New City Stage Company is proud to present Extremities, the second play of its second season of Three Plays by William Mastrosimone. Extremities is Mastrosimone’s most well-known and frequently produced play to date, and was originally produced at the Louisville Actors Theater in the early 1980s. The original cast consisted of Susan Sarandon, James Russo, Ellen Barkin, and Deborah Hedwell. It won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Play Off-Broadway and the John Gassner Award for Playwriting for the 1982-83 season. Extremities debuted on Broadway shortly after and was made into a critically acclaimed film starring Farrah Fawcett in 1986.

This updated version presented by New City Stage is directed by Barrymore Award-winning director William Roudebush and stars local actors Alana Gerlach, Paul Felder, Ginger Dayle, and Kristyn Chouiniere. It runs from January 3 through 20, 2008 at the Mum Puppettheatre. Opening night is Friday, January 5, with a special wine and hors d’oeuvre reception. On Thursday, January 17, there will be a guest speaker discussing the impact of sexual assault on women today, and all monies received from ticket sales for that evening will be donated to Women Against Rape. New City Stage will also be accepting donations throughout the run of the show to benefit this deserving organization.

About the Director

Director William Roudebush is thrilled to be working on a play he says is “a challenge I’ve always wanted to confront head-on.” He is honored to be working with so many students and individuals from the University of the Arts on this production. He recently directed “The Insanity of Mary Girard” for the black box series at UArts. He has been working directly with playwright William Mastrosimone in order to update the play for the 21st century, making changes that reflect the advent of cell phones and other contemporary notions. What he likes most about the play is the “timelessness of the issue of assault against women” and how it’s “brought up the issue, startlingly, unlike any work before it” and no other play “has come close since.” He is excited to have the playwright, who resides in Bucks County, to be involved for the first time in a local production of one of his plays. Mr. Roudebush has been nominated for the Barrymore Award four times and won in 2002 for his direction of “Equus,” which was also produced at the Mum Puppettheatre.

About the Cast & Crew

Alana Gerlach (Marjorie) is a Philadelphia-based performer who has had the pleasure of working with Mr. Mastrosimone before. She originated the role of Peggy Shippen in Mastrosimone’s world premier play Benedict Arnold at Florida Stage while receiving her M.F.A. from Florida Atlantic University. She was recently seen at An Act of Imagination at Hedgerow Theatre, Around the World in 80 Days at Bristol Riverside Theatre, and Almost Maine at Act 2 Playhouse. She calls Mastrosimone “a kind and generous man that isn’t afraid to write strong female characters.” She also teaches acting at Rowen University.

Paul Felder (Raul) is thrilled to be making his professional debut in Extremities. He is currently a senior at UArts and was last seen in “The Insanity of Mary Girard” under Roudebush’s direction. This past summer he played Demitrius in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at a Shakespeare festival in upstate New York. Ginger Dayle (Terry) just finished her first Mastrosimone production as the title role in Sunshine, also for New City Stage. She is a professional dancer who appeared with the Royal Ballet of London this past summer in Romeo and Juliet and Swan Lake at the Mann Music Center. She has taught and studied dance at several local studios and universities, including UArts and the Rock School. Kristyn Chouiniere (Patricia) was most recently seen in Theatre Exile’s highly acclaimed production of the Philadelphia premier of Mr. Marmalade. She is currently performing in Living News at the National Constitution Center and is thrilled to be working with another up and coming small theatre company.

Several UArts students are involved in this production, including stage manager Steve Fareri, assistant stage manger Liz Panjian, and costumer and set dresser Katelin Walsko. New City Stage is excited to be offering opportunities to young emerging Philadelphia theatre artists, which is a major part of its mission.

