1812 Productions announces its 2006-2007 season finale The Four of Us, an East Coast Premiere comedy from playwright Itamar Moses. The Four of Us will run from May 18th to June 17th at St. Stephen’s Theatre located at 10th and Ludlow Streets in Center City. Tickets range from $10 to $32 and are available by contacting 1812 Productions’ administrative office at (215) 592-9560 or online at www.1812productions.org.

The Four of Us is a new comedy from Itamar Moses, author of Outrage and the critically acclaimed Bach at Leipzig. The Four of Us tells the story of two friends—David, a playwright, and Benjamin, a novelist. Benjamin’s first book has just been chosen for publication with a seven figure advance. David’s new play has been sent to the no-man’s land of Indiana regional theatre. With their dreams rising and falling (in tandem with their paychecks), the two must re-invent their own life story to stay ahead of the fame, the disappointment, the obscene stacks of cash, and the movie director who has far too many pictures of himself in his own apartment.

In The Four of Us, playwright Itamar Moses takes on the art of story telling at its most fundamental levels. He tackles novel writing, play writing, screen writing and the idea of doing the story justice, no matter what medium. The play questions what it means to share your creation with the rest of the world (and what happens when the rest of the world demands a revision!) The Four of Us leaps around in time, bringing individual elements of David and Benjamin’s story to the spotlight—before putting them all on a collision course for one of the best plot twists of the season!

Itamar Moses and the show’s director, Pete Pryor, began their relationship while Pete was acting in a production of Itamar’s play Outrage. “I think Itamar is the future of the American Theatre,” says Pete who is also 1812 Productions’ Resident Artist. “His plays are engaging, vibrant and truly alive. And The Four of Us has all of these qualities in abundance. It is a play that I find accessible, exceptional, and distinctively funny—it’s a perfect fit for 1812 Productions. In the characters of David and Benjamin, we find so many parallels to our own relationships—the jealousy, the hurt, and the inevitable laughter that holds us together. Itamar cracks open the structure of these characters’ story and gives us their best and their worst in a way that no other playwright could. I am thrilled to be directing the East Coast Premiere of this play.”

The Cast & Creative Team

Matt Pfeiffer (Benjamin): Matt is thrilled to be working with 1812 for the first time. This is his 4th collaboration with the Great Pete Pryor. Recent Credits include directing Glengarry Glen Ross for Theatre Exile and An Infinite Ache for Walnut Street Theatre. Matt has directed and acted for numerous Philadelphia theatres including Arden Theatre Company, Delaware Theatre Company, InterAct, Brat, The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, and the Lantern Theatre where he received a Barrymore Nomination for Best Direction for The Foocy. Matt also serves as the Associate Artistic Director of Theatre Exile.

Jeb Kreager (David): Jeb has been living and working in Philadelphia for nine years. He is a founding member of New Paradise Laboratories and has co-created and performed in all of their work, most recently Batch: An American Batchelor/ette Party Spectacle at the 2007 Humana Festival in Louisville. His recent work includes 1812 Productions’ Recent Tragic Events (Barrymore Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor), THE BFG at Arden Theatre Company, The Foreigner at People's Light & Theatre Company, Hippie Elegy for Headlong Dance Theater, Planetary Enzyme Blues for New Paradise Laboratories, and CONTEST at the 2006 Live Arts Festival—Jeb’s first piece as director and choreographer of his BrownSquad collective. Jeb recieved a 2003 PCA Fellowship and is a 2006 Independence Fellow. He graduated from Virginia Tech and also studied at Circle in the Square in New York and with Antonio Fava at his International School of Commedia dell'Arte in Reggio Emilia, Italy.

Pete Pryor (Director): Pete’s most recent onstage appearances were for The Wilma Theater in Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman and Itamar Moses’ Outrage, and less recently, Road, for which he won the 1996 Barrymore Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor. He is a Co-Founder of 1812 Productions and a Drama Teacher at The Pathway School in Norristown. Recent work includes Hearts and Soles for Theatre Exile, THE BFG for Arden Theatre Company, The Foreigner for People’s Light and Theatre Company, Richard III for Lantern Theater (Barrymore Award winner for Outstanding Lead Actor), and The Boys for Azuka Theatre. He is also the past recipient of an Independence Foundation fellowship award. Next up, Pete will be performing in Humble Boy at People’s Light and Theatre Company.

Itamar Moses (Playwright): Itamar Moses is the author of the full-length plays Outrage, Bach at Leipzig, Celebrity Row, The Four of Us, Yellowjackets, Back Back Back, and Completeness, and various short plays and one-acts. His work has appeared Off-Broadway and elsewhere in New York, at regional theatres across the country and in Canada, and has been published by Faber & Faber, Heinemann Press, Playscripts Inc., and Vintage. He has received new play commissions from The McCarter Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, The Wilma Theater, Southcoast Rep, and Manhattan Theatre Club. Itamar holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU and has taught playwriting at Yale and NYU. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, MCC Playwrights Coalition, Naked Angels Writers Group, and is a New York Theatre Workshop Usual Suspect. He was born in 1977 in Berkeley, CA. He now lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Company History
Artistic Director Jennifer Childs and Resident Artist Pete Pryor founded 1812 Productions in the spring of 1998 with a goal to entertain and educate audiences through comedy, and to support and hire local artists. During its 10 year history, 1812 Productions has received 32 Barrymore Award nominations, most recently closing its 2005-2006 season with the world premiere, and Barrymore Award winning, production Daughters of Genius. Their education program, 1812 Outreach, has received four consecutive nominations and has been awarded once the Barrymore Award for Excellence in Theatre Education and Community Service. On April 20, 2005, 1812 Productions received an honorary citation from the City of Philadelphia for outstanding work and commitment to the Philadelphia arts community. 1812 Productions, while continually on the search for a permanent home, continues to perform at various locations in Philadelphia.