The Colony Theatre today announced a two-week extension of its hit production, the Los Angeles Premiere of I’LL BE BACK BEFORE MIDNIGHT, written by Peter Colley and directed by Colley and David Rose. Additional performances of I’LL BE BACK BEFORE MIDNIGHT will be Friday, March 8 at 8pm, Saturday, March 9 at 3pm and 8pm, Sunday March 10 at 2pm, Friday, March 15 at 8pm, Saturday March 16 at 3pm and 8pm, and Sunday March 17 at 2pm, at The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street (at Cypress) adjacent to the Burbank Town Center.
I’LL BE BACK BEFORE MIDNIGHTis a thriller in the Alfred Hitchcock mode, with nods to GASLIGHT, TEN LITTLE INDIANS, SLEUTH, WAIT UNTIL DARK, and many others of the genre. Since its premiere in 1979 it has received nearly 1,000 productions worldwide and been translated into a dozen languages, yet, amazingly, has never been produced in Los Angeles. Until now. The Colony production of its LA premiere was greeted with almost unanimous rave reviews. (Typical comments were “Contains the kind of stomach-twists that will make you hoot with laughter even as you clutch your theater companion’s sleeve” and “This thrill ride of a play will have you screaming in laughter one moment and screaming in terror the next.”) Audience response has been equally enthusiastic, making I’LL BE BACK BEFORE MIDNIGHT one of the most popular productions in The Colony’s recent history.
The Story: Sweet, vulnerable Jan has had a nervous breakdown. To help her recover, her husband Greg rents a remote cabin in the country. Their neighbor is a strange farmer who delights in telling gruesome ghost stories. Then Greg’s beautiful, sophisticated sister arrives, and frightening events begin to occur. Is Jan still ill and imagining things? Is Greg trying to help her – or drive her crazy? Is the farmer an ally or an enemy? And what’s really going on with the sister? Mounting suspense and surprising twists turn a familiar country scene into a world of sudden terror.
ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM
PETER COLLEY (Playwright/Co-Director) was born in England where his grandfather owned the Pontefract Playhouse, a theatre that had been producing plays since the 1700s. He wrote and directed his first play at the Drama Studio in Sheffield, then became a resident playwright and director at The Grand Theatre, one of Canada’s largest regional theatres. His play The Donnellys broke the theatre’s box office record, and transferred to The National Arts Centre in the nation’s capital. His next play, The War Show, based on interviews he did with Canadian soldiers from WWII, continues to be performed from coast to coast. He wrote and directed The Vaudevillians for The Gallery Theatre, which was remounted in Toronto where it ran for almost a year. I’ll Be Back Before Midnight was commissioned by the Blyth Festival and was named by the Toronto Globe & Mail as the most produced Canadian play ever. Peter’s plays have been produced in 29 countries (7 countries during the past year), and have been translated into many languages including French, German, Italian, and Mandarin Chinese. He has had three national tours of Britain, two of his plays have been made into feature films, and he has also written for CBC, Fox, British ITV, and CBS. He was nominated for a 2000 Humanitas Prize for screenwriting, was a winner of a 2008 New American Play Award from Theatre Communications Group (Edgerton Foundation), and was the winner of the 2010 Florida Carbonell Award for Best New Work for his musical Cagney!
DAVID ROSE (Co-Director) has staged over 25 productions since he became a company member in 1990, including Year Zero, Visiting Mr. Green, Mary’s Wedding, and The Voice of the Prairie. Other Colony productions include Almost, Maine, “Master Harold” … and the boys (NAACP Theatre Award nomination), …Young Lady From Rwanda, Billy Bishop Goes to War, Sherlock’s Last Case, the L.A. Premiere of The Drawer Boy, Fuddy Meers, The Nerd, The Man Who Came to Dinner, the world premiere of Bea[u]tiful in the Extreme, Our Country’s Good (six L.A. Ovation Award nominations, Drama-Logue Award), the L.A. premiere of The Living, The Front Page (L.A. Weekly Award – Revival Production of the Year), You Can’t Take it With You (Drama-Logue Award), June Moon, and the West Coast Premiere of Peccadillo. He is the former Artistic Director of The New York Comedy Repertory Ensemble and a founding member of Washington, D.C.’s acclaimed Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.
