Stageworks to Present June Readings of Guirgis' Works Leading Up to THE MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT Next Month

Stageworks Theatre is revving its engines for what is sure to be a summer to remember in the Channel District with the works of Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist Stephen Adly Guirgis, whose play, The Mother****er With the Hat, will run July 9-26 after, which recently had a successful run in London by a local theatre company.

To begin rolling out the red carpet, Stageworks will host staged readings of Guirgis' works starting on June 21. when St. Petersburg arts maven Elizabeth Brincklow directs a cast of 12 in Our Lady of 121st Street, a moving story which develops when the body of a beloved nun is stolen from a funeral home and an emotionally charged neighborhood tries to find a place to put their grief, checkered pasts and their uncertain futures.

"It's hilarious and tragic like most of Guirgis' work," says Brincklow. "Our Lady makes you think."
On June 28, USF Theatre professor Fanni Green directs Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, a powerful script which revolves around the relationship of two prisoners at New York's Riker's Island who share one precious hour of sunlight each day while spending the rest of the lives in solitary confinement.

Both staged readings will begin at 7 p.m. and they're both "pay what you can" at the door with drinks and snacks available for sale. An audience discussion will be held afterward.

"These staged readings will serve as an appetizer of Guirgis masterful work as we take on the production of The Mother****er With the Hat," said Stageworks Producing Artistic Director Karla Hartley, who had scheduled the production for Tampa more than a year ago.

Widely known in theatre circles for decades, Guirgis stormed onto the limelight this year when his latest work, Between Riverside and Crazy, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2015. His newfound gravitas has spread like a brushfire. When Stageworks sent out the audition notice, 34 actors showed up to audition.

"This play is astonishing and profoundly daring," Hartley explains. "It's a beautifully poetic story of obsession, lust, love, jealousy, betrayal and revenge."

It's also very funny and attracted film star and comedian Chris Rock to the play as his Broadway debut. That 2011 production was nominated for 21 awards.

For information, call 813-374-2416 or e mail: stageworksboxoffice@gmail.com.

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