Luna Theater Company concludes their critically acclaimed fifth season with the Philadelphia revival of True West by Sam Shepard. True West will be performed at the Walnut Street Theatre’s Studio 5 located at 825 Walnut Street in Philadelphia, with previews on May 9th, 10th and 11th, opening on Saturday May 12th and running through June 2, 2007. Tickets range from $10 to $33 and can be purchased by calling Luna Theater Company’s box office at (215) 704-0033 or by visiting www.LunaTheater.org. Media interviews, actor bios and digital photos available upon request.

Story Summary
True West is a comic nightmare of confrontation by Sam Shepard, America's most volatile and mysterious major playwright. Austin is an ambitious screenwriter working on a potential million-dollar deal when an ill wind off the desert blows in his brother, Lee, a hobo thief with a six-pack and a case of sibling rivalry. In a role reversal as intricate as it is riveting, the brothers head toward Shepard's hilarious version of the Western movie showdown.

About the Playwright
Born Samuel Shepard Rogers (nicknamed "Steve") on November 5, 1943, in Fort Sheridan, Illinois, Sam Shepard would later change his name--reportedly because "Steve Rogers was the name of the original Captain America." He would work as a stable hand, herdsman, orange picker, sheep shearer, bus boy, waiter and musician before beginning his career as a playwright in New York in 1964 with the Theatre Genesis production of two one-act plays, Cowboys and The Rock Garden. A product of the 1960s counterculture, Shepard combines wild humor, grotesque satire, myth, and a sparse, haunting language to create a subversive pop art vision of America. His characters are typically loners and drifters caught between a mythical past and the mechanized present. His first full-length play, La Turista, was performed at the American Place Theatre and won an Obie in 1967. Curse of the Starving Class (1978), marked new direction in Shepard's approach. The plays written from this point on feature a somewhat more realistic style, although they retain devices of disturbing and imaginative surrealism such as the absent-but-present father who is able to confer with the son and daughter who have conjured him up in Fool for Love (1982). In 1979 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Buried Child, and in 1984 he gained an Oscar nomination for his part as Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff. Other notable plays include A Lie of the Mind (1985), Simpatico (1993) and The Late Henry Moss (2000). His screenplay for Paris, Texas won the Golden Palm Award at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival. In 1994 he was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

About the Producing Artistic Director
GREGORY SCOTT CAMPBELL is Founder and Producing Artistic Director of the Luna Theater Company. Previously with the Luna, Gregory performed in The Zoo Story, Oleanna, No Exit and Waiting for Godot. He has also directed Fool for Love, The Turn of the Screw, Burn This, Agnes of God, Unwrap Your Candy and Lebensraum. Gregory is the original founder of the Spark 10 Minute Play Festival and is a former board member of the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia and chair of the Spark Small Theatre Committee.

About the Featured Actor
CHRIS FLUCK (Lee) most recently appeared for the Luna Theater Company as Dr. Simian/Ensemble in Doug Wright’s Unwrap Your Candy. Other recent credits include Pale in Burn This (Luna), Eddie in Fool for Love (Luna), The Shark in Swimming in the Shallows (Philadelphia Theatre Workshop) and as Dale Davids (Kiabutsu) for the 2005 Live Arts Festival production of Northern Liberty. Chris can be seen in various commercial and industrial projects, and currently finished an independent film, Potholes, for 12th House Productions. This former ironworker/heavy metal drummer turned yoga instructor/actor holds a B.A. in theatre from Temple University.

About Luna Theater Company
Founded in 2002, the Luna Theater Company is a professional theater company dedicated to presenting thought-provoking works by contemporary and classical playwrights to audiences in both Philadelphia and South Jersey. By producing intense drama that crosses cultural, ethnic and social lines, Luna seeks to attract open-minded theatergoers by delivering performances that are challenging, educational and entertaining. Luna Theater Company is the only professional theater company based in both South Jersey and Philadelphia and is a member of the Theater Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. Funding for Luna’s 2006-2007 Season has been provided in part by the Phoebe W. Haas Charitable Trust and the Samuel S. Fels Fund. For more information on Luna Theater and its upcoming performances, please visit www.LunaTheater.org.

Luna’s 2007-2008 Season Announced
The Luna Theater Company’s riveting 6th season will include the U.S Premiere of British playwright, Laura Wade’s Breathing Corpses, the Philadelphia Premiere of Craig Wright’s Grace and will conclude with the revival of Israel Horovitz’s Line. All performances will take place at the Walnut Street Theatre Studio 5 at 825 Walnut St. in Philadelphia. For more information on the upcoming schedule, please visit www.LunaTheater.org.

Media Contacts: Gregory Scott Campbell Producing Artistic Director Luna Theater Company 215.704.0033 lunatheater@verizon.net lunatheatercompany@yahoo.com