West Coast Premiere: BARBECUE at the Geffen Playhouse!

BARBECUE

WRITTEN BY ROBERT O’HARA, DIRECTED BY COLMAN DOMINGO (pictured above)

CAST FEATURES YVETTE CASON, DALE DICKEY, OMAR J. DORSEY, FRANCES FISHER, KIMBERLY HÉBERT GREGORY, TRAVIS JOHNS, ELYSE MIRTO, MAYA LYNNE ROBINSON, HEATHER ALICIA SIMMS AND REBECCA WISOCKY

Geffen Playhouse announces the cast for its West Coast premiere production of Barbecue written by Obie and Helen Hayes Award winner Robert O’Hara. Tony nominee Colman Domingo directs the production starring Yvette Cason, Dale Dickey, Omar J. Dorsey, Frances Fisher, Kimberly Hébert Gregory, Travis Johns, Elyse Mirto, Maya Lynne Robinson, Heather Alicia Simms and Rebecca Wisocky.

The grill is hot, the beer is chilled and the table is set for a typical O’Mallery family barbecue. But when their drug-addicted sister Zippity Boom arrives strung-out and out of control, her siblings have finally had enough — enough beer, enough whiskey and enough pills to confront her. Their ham-handed intervention ignites the fuse of this raucous and rollicking new comedy that skewers our warped view of the American family. From Obie and Helen Hayes Award winner Robert O’Hara, this Barbecue serves up a healthy helping of sibling love and loathing.

"Robert O’Hara and I are nearing twenty years of artistic championship of each other’s work as playwrights/directors,” said director Colman Domingo. “We have a short hand with our many collaborations because we essentially believe in pushing the boundaries of expression, humor and theatricality. Mr. O’Hara 's work speaks deeply to me as a creative artist and I believe wholly in his mission that theater is essential to be served with ‘a theatrical slap.’"

Tickets are currently priced from $43 to $84 for the regular run (Sept 14 – Oct 16), and are available online at www.geffenplayhouse.org, via phone at 310.208.5454, or in-person at the Geffen Playhouse box office. Based on seat availability, rush tickets may be available onsite 30 minutes prior to show time. Rush tickets are priced at $35 or general admission and $10 for students, with a valid student I.D.

LOCATION

Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse

10886 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024

SIGNATURE SERIES

In addition to the opening night, the run of Barbecue will feature pre-show Signature Series events. These include Talk Back Tuesdays (Audience Q+A with artists), Girls Night Out, Lounge Fridays and Wine Down Sundays. Thanks to the support of Geffen Playhouse partners and sponsors, all elements of Signature Series evenings are complimentary as part of the ticket price. Signature Series events include:

· TALK BACK TUESDAY

Talk Back Tuesdays connect audiences directly with artists for post-show Q&A discussions touching on plot, character, and other elements of craft that bring the story to the stage. Dates: Sept.20, Sept.27, Oct.4 and Oct.11, 2016

· GIRLS NIGHT OUT

Geared towards the ladies, with enticements for the guys, Girls Night Out is the ultimate night out in L.A. During the run of Barbecue, Girls Night Out offers fashion truck shopping, a hosted bar and heavy hors d’oeuvres, an always-popular photo booth, plus a complimentary post-show gift from Pixi Beauty. Date: Sept.22, 2016

· HAPPY HOUR LOUNGE FRIDAYS

A cultural happy hour that helps fast-paced Angelenos ease into the weekend, these events offer complimentary sparkling wine and refreshments with DJ-spun tunes starting at 7:00pm. Sponsored by LAArtsOnline.com. Dates: Sept.23, Sept.30, Oct.7 and Oct. 14, 2016

· WINE DOWN SUNDAYS

Wine Down Sundays provides the perfect pairing – pre-performance wine sampling followed by a 7pm curtain time to close out the week. Dates: Sept.18, Sept. 25, Oct.2, Oct.9 and Oct. 16, 2016

ROBERT O’HARA (Playwright)

Robert O’Hara has received the NAACP Best Director Award, the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding New Play, 2 OBIEs and the Oppenheimer Award. He directed the World Premieres of Nikkole Salter and Danai Guiria’s In the Continuum, Tarell McCraney’s The Brother/Sister Plays (Part 2), Colman Domingo’s Wild with Happy as well as his own plays, BootyCandy and Insurrection: Holding History. His new plays Zombie: The American and Barbecue, world premiered at Woolly Mammoth Theater and New York Shakespeare Festival, respectively.

COLMAN DOMINGO (Director)

Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League and Olivier Award nominee Colman Domingo has recently directed Seven Guitars (Actors Theater of Louisville) and A Band of Angels (Off Broadway Alliance Award, New York City Children’s Theater). Mr. Domingo has directed productions Off Broadway and Regionally. He is a Lortel and Obie Award winning playwright whose plays include Dot, Wild with Happy, A Boy and His Soul. On television he has starred as Strand in AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead and co-stars in the upcoming Fox Searchlight film The Birth of a Nation.

ABOUT GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE

Geffen Playhouse has been a hub of the Los Angeles theater scene since opening its doors in 1995. Noted for its intimacy and celebrated for its world-renowned mix of classic and contemporary plays, provocative new works and second productions, the not-for-profit organization continues to present a body of work that has garnered national recognition. Named in honor of entertainment mogul and philanthropist David Geffen, who made the initial donation to the theater, the company was founded by Gilbert Cates, and is currently helmed by Artistic Director Randall Arney, Executive Director Gil Cates, Jr., and Co-Chairs of the Board Martha Henderson and Pamela Robinson. Proudly associated with UCLA, the Geffen welcomes an audience of more than 130,000 each year, and maintains extensive education and community engagement programs, designed to involve underserved young people and the community at large in the arts. www.geffenplayhouse.org.

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MEDIA CONTACT

Katy Sweet & Associates Public Relations

katy@katysweetpr.com/310.479.2333