For Immediate Release: September 27, 2005
Media Contact: Carol Murray, Philadelphia Theatre Workshop, 215.248.1304

Having met the requirements for participation in the 2006 Barrymore Awards after only their second season Philadelphia Theater workshop kicks-off the 2005 – 2006 season in November with the Philadelphia premiere of Swimming in the Shallows. Directed by Bill Felty, Swimming in the Shallows is an off-beat romantic comedy written by award winning playwright Adam Bock. Produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc., five friends navigate the complicated worlds of a lesbian wedding, the oppressive demands of a capitalist society and falling passionately in love with a shark. A quirkily touching story anchored in the turbulent waters of love and soul searching, Swimming in the Shallows opens November 19 and runs through December 4, 2005 at Walnut Street Theatre Studio Five.

Appearing mid-season, Philadelphia Theatre Workshop introduces audiences to the work of local playwright Nicholas Wardigo with the production of The Biggest Box of Crayons Directed by Robin Eisenberg. Based in Ardmore, Wardigo is the 2004 Pew Fellow for Literature and Scriptworks. The first full production of this work, The Biggest Box of Crayons is an intense character study of a family in crisis, featuring three generations of men, wrestling with real and imagined memories as they navigate the emotional terrain of aging while caring for one of their own. Opening on Apri 28, 2006 at Mum Puppet theatre The Biggest Box of Crayons runs through May 7, 2006.

Rounding out the end of the season through its PlayShops series, Philadelphia Theatre Workshop presents its first workshop production of a new work by three local artists. 50 West 50, an innovative cabaret-style musical is the brainchild of Philadelphia Theatre Workshop Co-Artistic Director and book writer Bill Felty, local lyricist Frumi Cohen and composer Greg Wilder. In 50 West 50, the three collaborators hailing from Philadelphia and Yardley, PA, bring together four unlikely singer/musician friends and turn a dimly lit basement of a New York restaurant into the hottest new club in Manhattan. Love triangles, financial woes, creative differences and some leaking pipes threaten their success. The three workshop productions of 50 West 50 will run in early summer 2006.

For tickets and information about their season’s productions and PlayShops visit the Philadelphia Theatre Workshop web site at www.philadelphiatheatreworkshop.org or call the box office at 215-635-2137.

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