Signature Theatre To Present 'Lieutenant of Inishmore'

Signature Theatre presents the Washington premiere of the viciously bloody comic satire The Lieutenant of Inishmore running September 23 – November 16 in The ARK Theatre.  Written by the celebrated playwright Martin McDonagh, whose play The Pillowman won both an Olivier Award and a Tony® nomination, this dark yet hilarious work will be directed by Jeremy Skidmore, the former Artistic Director of Theater Alliance. 

On a lonely road on the island of Inishmore, someone killed an Irish Liberation Army enforcer's cat.  Padraic may be a terrorist, but he loves that cat more than life itself, and someone is going to pay for kitty's execution as soon as Padraic returns from his stint of torture and bombing in Northern Ireland. This witty, ironic, and wild look at the hypocrisy of violence escalates from mayhem to a hilarious surprise ending that leaves audiences gasping for breath.

Director Skidmore stated, "This playwright always pulls his audiences into aggressive worlds.  And with the ultra-adrenaline pumped into this play, I think that everyone sitting in the 112-seat ARK should ready themselves for a real "in-your-face" experience."

Martin McDonagh is one of the most lauded young playwrights of the last decade.  Credited with reinvigorating contemporary Irish drama, his dark, despairing comedies have been performed extensively both on Broadway, where his work has been nominated for four Tony Awards®, and in the West End.  He won an Academy Award for his short film Six Shooter and recently wrote and directed the film In Bruges.

The cast features Karl Miller as Padraic and John Lescault as his father Donny, Casie Platt as Mairead and Matthew McGloin as her brother Davey, Jason Stiles as James, Tim Getman as Christy, Michael Glenn as Brendan, and Joe Isenberg as Joey.  Joining director Jeremy Skidmore on the creative team are set designer Dan Conway, costume designer Kathleen Geldard, lighting designer Dan Covey, sound designer Mark Anduss, and fight choreographer Dale Girard.

Performances of The Lieutenant of Inishmore are September 23 – November 16 with the press opening on September 28 at 7:00 pm.  Tickets are $44 to $71, and are available by calling Ticketmaster at (703) 573-7328 or visiting www.signature-theatre.org.  Show times are Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30 pm, Thursday and Friday at 8:00 pm, Saturday at 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm, and Sunday at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm.  There will not be a matinee performance on Sunday, October 5.  Signature is offering a free "Brown Bag Thursday" lunchtime discussion with actor John Lescault on October 2 from 1:00 – 2:00 pm in the Mead Lobby. 

Signature Theatre is partially supported by a grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

 
ABOUT SIGNATURE

Under the leadership of Co-founder and Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer and Managing Director Maggie Boland, Signature is a non-profit professional theater company dedicated to producing contemporary musicals and plays, reinventing classic musicals, and developing new work. To date, Signature has presented over 25 world premiere productions and is renowned for combining Broadway-quality productions with intimate playing spaces.  In addition to the finest talent from the DC metropolitan area and New York, Signature has been a home to such theater luminaries as John Kander and Fred Ebb, Cameron Mackintosh, Terrence McNally, and the company's signature, Stephen Sondheim.  Signature has been nominated for 234 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in the professional theater and has been honored with 59 Helen Hayes Awards, including Outstanding Musical in 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2005, and 2006, and Outstanding Play in 1999.

Directions
Signature Theatre is just 12 minutes from downtown Washington, DC in Arlington's Shirlington Village.  The new theater complex is located at 4200 Campbell Avenue (22206) off I-395 at the Shirlington exit.  After the exit, blue Signature signs mark the way to the Theatre.  Free parking is available in two adjacent public garages.  Please note that Campbell Avenue is a new street and some GPS online mapping systems do not yet recognize Signature Theatre's address.  For directions visit www.signature-theatre.org.

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