FoolsFURY Theater Presents DIONYSUS WAS SUCH A NICE MAN, 9/20

FoolsFURY Theater Company is proud to announce the West Coast premiere of DIONYSUS WAS SUCH A NICE MAN, a play by Kate Tarker and directed by Ben Yalom, foolsFURY founder and co-artistic director. Opening in previews, Friday, September 20 at the Joe Goode Annex, Dionysus Was Such a Nice Man is a comic and pungent take on the story of Oedipus from the perspective of the family of shepherds who raised him. The play runs through October 20 with a press opening scheduled for Monday, September 23 at 7 p.m. Tickets, $15 - $40, will go on sale next month, and may be purchased online via a direct link at foolsfury.org/dionysus.

Equal parts irreverent comedy and emotional journey into family dysfunction, Dionysus Was Such a Nice Man examines the lasting effects of childhood trauma. It is, said Tarker, a comedy about tragedy, and a tragedy about comedy. When does fun become tragic? When does one person's pleasure spill into someone else's pain?

The play is about the family that adopted Oedipus when he was a baby, continued Tarker. In the classical version of the story, Oedipus was adopted by a king and a queen, but in my version that's a lie, and Oedipus is a great big liar, and he comes from much humbler stock. I'm interested in how we invent our own myths. All of culture is inherited myths built on lies and embellishment.

After Thunderbodies, a production included on The New York Times' list of Unforgettable Theater Moments of 2018, Dionysus is Tarker's second fully produced play. It was developed as the first in a series of commissions by The Wilma Theater's HotHouse in Philadelphia, a core of actors and other theater artists and an incubator for developing talent and new work.

Dionysus is a play built for foolsFURY, a company that specializes in physical theater, said Yalom. It brilliantly mixes absurdism and traditions of clowning as a lens to tackle the timely subjects of sexual assault, justice and accountability. We are thrilled to work with Kate in her West Coast debut as a playwright.

The cast of Dionysus includes Jordan Mar a Don as Alcinoe, a shepherdess and adoptive sister to Oedpius; Federico Edwards as Oedpius; foolsFURY's Co-Artistic Director Deb rah Eliezer as Merope, Oedipus' adoptive mother; Lorenz Angelo Gonzales as Jamie, a hairdresser; Ryan Hill as Polybus, Oedipus' adoptive father; and Joshua Waterstone as the royal Messenger.

Additional members of the play's creative team include Noor Adabachi (scenic design), Patrick Kaliski (sound design), Barbara Bandy (costume design), Grisel Torres (lighting design), Pamela Hollings (dramaturg), Samantha Wong (stage manager) and Beth Hall (production manager).

For additional information about Dionysus Was Such A Nice Man visit foolsfury.org/dionysus.