A KILLER STORY Opens 4/12 in Berkeley

The Marsh Berkeley presents a night of mystery, mayhem, and cold-blooded murder with the World Premiere of A KILLER STORY, written by Dan Harder and directed by Michelle Haner. A KILLER STORY is a fast-paced, entertaining "noir" tale about a tough, bright sleuth who outsmarts everybody, including himself as he attempts to find a missing scientist who is on the verge of creating the revolutionary/evolutionary "brain chip."

Hired by both the scientist's wife and his brainy/quirky partner, the detective instead spins a tale that ends up inextricably encircling them all in a killer story with an unexpected twist. Suspenseful and thought-provoking, this thrilling crime drama is set to a haunting score by Randy Craig and plays with the distinct elements of film noir, placing them on the stage in a modern setting for the digital age. Audiences are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy "noir era" food and custom-made "Killer Cocktails," which will be available for purchase during a pre-show cabaret performance by composer/pianist Randy Craig and chanteuse Allison Lovejoy. A KILLER STORY plays 8:00pm, Thursdays through Saturdays, April 12 - May 18, 2013 (press opening April 20) at The Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston Way. Doors open at 7:00pm, pre-show cabaret performance begins at 7:15pm. For tickets the public may visit www.themarsh.org or call 415-282-3055.

Set in the present day but maintaining the aesthetic qualities of a 1930's murder mystery, A KILLER STORY tells of Praveen Sengupta, a brilliant neuroscientist on the verge of a groundbreaking scientific discovery. When he turns up missing, it's up to Rick, a hard-boiled private detective to track him down. As Rick investigates suspects, including the scientist's dangerously seductive wife, Lara, and neurotic research partner, Jerry, he begins to piece together a compelling story he hopes will lead him to the missing scientist - or whoever killed him. Incorporating playwright Dan Harder's innovative "zippered" character dialogue, and set to a evocative score by composer Randy Craig, this story twists and turns in unexpected ways to keep audiences guessing until the final scene.

Playwright Dan Harder's modern opera, Zipperz, garnered rave reviews at its premiere with the Oakland East Bay Symphony in 2008, and was presented again in 2011 by the Marin Symphony. The production was particularly praised for its use of Harder's unconventional "zippered" libretto, a contrapuntal style of dialogue described as "a nifty exercise in musical and verbal counterpoint [that] flows easily from words to music and back again," by the San Francisco Chronicle. The catalyst for Zipperz was Harder's book Askew: Found and Lost in the Almost South of France, which features his "zippered" poetry and was reviewed and archived in the French Biblioteque Nationale de Paris by the avant-garde group Oulipo. A Killer Story was first presented as a staged reading in 2009, and will receive its world premiere at The Marsh Berkeley. Harder is an award-winning playwright and poet, essayist, journalist, radio commentator, children's book author, and teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area. His books have been published by Hyperion, Graphic Arts Center, and Pince-Nez Publishing, his essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, and his commentaries have been heard on National Public Radio.

Starring as the hardened private eye "Rick" is Ryan O'Donnell. O'Donnell most recently appeared on stage in Boxcar Theatre's production of Buried Child. A company member of foolsFury in San Francisco and Shotgun Players in Berkeley, his credits also include God's Ear, Ubu for President, Owners, Three Sisters, Devil On All Sides, Big Love, Twelfth Night, Rabbit Hole, and Jekyll and Hyde.

Co-starring in this production are Madeline H.D. Brown as the femme fatale "Lara," and Robert Parsons as the missing scientist's paranoid but brilliant partner "Jerry." Brown's credits include the Shotgun Players production of Woyzeck, Aurora Theatre Company's productions of Metamorphosis and Salomania, and The Cutting Ball Theatre's production of TontlawalD. Brown is a company member of Mugwumpin and a co-founding member of Psychopomp and Circumstance Dance Theatre. Parsons was most recently seen in The Cutting Ball Theatre production of The Strindberg Cycle and Marin Theatre Company's production of Circle, Mirror, Transformation. He has performed across the country and overseas and is a founding member of Symmetry Theatre Company. Parsons has been involved with A KILLER STORY since he read the role of "Jerry" in the production's first staged reading in 2009.

A cabaret performance by chanteuse Allison Lovejoy and pianist and composer Randy Craig will take place before the show. Lovejoy has performed internationally as a soloist, chamber musician, and accompanist. She has performed as a featured cabaret artist at the Edwardian Ball, Cabaret Verdalet, and Little Minsky's Burlesque, and in 2011 released her first solo album Cabaret Nouveau. Craig has worked as a musical director, composer, and musician in dozens of Bay Area theatres including Teatro Zinzanni, The Magic Theatre, and The Aurora Theatre Company. In 2010 he composed the score for and performed in the American Conservatory Theater production of Bill Irwin's critically-acclaimed Scapin.

Director Michelle Haner is an American actress, director, teacher, and translator who has worked extensively in both the US and Europe. Michelle studied and trained at Harvard University, the Sorbonne, the University of California Los Angeles, and L'Ecole Jacques LeCoq. She is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre Los Angeles, The Classical Theatre Lab, and foolsFURY.

A KILLER STORY will premiere at The Marsh Berkeley and was funded by grants from the James T. Foundation, the Richard Henry Epstein Foundation, and various individual contributors.