HILARIOUS BATTLE OF THE SEXES AT BERKELEY REP FEATURES GEOFF HOYLE AND SHARON LOCKWOOD IN THE WORLD-PREMIERE FARCE, FOR BETTER OR WORSE BERKELEY CA, FEBRUARY 11, 2005Fact Sheet Spring is the season to celebrate marriage, so Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Arizona Theatre Company (ATC) unite to present the world-premiere production of For Better or Worse, a wickedly funny farce on married life. It has all the components of great comedy: a pregnant wife, an unhinged husband, a military contract for unbreakable chamber pots–and a civilized lunch with a man, his wife and her lover. Add the comedic genius of Geoff Hoyle and watch the hilarité hit the fan in his new adaptation of Georges Feydeau’s classic comedies. For Better or Worse is directed by ATC Artistic Director David Ira Goldstein and features a cast of inspired comic actors, including Bay Area favorite Sharon Lockwood and Berkeley fifth-grader Gideon Lazarus, the first student from the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre to appear on its stage. Performed on the Thrust Stage, the show begins previews at Berkeley Rep on March 11, opens on March 16 and closes April 24, 2005. Transferring directly from its initial run in Arizona, the production is supported locally by Executive Producers Marjorie Randolph and Stephen K. Cassidy, Season Sponsor BART and two production sponsors: Contra Costa Newspapers and Union Bank of California. For Better or Worse is Hoyle’s uproarious translation and adaptation of two one-act comedies by Feydeau, which skewer family values and the exalted state of matrimony. As Bastien Follavoine, Hoyle plays a respectable but hapless husband in the eye of a domestic hurricane, dealing with assaults on every side. In the first act, mayhem reigns over the imminent birth of his first child. In the second act, the child has grown into a holy terror, just in time for a critical lunch with a government official. Set in Paris just before World War I, this collision between Hoyle, the master of modern clowning, and Feydeau, a master of French comedy, leaves helpless laughter in its wake. “It was with surprise and excitement that I discovered the acerbic one-act comedies of marital discord written toward the end of Feydeau’s life,” Hoyle said. “They paint a picture of marriage as a battlefield where two egos stubbornly struggle through a series of never-ending disputes over trivialities. But there is hilarity and absurdity…He never lost his touch as a comic playwright.” “I’ve worked with Geoff since our days at the Eureka Theatre in the eighties, and he still cracks me up,” said Tony Taccone, artistic director of Berkeley Rep. “He is one of the funniest people on the planet. I’m glad our audiences agree and welcome each new expression of his wit.” Georges Feydeau (1862–1921) is best known for his hilarious bedroom farces, including A Flea in Her Ear, Hotel Paradiso and The Lady from Maxim’s. Late in his career, while separated from his wife, he wrote five one-act plays that portray marriage as a battleground between partners. These scripts, even more compact and biting than his previous work, are often referred to as the playwright’s “conjugal farces.” Fluent in French, Hoyle adapted two of them to create For Better or Worse: Purging The Baby (On purge bébé, 1910) and Leonie’s Early (Léonie est en avance, ou le mal joli, 1911). For Better or Worse marks the fourth Hoyle premiere to be staged at Berkeley Rep, following The Convict’s Return (1992), Geni(us) (1994) and The First 100 Years (1999). It is also the third co-production between ATC and Berkeley Rep, a worthy successor to The Convict’s Return (1992) and The Heiress (1997). Geoff Hoyle trained with Marcel Marceau’s teacher, Etienne Decroux, and later clowned for Cirque du Soleil, Circus Flora and–with partners Bill Irwin and Larry Pisoni–the Pickle Family Circus. Hoyle created the role of Zazu in the original Broadway cast of The Lion King, receiving a New York Drama Desk nomination. He recently performed off-Broadway in Irwin’s Mr. Fox, and his solo show, Feast of Fools, also played off-Broadway and at theatres nationwide. His award-winning work has been seen in New York, Paris, London, Berlin, Taiwan and the former Soviet