For Immediate Release: September 26, 2006
Media Contact: Greg DeCandia, BCKSEET Productions, 267.577.3007

Classes clash and emotions break loose in Edward Albee's American masterpiece The Zoo Story. The winner of the Village Voice Obie Award for best play, this one-act satire exposes the battle between middle-class America and the outcasts of society. Performances will be held October 19th through November 18th (Thurs. - Sat.) at the Society Hill Playhouse's Red Room , located at 507 S. 8th Street. The performance starts at 7:30 pm; seating is general. Tickets are $21 and include one drink and a $1 donation to the Philadelphia Zoo. Tickets are available at the Society Hill Playhouse's box office or by calling 215-923-0210. The performance on October 19th is part of the Philadelphia Theatre Alliance's Free Night of Theatre.

The Zoo Story is the story of two men from very different backgrounds who meet one Sunday afternoon in New York City's Central Park. Jerry, a disheveled and lonely man from the wrong side of the park, confronts Peter, a middle-aged and middle-class gentleman on a park bench. What results from this meeting is Albee's candid and sometimes grotesque exploration of absurdity, isolation and identity that has shocked and moved audiences for over 45 years.

The first play that Albee wrote as an adult, The Zoo Story was originally performed in Berlin, Germany in 1959 -- initially deemed too controversial for American audiences. In a short time, however, The Zoo Story was widely acclaimed by critics who thought that Albee was heralding a revitalized New York theatre scene. Albee's other works include Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Three Tall Women, A Delicate Balance, Seascape and The American Dream.

BCKSEET Productions is pleased to bring this piece back to P hiladelphia and the historic Society Hill Playhouse's Red Room. After producing Patrick Marber's Closer, Tony Kushner's Angels in America, Part I and Manuel Puig's Kiss of the Spider Woman, BCKSEET's Producing Artistic Director G. DeCandia is excited to be presenting yet another challenging text: "Having begun our exploration of absurdist theatre during the Spark 10-for-10 festival with 'Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey,' we wanted to continue our Alpha season with the first play by the top dog of this genre, Mr. Edward Albee's The Zoo Story."

A soon-to-be BCKSEET trademark, the company is creating an originally composed score for the piece by John von Glaubitz.

The Zoo Story will feature Gene D'Alessandro and Mark Cairns as Jerry and Peter, respectively. D'Alessandro's passion for The Zoo Story lies in Albee's text: "I am thrilled to have the opportunity to explore Mr. Albee's seemingly timeless play. It's rawness, power, truthfulness and topicality continue to amaze me. I look forward to an amazing ride and ideally a riveting night of theater."

For Cairns, the most interesting aspect of portraying these characters lies in the overall experience: "Besides it being a great script and a talented company, I like these sort of projects that are just two or three people. They're scarier. Somehow, being in the kind of position that makes you feel more vulnerable as an actor makes it a much more intense experience. And having a small cast makes it possible to really dig deep into the characters and the text."

Prior to the performance, BCKSEET will present "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, Part II or How We Got America's Most Wanted and the New York Post." Playwright Jonathan Reynolds takes the audience on an imagined epiphany in publisher Rupert Murdoch's childhood. This production features Sara Madden, Adrienne Maitland, Claire Golden Drake, and Ted Wioncek . In July, BCKSEET originally presented "Tintern Abbey" as part of the Philadelphia Theatre Alliance's 10-for-10 SPARK Showcase Festival. Toby Zinman of the City Paper wrote, " BCKSEET Productions ends the evening on a witty note" and described Claire Golden Drake's portrayal of Rupert Murdoch as "especially good."

ABOUT BCKSEET PRODUCTIONS
Founded in 2000 at Emerson College in Boston, BCKSEET Productions has traveled an exhilarating six-year journey; it has produced shows in Boston, New York City and Guatemala since its inception. This year marks its third season in Philadelphia and as the resident theatre company of The Red Room at The Society Hill Playhouse. BCKSEET Productions is an active member of the Philadelphia Theatre Alliance ( http://www.theatrealliance.org) and has participated in the Philly Fringe/LiveArts Festival, the Philadelphia Theatre Alliance's Free Night of Theatre and the SPARK Showcase Festival. BCKSEET Productions' mission statement is "to produce art with the talents of multidisciplinary artists who educate, entertain and enlighten society with the ideals of classical, contemporary and original cutting edge works of art."

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR AND CAST

Steven Wright (Director) is a Philadelphia actor, director, writer and teacher. The Philadelphia chapter of his career started as a Dorothy Haas acting apprentice at the Walnut Street Theatre where he performed in the educational outreach shows and several of their 2001 season productions. Steven is also an Independence Foundation fellowship recipient and graduated from the New York Film Academy's Princeton University campus.

Gene D'Alessandro (Jerry) is thrilled at the opportunity to perform in Edward Albee's powerful play. He recently performed in Sean O'Casey's The Shadow of a Gunman for the Irish Repertory Theatre of Philadelphia. Other credits include The Two Gentlemen of Verona for the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival; Cymbeline for the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival; and A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Witch of Edmonton for the REV Theatre Company in New York. Off stage, D'Alessandro is an accomplished reporter and disc jockey.

Mark Cairns (Peter) most recently appeared in three from the Bard -- he played the Friar/Watch in Commonwealth Classic Theatre's Much Ado About Nothing, and played the title roles in Hamlet (Arden Shakespeare Gild) and Macbeth (Academy Theatre). Additionally, he understudied the role of Oberon in Shakespeare in Hollywood (The Wilma) and was seen in Wandering Rom's "Masque of the Red Death" in Philadelphia and in New York City's Metropolitan Playhouse. He will soon be seen in a bad 70's wig in the upcoming National Geographic documentary Outbreak (working title).

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Edward Albee (born March 12, 1928) is an American playwright known for such works as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Zoo Story, Three Tall Women and The American Dream. Born in Washington D.C., he was adopted by Reed A. Albee (the son of vaudeville magnate Edward Franklin Albee II) and his wife Frances and grew up in West Chester, NY. He graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania at the age of 17, and attended Trinity College and Columbia University. A member of the Dramatists Guild Council, he has received three Pulitzer Prizes for drama for A Delicate Balance, Seascape and Three Tall Women. He has also received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Gold Medal in Drama from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, as well as the Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts. Albee's works are considered well-crafted and often unsympathetic explorations of the modern condition. His early works, such as The Zoo Story , reflect a mastery and American perspective of Absurdism, which found its peak in works by European playwrights such as Jean Genet, Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco.

PHOTO AND FILE NOTE TO EDITORS:
For photographs of the production or other images, please email Oscar Dubon at oz@bckseet.com.
For PDF or Microsoft Word files of this release, please email presscontact@bckseet.com.

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