For Immediate Release: July 13, 2005
Media Contact: Jane Stojak, Triangle Theater, 215.760.0230

Edward Albee’s Marriage Play is returning to the Triangle Theater for four performances in August before it moves to the six-year-old Deertrees Theatre Festival in Harrison, Maine. Originally produced by Random Acts of Theater in February 2003, the RAT production was hailed by the critics as an “unnerving portrayal” with “mature actors in complete command of their material.” Performances are Wednesday through Saturday, August 17 – 20 at 8:00 PM at the Triangle Theater in Philadelphia.

Jane Stojak, Triangle’s founder and the artistic director of Random Acts of Theater, directs Marriage Play. It stars its original cast, Charlotte Patton of New York City and Michael Horowitz of Ringoes, New Jersey.

Marriage Play centers on the troubled relationship of Husband and Wife, never named. In the course of the play, Albee pits these two middle-aged, highly articulate married people against each other for what becomes a wild ride in verbal and physical entanglements. What is funny becomes shocking; what is mundane becomes frightening. In its original production at the Triangle Theater in February 2003, the critics praised Patton and Horowitz, Wife and Husband, as “pitch perfect.”

Michael Horowitz, a practicing psychotherapist, relishes the opportunity to play the role again after a 2-1/2 year hiatus. “I’m fascinated by how different I see the Husband this time around – they’re all the same words but have taken on wonderfully new layers of meaning,” said Horowitz. One critic lauded Horowitz as “communicat[ing] Husband’s desperation and newfound awareness with the wide-eyed wonder of a man who has just discovered the meaning of life.”

Charlotte Patton, a cabaret singer as well as a seasoned actor, jumped at the chance to be the Wife again. “I feel like I can bring so much more experience to this role this time around,” Patton said. “Wife has personality quirks and character traits that I didn’t even recognize before – that’s the work of a genius playwright like Edward Albee.” Patton’s work in the earlier production was simply described by one critic as “beautiful.”

Jane Stojak is directing this go-round of the play that was originally directed for the Triangle Theater by Ed Chemaly (who recently starred in RAT’s production of Moolah and was chosen as one of the best actors of the 2004-2005 season by the Philadelphia Inquirer). “I loved Ed’s direction,” Stojak said. “I see my job as building on the beautiful and strong foundation that he established for the play – a director rarely receives such a gift.”

Marriage Play is the third show that Stojak is directing for the annual Deertrees Theatre Festival. She directed The Gin Game in August 2004 and Art in August 2003. The festival consists of four plays over the month of August and is produced by Thomas Sullivan and his company, GreenLight Theatre Works of New York City. The historic Deertrees Theatre has been called “Maine’s most enchanting theatre” with an illustrious parade of major stars and productions in the 1930’s and 1940’s including Tallulah Bankhead, Ethyl Barrymore and Edward Everett Horton. The theatre fell into disrepair until the 1980’s when the newly formed Deertrees Theatre Foundation raise the money for the open-air theatre’s stylish renovation.

Stojak founded Random Acts of Theater in 1999 to produce the original works of local playwrights and to revive and re-interpret the classics.

Tickets for Marriage Play are $20. Seniors and students are entitled to $15 tickets with valid IDs. The Triangle Theater is located at 1220 N. Lawrence Street, Philadelphia. Call 215-763-0110 or e-mail tickets@triangletheater.com for information or reservations, or visit www.triangletheater.com for more information. Performances at the Festival are scheduled for August 24 – 26.

The Triangle Theater was created in 2001. Since 1999, its producing arm, Random Acts of Theater has produced 10 plays based on original material, most recently, Arje Shaw’s world premiere of Moolah. The Triangle Theater was honored in November 2004 by the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia with a Barrymore award for New Collaborations in Theatre, for their collaboration with KitchenAid’s The Book and The Cook festival on the Spring 2004 productions of Arje Shaw’s A Catered Affair” and Michael A. Carson’s Front of House.

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