Third Rail Kicks Off 2013-14 Season with SWEET AND SAD

The Third Rail Repertory Theatre has announced the addition of the final show to its 2013-14 season: Midsummer (a play with songs) by David Grieg and Gordon McIntyre.

A smash hit in Edinburgh and Off-Broadway, MIDSUMMER is a smart, bouncy, surprising, and joyous comedy about fighting tooth and nail to NOT fall in love. This song-filled musical play joins our season in the spring slot, show number 4 out of 5, and will be the second show of Third Rail's season to be performed in the intimate CoHo Theatre. The now-completed full season is listed below.

Sweet and Sad
by Richard Nelson
TONIGHT, Sep 27 - Oct 20
Winningstad Theatre

We open with part two of our four-year Apple Family Project, SWEET AND SAD by Tony Award-winner Richard Nelson. It's the 10th Anniversary of September 11 and the Apple family find themselves gathered together in Rhinebeck, NY for an impromptu lunch before heading off to an afternoon memorial service. While Uncle Benjamin rehearses for a reading, emotions run the gamut as the Apples catch up on politics (both familial and political), tell ghost stories, tease each other mercilessly, and confront the difficulties of loss. Filled with humor and sorrow, SWEET AND SAD celebrates the challenges of life in 21st century America and features the returning cast from last season's hit show, THAT HOPEY CHANGEY THING.

Noises Off
by Michael Frayn
Dec 6 - Jan 5
Winningstad Theatre

Next up, we bring you Third Rail's version of a holiday show. Just in time to battle the winter doldrums, we open Michael Frayn's NOISES OFF. It's been three years since we tackled a farce and now we're back with a vengeance! In the ultimate backstage comedy, Dottie has lost her sardines, Garry has lost coherence, Brooke has lost her contact lens (not to mention her clothes), Freddie has lost his funny bone, Belinda has lost her composure, Selsdon has lost his booze, Tim has lost sleep, Poppy has lost her man, and Lloyd has lost control of the worst sex farce in history...and it's all a race to the bottom from there. In what is arguably the funniest play ever written, NOISES OFF + Third Rail = the best holiday gift ever!

Gidion's Knot
by Johnna Adams
Feb 21 - Mar 15
Coho Theatre

Things take a decided turn toward the intimate with our third production of the year, our first of two to be staged at the Coho Theatre, and one of the hottest new plays in the country, GIDION'S KNOT by Johnna Adams. 5th-Grader Gidion has been suspended for reasons that his teacher, Heather, is reluctant to explain. His mother, Corryn, shows up for her scheduled Parent/Teacher conference and what begins as an uncomfortable exchange evolves into a confrontation that will expose both women to their core. Questioning the limits of freedom of expression, the power of language, parental vs societal responsibility, and the complex nature of love and loyalty, GIDION'S KNOT is a stunning new play that leaves no one unscathed.

Midsummer (a play with songs)
Mar 28 - Apr 19
Coho Theatre

Helena has a high-paying job with benefits, a taste for good wine, and a no-nonsense take-no-prisoners attitude. Bob has a low-paying job that could get him killed, a taste for dark stout, and the world's most forgettable nickname. Helena and Bob. Oil and Water. Fire and Ice. Could a rainy weekend of poor decisions, drunken seductions, crashed weddings, Japanese bondage failures, and mob run-ins put a song in their hearts and bring these two lovebirds together? MIDSUMMER is a smart, bouncy, surprising, joyous, and song-filled comedy about fighting tooth and nail to not fall in love.

Middletown
by Will Eno
May 30 - June 22
Winningstad Theatre

We wrap up our season back at the Winningstad Theatre with a play that Third Rail has been dying to produce since it was the hit of Portland Center Stage's 2009 JAW Festival, MIDDLETOWN by Will Eno. The residents of Middletown lead lives that are probably not too different from ours. They wake up, go to work, say hello to their neighbors, fix the plumbing, seek advice on parenting, and try to live lives that are as rewarding as possible. It's all fairly ordinary. And yet...ordinary doesn't even begin to scratch the surface in this quirky, word-frenzied, refraction of OUR TOWN. MIDDLETOWN is a quizzical fable about life in all its sweetness and pain, joy and wonder, beginnings and endings.

From our humble beginnings at the IFCC to our current home at the Winningstad, from one-off productions to a season of 5 shows, the story of Third Rail is a story of growth. We've never been willing to settle for good enough. Why should you? Join us next season and see what all the fuss is about.

For tickets and information, go to thirdrailrep.org and click on "Box Office." Call Third Rail at (503) 235-1101

But that's not all the exciting news Third Rail has to share. Furthering its desire to consistently work with the best artists that Portland theatre has to offer, Third Rail announces the addition of Rebecca Lingafelter & Jennifer Lin to its Core Company of artists.

Rebecca Lingafelter (pictured above) is a familiar face to Third Rail audi- ences for her marvelous work in this season's production of Richard Nelson's THAT HOPEY CHANGEY THING and last season's production of Allison Moore's COLLAPSE. A recent transplant to the Portland scene from New York, Rebecca's body of work is impressive. She's studied with Anne Bogart of the renowned Siti Company in NY, she's been singled out for praise by The New York Times and Village Voice, and her first foray into producing work with her local company PETE (Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble) resulted in the critically acclaimed R3, an adaptation of Shakespeare's RICHARD III that was the unqualified hit of the 2013 Fertile Ground Festival. A recent addition to the teaching faculty at Lewis and Clark College, Rebecca brings with her an unparalleled skill in physical storytelling and an artistic rigor that will fit right into Third Rail's ambitious professional ensemble.

Jennifer Lin may be a less recognizable face to Portland theatre audiences, but her work has illuminated stages across the city for many years. As a lighting designer she has worked on hit shows ranging from Third Rail's A NOBLE FAILURE to CoHo's Fertile Ground smash hit INTERNATIONAL FALLS. As a founding member of Portland's scrappy Quick and Dirty Art Project, Jennifer served as a lighting designer for Craig Wright's THE UNSEEN and MERCURY FUR by Philip Ridley. She's been working with Third Rail as a designer, light board operator, electrician, and production team member since the 2008-09 Season and Third Rail is thrilled to finally make her an official member of Third Rail's Core Company.

About Third Rail Repertory Theatre: Third Rail is an artist-driven theatre company whose vitality is defined by it's audience's sharp appetite for groundbreaking, innovative work. We promote new plays while exploring The Edges of theatrical style. Third Rail exists to provide a home for artists and theatergoers alike, offering a range of experiences to be shared by the audience and the community.

More information about Third Rail can be found at thirdrailrep.org.

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