About the Play

Press release summary:
Extremities is an explosive melodrama about a would-be rape and a woman’s stark revenge. Alone in a rural New Jersey farmhouse, Marjorie is accosted by an intruder but manages to narrowly escape and turn the tables on him. By the time her roommates come home, she has taken the law into her own hands. This Outer Critics Circle Award-winning play deals with the pathology of rape, the inequities of the justice system, and the unlikely relationship between victim and attacker. “A white knuckle psychological thriller.” -- USA Today

Synopsis:
The play is about a young woman named Marjorie who is attacked in her home by a would-be rapist and manages to turn the tables on him, tying him up in her fireplace. Her roommates come home to discover Raul tied with cords, belts and other household items.

Terry and Patricia, the roommates, portray different points of view about rape within society. Terry, a rape victim when she was a teenager, believes that Raul will not be convicted since a rape did not occur and there is no proof. Patricia believes in the judicial system and insists on calling the cops.

The three friends are also turned on each other at various points in the play, due to Raul's knowledge of each of them through stalking them. For instance, close to the play's opening, Raul reveals to Terry that Marjorie had been dating Terry's boyfriend.

Farrah Fawcett starred in the play and in the 1986 film adaptation to great acclaim. Other actresses who have played Marjorie include Susan Sarandon and Karen Allen.

About the Playwright

William Mastrosimone (b. 1947) made his debut with The Woolgatherer in 1981, which later won the L.A. Drama Critics Award for Best Play of 1982. His play Extremities won the New York Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Play of 1982-83, the John Gassner Award for Playwrighting, and later became a feature film of the same title (screenplay also written by him) starring Farrah Fawcett. His play NANAWATAI! opened in Bergen, Norway at Den Nationalscene, and later became a film called The Beast directed by Kevin Reynolds, which won several film festival awards. He wrote the five-hour mini-series Sinatra, which won the Golden Globe for Best Mini-Series in 1982. His most recent mini-series, Into the West, which was produced in 2005, was nominated for 9 Emmys. He has also written several screenplays, including Chico, about the life of Brazilian hero Chico Mendes, and With Honors for Warner Brothers. His other plays include A Tantalizing, Shivaree (Warner Communications Award), A Stone Carver, The Undoing, Sunshine, and Cat’s Paw. He also wrote Bang Bang You’re Dead, which was inspired by the Columbine High School shootings and can be downloaded off of the internet and performed by students for no fee. His most recent play is Sleepwalk, a story that also focuses on the traumas of modern teenage society in the United States.

Mr. Mastrosimone was born in New Jersey where he attended the Pennington School and received his M.F.A. in playwrighting from Rutgers University. He also is a recipient of the New Jersey Governor’s Walt Whitman Award for Writing and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Rider University. He currently resides in Bucks County with his family and teaches playwriting at several universities.

About the Theatre Company

Our mission:
New City Stage Company is dedicated to presenting high quality professional theatre that engages audiences on a variety of levels; not only entertaining them but also encouraging awareness of issues relevant to the community. We draw our season from contemporary and classical works, with a special focus on including Philadelphia premieres from playwrights whose work and stories are not normally found in the region.

Our history:
New City Stage Company came onto the Philadelphia theatre scene in September of 2006 with the world premiere of “Angel, A Nightmare in Two Acts” by Jo Davidsmeyer. This controversial play depicted the life of real life Nazi War criminal Irma Grese, who worked as a guard in the S.S. at the Auschwitz concentration camps and had an illicit affair with the notorious Dr. Joseph Mengele. The playwright attended and gave two talk back nights, and the play received several reviews.

New City Stage Company is a 501(c) 3 not for profit producing company that employs union and nonunion actors, directors, and crew.

We commission and create fully mounted productions of plays that come from a variety of sources – classical works, contemporary plays, reader’s theatre, literature, film, and works-in-progress.

We start the employment process in the region first, in order to utilize many of our local artists and technicians.

We strive to bring as many Philadelphia and World premiers to the stage as possible, as well as presenting well known pieces in ways that are unexpected, unique, or nontraditional.

Our productions are accessible to many facets of the community, with a special emphasis on bringing schools and universities in contact with our work.

Extremities previews January 3 and 4 at 8 PM and January 5 at 3 PM. Opening night is January 5 at 8 PM. To purchase tickets or for information, visit www.newcitystage.org or call (215) 563-7500.