Download THEATRE RHINOCEROS

THEATRE RHINOCEROS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: David Hyry (415) 864-3547
February 24, 2009
THREE ON A PARTY
Stories by Gertrude Stein, Tennessee Williams and Armistead Maupin
Theatre – Comedy, Drama
Theatre Rhinoceros & Word for Word
Production Companies:
Title:
Three on a Party
By Gertrude Stein, Tennessee Williams and Armistead Maupin
Directors:
Delia MacDougall (“Miss Furr and Miss Skeene”) and
John Fisher (“Two on a Party” and “Suddenly Home”)
Cast:
Sheila Balter*, Brendan Godfrey,* Ryan Tasker, JoAnne Winter*
(*indicates member Actors Equity Assoc.)
Venue:
Theatre Rhinoceros, Mainstage
2926 16th Street (at South VanNess/BART)
San Francisco, CA 94103
Performances:
May 13 – June 7, 2009
Wed. – Sat. @ 8 PM; Sun. @ 3 PM (except 5/17/09 @ 7 PM only)
Previews:
Wed. 5/13 – Fri. 5/15/09 (No press at previews please)
Opening Night:
Sat., 5/16/09
Special Evening with
Armistead Maupin:
Sun., 5/17/09 at 7 PM
Box Office:
(415) 861-5079
TIX:
$15 - $35; Evening with Armistead Maupin $30-$50
Press:
Visit our website at www.TheRhino.org or contact David Hyry
at (415) 864-3547
Publicity pictures will soon be available for download on our website — www.TheRhino.org
Theatre Rhinoceros and Word for Word join forces to present three stories in the Word for Word
style on The Rhino stage.
Evening Summary
Three on a Party (three stories by Gertrude Stein, Tennessee Williams and Armistead Maupin)
charts both a history of queerdom in the twentieth century and the slow coming out of this thing
called “same-sex marriage.” Armistead Maupin has called Stein and Williams “the king and the
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queen” of LGBT writing and you can decide which is which. But he is unarguably the third of
America’s great queer literary royal family. From Stein’s Dadaesque tale of two lesbians in
1910, to Williams’ richly written fantasy of unbridled sex in the straight laced fifties, to the
hilarious shenanigans of Maupin’s very San Francisco extended family in the 1990s, Three on a
Party takes a literary journey across time and genre as it amuses, titillates and lays bare the
passions of gay men and women.
Individual Short Story Plot Summaries
Gertrude Stein’s short story “Miss Furr and Miss Skeene”:
Set in 1910 America and Paris, Gertrude Stein's extremely subtle, experimental word
portrait is an insider view of two artists from the Midwest whom she observed at her
famous salon. The saga of these women’s lives is in constant motion, exploring their entry into
the Bohemian world and the subsequent change which occurs between them as lovers and as
devotees of life outside artistic and sexual convention. A gentle and provocative work by
America’s first great lesbian of letters.
“Miss Furr and Miss Skein” is directed by acclaimed Word-for-Word director Delia MacDougall
who has directed for Word for Word such hits as Immortal Heart,(Winner: Critics Circle Award:
Production/Director/Ensemble) Oil! The Ride (Nomination: Critics Circle Award: Production/
set design/ Sound), Winesburg, Ohio (Winner: Critics Circle Award:
Production/Director/Ensemble) Mrs. Dalloway’s Party and The Confessions of Madame Psyche.
Delia has also directed for Campo Santo
Tennessee Williams' short story "Two on a Party":
A very unlikely couple takes a sexual road trip in this poignant and funny adventure. A startling
picture of the sexual mores of the 1950's written by an icon of American Theatre. When Cora
meets Billy they are just a couple of hungry predators on a couple of New York bar stools. But
soon they find a bond in their ravenous lust for men. This sumptuously written story conveys all
the heat, whimsy and aching desire of the Master’s great plays The Glass Menagerie and A
Streetcar Named Desire. It also reminds us that America’s greatest playwright was also one of
her greatest prose stylists. At once moving, exciting and bitterly mournful, “Two on a Party” is
Williams’ thesis statement for the great American novel he never wrote. It is also a heart
breaking tale of companionship and certainly one the funniest and fun filled stories Williams
ever set to paper.
Armistead Maupin's short story "Suddenly Home":
Local treasure Armistead Maupin (The Night Listener, Tales of the City), tells the story of Tess, a
woman doubting her romantic relationship. She looks for guidance to her brother and his
boyfriend and sees in their relationship the true meaning of love. America’s master narrator of
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“the gay life” turns his pen to a tale of same-sex marriage. Laced with all his familiar wit,
compassion and love of San Francisco, Maupin’s tale captures Baghdad by the Bay at a time of
dramatic change, the early nineties. In the wake of Harvey Milk and liberation comes
responsibility and commitment. Maupin’s little family struggles to find answers to life’s
confusing propositions: Will Tess find true love? Will her brother and Jamie hold onto their
love? Will they all settle down to enjoy Mel Gibson’s butt in Lethal Weapon?
“Two on a Party” and “Suddenly Home” are directed by acclaimed director-playwright John
Fisher, the two-time Glickman Award winning creator of Medea: The Musical and Combat! An
American Melodrama. John’s work has also been seen at ACT, Yale School of Drama and on
HBO. He is the recipient of the GLAAD Media Award, the Goldie Award, two Cable Car
Awards, the LA Weekly Award for Best Musical and ten Critics Circle Awards.
Theatre Rhinoceros (John Fisher, Artistic Director), America’s longest running professional
queer theatre, develops and produces works of theatre that enlighten, enrich, and explore both the
ordinary and extraordinary aspects of our queer community.
Word for Word Performing Arts Company is an ensemble whose mission is to tell great
stories with elegant theatricality, staging performances of classic and contemporary fiction.
Founded in 1993 by Susan Harloe and JoAnne Winter, Word for Word believes in the power of
the short story to provide solace, compassion, and insight into our daily lives.
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