MILKMILKLEMONADE Comes To Berkeley, Previews 8/27

Impact Theatre kicks off its 15th season with the Off Off Broadway hit MilkMilkLemonade, written by Joshua Conkel and directed by Desdemona Chiang. MilkMilkLemonade previews August 26 & 27 and opens August 28 at Impact Theatre's home, La Val's Subterranean in Berkeley.

In MilkMilkLemonade, 11-year-old Emory yearns to flee the coop-literally. Gay, lonely, and trapped on the rural chicken farm run by his emphysema-addled, chain-smoking Nanna-who constantly tries to "cure" him of his effeminacy-Emory dreams of running away to the city to achieve showbiz stardom. But before he can go, he must save his beloved chicken friend Linda from Nanna's processing machine and try to connect with the bully who lives down the road. In this hilarious yet moving new show, playwright Joshua Conkel has conjured a brilliantly cracked and dangerous world filled with innocence, love, and ribald poultry.

The show was a huge hit in New York last year. The New York Post called it "funny and poignant...incredibly open-hearted and generous." The New York Press raved about its "inspired silliness...among the funnier shows I've seen this year... [Conkel has a] pitch-perfect ear for one-liners." And Time Out New York claimed audiences would be "busy apologizing to your neighbor for smacking him during a giggle fit."

Impact's production will be directed by Impact's associate artistic director, Desdemona Chiang, who last helmed Lauren Yee's audience and critical rave Ching Chong Chinaman in 2008.

ABOUT IMPACT THEATRE
Since 1996 Impact Theatre has spoken to a new generation of theatregoers and enthusiasts alike who want to see something fresh and bold on stage. Impact's audience ranges from students to professionals to seniors, all of whom share a taste for exciting, unpretentious theatre that doesn't conform to stale assumptions of what constitutes high culture. Impact's primary mission is to directly contribute to the future of American theatre through focusing on new plays by emerging playwrights. Impact has produced 18 full-length world premieres, including 13 by local playwrights, as well as dozens of world-premiere ten-minute plays by burgeoning writers nationwide in the Impact Briefs series. Impact also prides itself on its fast-paced, vital, contemporary spins on classic drama. Impact shows compel, provoke, and inspire, at prices everyone can afford. And nowhere else in the Bay Area can you eat pizza and drink beer while you're watching a play. The East Bay Express named Impact "Best Small Theatre Company" in its 2008 Best of the East Bay issue and always includes Impact shows in its year-end top-ten lists.