KATE MAHER (Laura) was most recently seen in You Can’t Take It With You at The Antaeus Company as Alice Sycamore. Other theatre credits include Moliere’s The Bungler at A Noise Within and A Stubborn Woman with The Global Theatre Project at LATC. Kate received a BFA in Acting. The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Cunningham), Barbarians (Nadiezhda), and Mansfield Park (Mary Crawford). She has also studied at The British American Dramatic Academy in Oxford, England. TV/Film credits include Death and Cremation, Armynel and Lost Tapes: Bear Lake Monster
RON ORBACH (George) Colony debut. Broadway: Laughter on the 23rd Floor (later starred in the Chicago Premiere, National Tour, and ACT, Seattle, where he also directed); Amos Hart in Chicago (1st National Tour; Jeff Award / Ovation Nomination,1998); Dance of the Vampires; Never Gonna Dance. Off-Broadway: Harry Chapin: Lies & Legends (Also, Chicago / Equity Card, 1983; and Pasadena Playhouse / 1988 LADCC Award, Best Ensemble); Mrs. Dally Has a Lover (w/ Judith Ivey / Westbeth Theater Center); Hotel Suite (Roundabout); Mark St. Germain’s The God Committee (The Lambs). Regional / LA: Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2012 Jeff Nomination / Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Harry in The Prisoner Of Second Avenue (w/Jason Alexander / El Portal); Mack Sennett in Limelight (La Jolla Playhouse); Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof (Sacramento Music Circus / Directed by Glenn Casale); Pseudolus/Senex, in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Denver Center; Reprise / Directed by David Lee); The Gershwins’ An American in Paris (The Alley); Mr. Foreman / Marlowe in Enter Laughing (Berkshire Theater Festival / Directed by Scott Schwartz); Multiple roles in Turn of the Century (Starring Jeff Daniels / Directed by Tommy Tune); and David O. Selznick in Ron Hutchinson’s, Moonlight and Magnolias (Directed by Steven Robman / World Premiere), both at The Goodman. Most Memorable Film Performance: The DMV Tester in Clueless. TV: Numerous guest star roles. Voice Over: Lego; C.I.T.; Toadhog in Jungle Junction (Disney Jr. Channel). Direction: Jim McGrath’s The Ellis Jump (Met Theatre/ 1996 Ovation Award); The God Committee (Actor’s Co-op); Room Service (Open Fist).
TYLER PIERCE (Greg) is making his Colony Theatre debut. He most recently appeared at South Coast Rep’s NewSCRipts in Death of the Author. He has appeared in tours of Legends with Joan Collins and Linda Evans, Barriers and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Selected regional theatre credits include of How to Write a New Book for the Bible (South Coast Rep, Berkeley Rep and Seattle Repertory Theatre); Good People (Geffen Playhouse); The Gronholm Method (Falcon Theatre); Death of a Salesman (The Old Globe); A Streetcar Named Desire (Guthrie Theater); The Night Is a Child (world premiere at Milwaukee Repertory Theater and at Pasadena Playhouse); Crime and Punishment (Berkeley Repertory); Dracula, A Christmas Carol (Actors Theatre of Louisville); Macbeth, Pericles, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lorenzaccio, The Tempest (The Shakespeare Theatre Company); Youth Inc. (McCarter Theatre Center); and Fat Pig, The Internationalist (regional premiere at The Studio Theatre includes work at Theatre at St. Clement’s, Circle East, New York Classical Theatre, HERE Arts Center, Atlantic Theater Company, Atlantic Theatre Studio, Theatre for a New Audience, Lark Play Development Center, New Dramatists, and New Georges. He has appeared in the films The Kiss, Best Friends, A Professional, Alchera, Modern Day Arranged Marriage, and The Rub and on television in Kidnapped, The Guiding Light, Third Watch, Runner (pilot), and Asteroid.
JOANNA STRAPP (Jan) was previously seen at The Colony in Mary’s Wedding, in which she understudied and performed the title role. A member of The Antaeus Company, she has performed in their productions of Peace In Our Time (2012 Ovation and LA Weekly awards for Best Production, Intimate Theater), The Seagull, Macbeth, and The Malcontent, as well as numerous workshops and readings. Other recent theatre credits include The Laguna Playhouse (The Pursuit of Happiness), The Indian Wells Theater (Trying), The Production Company (Mrs. Warren’s Profession, How I Learned to Drive, Breaking The Code) The Skylight (Beautified), The Zephyr (Slasher), The Still Speaking Theatre (The Runner Stumbles), The Getty Villa (The Vesuvius Prophecies, and the upcoming Oedipus The Man) as well as work at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. On television, she has appeared in House, The United States of Tara, Medium, and Studio 60 on The Sunset Strip, among others. She is a graduate of the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama. JoannaStrapp.com
The evocative physical production elements for I’LL BE BACK BEFORE MIDNIGHT are by an award-winning design team. The remote farmhouse in the country was designed by Scenic Designer Stephen Gifford (LA WEEKLY Award – Lady). The dark and stormy night was created by Lighting Designer Luke Moyer (Ovation Award – Dracula) and Sound Designer Drew Dalzell (Ovation Award – Songs for a New World, Ovation nomination – Old Wicked Songs). The costumes that define each character are by Costume Designer Dianne K. Graebner (Ovation nominations – The Brothers Karamazov & Battle Hymn). The creepy props and set dressing are by Colony Theatre resident designers MacAndMe.
ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING
Additional performances of I’LL BE BACK BEFORE MIDNIGHT will be Friday, March 8 at 8pm, Saturday, March 9 at 3pm and 8pm, Sunday March 10 at 2pm, Friday, March 15 at 8pm, Saturday
March 16 at 3pm and 8pm, and Sunday March 17 at 2pm. Ticket prices range from $20.00 – $42.00 (student, senior, and group discounts are available). For tickets, call the Colony Theatre Box Office at 818/558-7000 ext. 15 or online at www.ColonyTheatre.Org.
