Berkeley Rep Reschedules RITA MORENO: LIFE WITHOUT MAKEUP

Today, Berkeley Repertory Theatre announced that it is rescheduling the run of Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup so that its star can recuperate from a recent knee replacement. The show will now open Berkeley Rep's 2011-12 Season in September.

"I've been working with Tony Taccone to bring you Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup, a play about my lucky and unlikely life," Moreno remarks. "In order to truly capture the spirit of my career as an actor, singer, and dancer, this show is physically demanding - and in preparation for such a rigorous role, I recently had a knee replacement. We all know that I'm no spring chicken. While I'm springing back fairly quickly (thanks to all those years of looking after my body as a performer), I'm also learning to persuade my mind that my body has limitations. So, with great sadness, we've decided to move the opening of my show back by four months to take advantage of the extra recovery time. I want to give it - and you - my all. I hope you understand, and I look forward to seeing you in the fall."

"We reached this decision together and all agree that this is best for the show," says Tony Taccone, artistic director of Berkeley Rep. "I know it may be a bit of a disappointment to some - and it comes with a degree of stress for Berkeley Rep - but we feel strongly that your experience will benefit enormously by this change. We remain excited about the show and sincerely hope, that once you see it, you'll appreciate the wisdom of this decision."

During her spectacular career, Rita Moreno has portrayed some tough women, from Anita in West Side Story to Maria Callas in Master Class. Now this legendary performer takes on the toughest woman of all - herself. The star of stage and screen returns to Berkeley Rep to tell her tale in an irreverent and entertaining new show that's full of surprises and songs. Expect another breathtaking performance from the lady who won the Oscar, the Tony, the Grammy, and two Emmys. Artistic Director Tony Taccone wrote this touching script, and he hands the reins for this world premiere to a renowned director: David Galligan. Don't miss the rollercoaster ride as Rita Moreno takes you through the highs and lows - and solos - of her improbable life.

Berkeley Rep's audiences will still get to see a legendary performer this spring. The current season will now conclude with Anna Deavere Smith's Let Me Down Easy, the latest hit from the creator of Fires in the Mirror and Twilight: Los Angeles. Let Me Down Easy tells a stunning story about the vulnerability of the human body, the resilience of the spirit, and the price of care. It will play in Berkeley Rep's state-of-the-art Roda Theatre from May 28 through June 26.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre has grown from a storefront stage to a national leader in innovative theatre. Known for its core values of imagination and excellence, as well as its educated and adventurous audience, the nonprofit has provided a welcoming home for emerging and established artists since 1968. The Theatre welcomes an annual audience of 180,000, serves 20,000 students, and hosts dozens of community groups, thanks to 1,000 volunteers and more than 400 artists, artisans, and administrators. With two stages, a school, and a Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, Berkeley Rep is proud to premiere exhilarating new plays. In the last five years alone, the company has helped send six shows to Broadway: American Idiot, Bridge & Tunnel, Ghetto Klown, In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), Passing Strange, and Wishful Drinking. Come see tomorrow's plays today at Berkeley Rep.

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