Union. He has given many unforgettable performances at Berkeley Rep, including comic roles in The Alchemist, Endgame, The Green Bird, Rhinoceros, Servant of Two Masters and Volpone. While working on For Better or Worse, Hoyle was supported by a National Theatre Artist’s Residency Fellowship from Theatre Communications Group and the Pew Charitable Trust. Hoyle is joined onstage by frequent acting partner Sharon Lockwood, a veteran of Bay Area theatre who portrays his wife, Julie Follavoine. Her countless credits at Berkeley Rep include The Convict’s Return with Hoyle, as well as The Alchemist, Hydriotaphia, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Magic Fire, The Oresteia, Pentecost, Reckless, The Triumph of Love and Volpone. She also has a long association with American Conservatory Theater, and was a fixture with the San Francisco Mime Troupe for many years, appearing in more than 30 shows. Most recently, she played Barbara in the world premiere of Nickel and Dimed at Seattle’s Intiman Theatre and subsequently at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Completing the riotous cast are several other faces familiar to Bay Area audiences. Lynnda Ferguson (Mme. de Champrinet/Mme. Chouilloux) has performed on Broadway, off-Broadway and in many regional theatres, including Berkeley Rep’s productions of Heartbreak House, Major Barbara, The Misanthrope and Private Lives. Jarion Monroe (Adheume Chouilloux) appeared with Hoyle in Rhinoceros at Berkeley Rep, and his frequent roles on local stages include two recent world premieres at the Magic Theatre: The Right Kind of People and Sex Habits of the American Woman. Amy Resnick (Clemence/Rose) has a diverse career that includes The Laramie Project at Berkeley Rep, the film version of Josh Kornbluth’s Haiku Tunnel and off-Broadway productions of Death of Frank, Goldberg Variations and I Think I Like Girls. Rudy Guerrero (Horatio Garcia Zarzuela de Zaragoza y Pau/M. de Champrinet) has worked with many local companies including American Conservatory Theater, the Magic Theatre, Theatreworks and Word for Word. Berkeley ten-year-old Gideon Lazarus and Danville nine-year-old Austin Greene will alternate as Toto Follavoine, the son in the center of the comic storm. Director David Ira Goldstein has staged over 30 shows at ATC, from classics to new plays to musicals, including the world premieres of Inventing van Gogh, Rocket Man, Private Eyes, Over the Moon and Dracula by Steven Dietz. Goldstein has also been a guest director at theatres across the country, including the Empty Space Theatre, Illusion Theater, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, Portland Repertory Theater, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and Seattle Repertory Theater. Prior to joining ATC, Mr. Goldstein was associate artistic director of A.C.T. Theatre in Seattle. The artistic team includes two nationally respected designers with extensive experience at Berkeley Rep. Kent Dorsey (scenic designer) has worked with major theatres and prominent directors across the country; he first worked at Berkeley Rep in 1985 and is designing his 20th production for the theatre. A Berkeley resident and graduate of the California Institute of Art, York Kennedy (lighting designer) has won numerous awards for his work at theatres nationwide; his nine shows at Berkeley Rep include recent productions of The House of Blue Leaves and The Guys. Their collaborators on this show are David Kay Mickelsen (costume designer), who has dressed more than 150 productions at regional theatres such as the Cleveland Play House, Denver Center Theatre Company, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Portland Center Stage; Fitz Patton (composer), whose recent scores include the current off-Broadway hit Modern Orthodox, Warren Leight’s James and Annie, James Lapine’s Fran’s Bed and Naomi Wallace’s Things of Dry Hours and Brian Jerome Peterson (sound designer), who has 44 shows to his credit in his 19 seasons with ATC. The stage manager for this production is Kevin Johnson. There will be five special events associated with this production: • Teen Night @ the Rep begins at 6 PM on Friday, March 11. The Berkeley Rep School of Theatre invites teens to have dinner, attend