14, 2009. Voting will take place on the website from June 17 through June 25. The winner will receive four tickets to any 2009 PICT production, and a signed poster of "What the Butler Saw" (or their photo signed by the cast). An enlarged version of the winning photograph will be displayed in the lobby the closing weekend of the production. Visit the PICT website at www.picttheatre.org for more information.

 

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