Magic Theatre Begins First American Production of Mark O'Rowe's TERMINUS Tonight

Magic Theatre will welcome back Irish playwright Mark O'Rowe and director Jon Tracy for the first American production of Terminus running tonight, May 22 - June 16.

Mark O'Rowe's lyrical and lacerating poetic language takes you on a visceral ride from the bustling streets of Dublin to the skies above, then deep into the bowels of the earth, as three people are ripped from their daily lives and thrown into a fantastical world of singing serial killers, avenging angels, and lovesick demons.

"I have waited to produce the first American company of Terminus for five years now since seeing the remarkable Abbey Theatre production at the Under the Radar Festival in 2008," said Producing Artistic Director Loretta Greco. "In a ridiculously impressive field of contemporary Irish scribes (McDonagh, McPherson, Walsh), O'Rowe's staggering imagination, mischievous spirit, sweeping prowess with language, unwavering interest in the blackest of souls, and his rich understanding of the depth of human longing compares to none. I'm not a particularly patient person yet I can assure our audiences it's been worth the wait."

Mark O'Rowe's work first appeared on Magic's stage in 2000 with the West Coast premiere of his play Howie the Rookie. Howie the Rookie won the George Devine Award for Best New Play and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. In addition to plays O'Rowe writes films, including the 2003 film Intermission, starring Colin Farrell and Cillian Murphy, and his 2008 adaptation of Jonathan Trigell's novelBoy A, which won several awards at the Dinard British Film Festival. Terminus was first produced at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 2007 and won Fringe First when it transferred to the Edinburgh Festival in 2008. Hailed "a vertiginous concatenation of assonance and rhyme" by The Guardian, Terminus became an international hit as it toured through the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

"When my play, Howie the Rookie, toured to Magic Theatre thirteen years ago, I wasn't able to travel with it," shared O'Rowe. "My cast, however, who had performed the play pretty much everywhere, spoke of the theatre, and their experience there, in almost mythic tones. In the years since, they have always described it as probably their favorite theatre experience bar none, and so I feel both privileged and very lucky that, thirteen years on, I've finally been able to come to San Francisco and experience for myself just what the fuss was all about. I'm thrilled to say that I haven't been disappointed."

Similarly, this is the second play that Bay Area director Jon Tracy has worked on at Magic Theatre, having first directed Linda McLean's Any Given Day to rave reviews in 2012. Jon has directed at companies throughout the Bay Area, including Shotgun Players (company member, The Salt Plays Pt. 1: In the Wound, The Salt Plays Pt. 2: Of the Earth), San Francisco Playhouse (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson), Marin Theatre Company (It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play), and Aurora Theatre Company (The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity). Jon has received several local and national honors for his work, including a Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award and the Kennedy Center Meritorious Achievement Award.

"I'm exhilarated to be back with the Magic family as I consider directing Linda McLean's Any Given Day last year one of my proudest achievements," stated Tracy. "Magic has a determination to tell the best of the best stories, the best way possible: with all heart and no fear. Now, to be handed Mark O'Rowe's rule-breakingly-brilliant Terminus and armed with a cast and crew of theatre's finest, I'm psyched to unleash this torrent of mind-blowing imagery and rhyme-bomb-poetics on the ever-adventurous Bay Area audience."

The exceptional cast of three is comprised of Carl Lumbly (most recently seen in The Mother- with the Hat at San Francisco Playhouse, and best known for his roles in the television series Cagney & Lacey and Alias), Stacy Ross (last seen at Magic in Linda McLean's Any Given Day), and Marissa Keltie (most recently seen in Circle Mirror Transformation at Marin Theatre Company).

Terminus will feature set design by Robert Brill, costume design by Christine Crook, lighting design by Gabe Maxson, sound design by Sara Huddleston, and dialect coaching by Deborah Sussel.

Magic Theatre, now in its 46th year, has built a reputation as a hothouse for exciting new plays, the hottest writers, and cutting edge professional productions. With its intimate thrust stage, it is the perfect venue for audiences to experience new work up close. This intimacy extends beyond the stage through a number of special events - Thursday night Docent 360s, Friday night TalkBACKs, New Work Development Dialogues with playwrights and directors, and the Martha Heasley Cox Virgin Play Series. Enjoy unparalleled access to new plays, playwrights, and the process of taking a play from the page to the stage at Magic Theatre.

For more information or to purchase tickets, go online to www.magictheatre.org or call the box office at

415-441-8822.