Photo Flash: Mad Horse Theatre Stages REASONS TO BE PRETTY

Mad Horse Theatre Company explores the power of words; their capacity to hurt, to heal, to deceive and to expose the illusions and fragility of love and romance in their March production of Neil LaBute's REASONS TO BE PRETTY.

A man's tight-knit social circle is thrown into turmoil when his offhand remark about a female coworker's pretty face vs. his own girlfriend's "regular" one, gets back to her. His best buddy, and his buddy's wife, also enter into the picture, creating an emotional equation that becomes increasingly more complicated and painful. Neil LaBute is one of our finest contemporary American Playwrights; his razor-sharp dialogue lends power, poignancy and humor to the chaos of crumbling relationships, and four friends are forced to confront deeply uncomfortable truths in answering that oh-so-American question: How much is pretty worth?

Nominated for both a Tony and a Drama Desk Award as Outstanding Play, REASONS TO BE PRETTY explores our modern obsession with physical appearance and how ordinary people cope at the point in their lives where dreams begin to fade.

Director Christopher Price says:
"I'm drawn to this play, and LaBute's work in general, because of his extraordinary ability to create such real characters.They speak with an awkwardness, a normalcy that rings true. We, the audience, gain incite into their insecurities and suppressed longings through their inarticulateness. We observe them thrash around and understand them before they understand themselves. This is, to me, a coming of age story in which the question of how physical beauty impacts our lives is merely the jumping off point."

The cast includes company members, Allison McCall, Jake Cote, Marie Stewart-Harmon and guest artist, Kelsey Anderson-Taylor.

REASONS TO BE PRETTY runs March 15 - April 1, 2018, at the Mad Horse Theater in the historic Hutchins School, 24 Mosher Street, South Portland.

Performance times are Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30pm, and Sunday afternoons at 2 pm. There will be an Opening Night Reception immediately following the Friday, March 16 performance. Everyone is invited to stay after the show, enjoy light snacks, and mingle with the cast, crew, and fellow theater lovers.

A Talkback is scheduled for Sunday, March 25, immediately following the 2pm matinee. This is an opportunity to discuss the play with the director and actors.

Tickets are $23 for adults and $20 for seniors and students. As always, Mad Horse offers Pay What You Can performances. Pay What You Can dates for REASONS TO BE PRETTY are Thursday, March 15, Sunday, March 18, Thursday, March 22. and Sunday April 1. Pay What You Can tickets are only available at the door on a first come, first served basis.

Reservations are strongly recommended. Purchase tickets online at www.madhorse.com or call 747-4148 for more information. Please call for group rates.

Photo Credit: Craig Robinson

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