a preview of For Better or Worse and participate in a behind-the-scenes discussion with a member of the artistic team. Tickets are $5 for Teen Council members, $20 for all other teens. For reservations and more information, call 510.647.2978 or e-mail school@berkeleyrep.org. • Opening night festivities take place on Wednesday, March 16. • Three post-play discussions moderated by theatre professionals follow the performances on Thursday, March 31; Tuesday, April 12 and Friday, April 15. Tickets to For Better or Worse are priced between $20 and $55, depending on the day of the week. Discounts are available for groups of 15 or more, as well as half-price rush tickets for students and seniors. For every weekday performance, 20 half-price HotTix go on sale that day at noon at the Berkeley Rep box office (cash only). Berkeley Rep also offers $20 tickets for anyone under the age of 30 with valid ID; this discount is subject to availability and is not offered for Saturday night performances. Berkeley Rep’s Thrust Stage and its box office are located at 2025 Addison Street, one block from Berkeley’s downtown BART station and close to AC Transit bus lines. The theatre is accessible to the handicapped, offering wheelchair seating and special services for those with hearing- or vision-impairment. For tickets or information, call 510.647.2949 or toll-free at 1.888.4BRTTix—or simply click berkeleyrep.org. ABOUT BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE Founded in 1968, the Tony Award-winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre has established a national reputation for its ambitious programming and dynamic productions. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Tony Taccone and Managing Director Susan Medak, Berkeley Rep seeks to engage its audience in an ongoing dialogue of ideas. Through its bold choice of material and vivid style of production, Berkeley Rep reflects a commitment to diversity, excitement and quality. The company is especially well known for its presentations of important new dramatic voices and its fresh adaptations of seldom-seen classics. In 2001, Berkeley Rep opened The Roda Theatre, a 600-seat proscenium theatre that complements the 400-seat Thrust Stage, and the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, housed in the Nevo Education Center. The addition of these two buildings has transformed what was once a single stage into a vital and versatile performing arts complex. FOR BETTER OR WORSE WHO based on plays by Georges Feydeau translated and adapted by Geoff Hoyle directed by David Ira Goldstein designers: Kent Dorsey (sets); David Kay Mickelsen (costumes); York Kennedy (lights); Fitz Patton (composer); Brian Jerome Peterson (sound) featuring: Lynnda Ferguson, Austin Greene, Rudy Guerrero, Geoff Hoyle, Gideon Lazarus, Sharon Lockwood, Jarion Monroe and Amy Resnick WHAT For Better or Worse WHERE Berkeley Rep’s Thrust Stage / 2025 Addison Street / Berkeley WHEN • previews March 11–15, 2005 / performances March 16–April 24, 2005 • Tuesdays and Fridays, 8 PM • Wednesdays, 7 PM (except opening) • Thursdays and Saturdays, 2 PM & 8 PM • Sundays, 2 PM & 7 PM • no matinees during previews or on Thursdays March 17, March 31 and April 14 • no show on Friday, April 22 SPECIAL EVENTS TEEN NIGHT @ THE REP: Friday, March 11, 2005, 6 PM OPENING NIGHT: Wednesday, March 16, 2005, 8 PM POST-PLAY DISCUSSIONS: Thursday, March 31, 2005; Tuesday, April 12, 2005; Friday, April 15, 2005 TICKET PRICES Under 30 with valid ID (some restrictions apply) $20.00 Preview Performances (Fri/Sat/Tue 8PM, Sun 7PM) $39.00 Opening Night (Wed 8PM) $50.00 Tuesday and Thursday evenings 8PM $43.00 Wednesday evening 7PM $43.00 Friday evening 8PM $49.00 Saturday evening 8PM $55.00 Sunday evening 7PM $45.00 Thursday and Saturday matinees 2PM $43.00 Sunday matinee 2PM $45.00 DISCOUNTS 20 half-price HotTix go on sale at NOON Tuesday–Friday Student/Senior half-price RUSH tickets sold one-half hour before curtain Groups of 15+ contact 510.647.2918 or groups@berkeleyrep.org TICKET INFO 510.647.2949 or 1.888.4BRTTix (toll free) or www.berkeleyrep.org For photos, interviews, etc. contact: Terence Keane, Director of Public Relations 510.647.2917, tkeane@berkeleyrep.org BACK TO TOP