MEDIA CONTACT

Connie Shaver, 612.308.5785

connieshaver@charter.net

The Tony Award-winning play has its area premiere

at Park Square September 13 October 6

Virginia Burke and James Denton lead a crack cast in

a smart, sassy story that bravely confronts the economic divide

Saint Paul, Minn., August 1, 2013 Park Square opens its season September 2013 with David Lindsay-Abaires comedy, GOOD PEOPLE. The play received the 2011 Tony Award for Best Play as well as rave reviews across the country. Its recent run at Chicagos Steppenwolf Theater was extended. Variety called GOOD PEOPLE A tough and tender play about the insurmountable class divide.

The themes of the play are embodied in the characters of out-of-work Margie and Mike, a guy she dated briefly in high school who is now a successful doctor. Both of them were born and grew up in South Boston - Southie - a neighborhood rife with low incomes and broken families. Mike believes that he got out of Southie due to his own skills and initiative. Margie, on the other hand, can only point out how many lucky breaks Mike has had but prefers to ignore. How much of their circumstances are due to choice versus chance? If someone gets out of Southie, is it due to good luck, or to innate ambition and talent? Underneath it all, does it matter if they are "good people" kindly, decent and helpful toward others?

Weve got a top-notch cast waiting to sink their teeth into these parts, says director Joel Sass. Margie will be played by Virginia Burke, who wowed audiences in Park Squares production of August: Osage County and Mike will be played by James Denton, famous as hunky plumber Mike Delfino on Desperate Housewives, in his Park Square and Minnesota stage debut. Im looking forward to working with James Denton. Before his television work, James was a very active fixture in the Chicago small theater scene, and his enthusiasm for digging back into live theater is infectious.

Circumstances and money may separate Margie and Mike, but their worth as individuals is infinitely more difficult to calculate. Old wounds of the heart and the new sting of their very different socio-economic classes fuel both laughs and tears. Im a sucker for great writing, and David Lindsay-Abaires script is one of the best in recent years: funny, pungent, lively and thought-provoking, says Joel Sass. He writes incredibly strong roles for womenthey are fully human, flesh-and-blood, who provoke you to laugh with their humor and gasp at utterances that cut to the bone. I think the entire audience will recognize and empathize with the main character Margaret, a single mother desperate to land a job in a bad economy.

In addition to Burke and Denton, Designer/Director Joel Sass has lined up a crack cast: Angela Timberman (The Sisters Rosensweig, Painting Churches) plays Margies neighbor and sidekick, Jean. Hope Cervantes (A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Odyssey) is Mikes young wife. Jane Hammill (To Kill a Mockingbird) delights as the aptly named Dottie, and Samuel Finnegan Pearson makes his Park Square debut as Stevie, Margies young boss at the Dollar Store.

GOOD PEOPLEs production team includes Andrea M. Gross (Costume Designer), Sarah Holmberg (Properties Designer), and Michael P. Kittel (Lighting Designer). Megan West is stage manager.

Performance Schedule: Previews begin September 13 and run through September 19. Friday, September 20 is Opening Night, and the run continues through October 6. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. except for Sunday performances, which begin at 2 p.m. All performances are in the companys intimate 348-seat theater in Saint Pauls historic Hamm Building, 20 W. Seventh Place.

Ticket prices: Previews: $25 and $35. Regular Run: $38 and $58. Discounts are available for seniors, those under age 30, and groups. Tickets are on sale at the Park Square box office, 20 W. Seventh Place, or by phone: 651.291.7005, (12 noon-5 p.m. Monday through Friday), or online at www.parksquaretheatre.org.

CALENDAR INFORMATION

GOOD PEOPLE

By David Lindsay-Abaire

Directed and Designed by Joel Sass

Area Premiere

Previews: Sept 1319, 2013

Regular Run: Sept 20-Oct 6, 2013

Jobless Margie hopes her successful high school boyfriend can help in this dark comedy about the economic divide. Its crazy and embarrassing, but it just might change her luck. But is he secure enough to face his humble beginnings? A tough and tender play about the insurmountable class divide. (Variety)

Contains adult language.

Tickets: Previews: $25/$35. Beer & Blue Jeans Night 99¢ Regular Run: $38/$58

PARK SQUARE THEATRE, 20 W. Seventh Place, Saint Paul

Box office: 651-291-7005 or www.parksquaretheatre.org

P: Preview O: Opening B: 99-cent Preview (no advance sales) ASL: American Sign Language Interpretation

AD: Audio Description D: Post-show Discussion C: Open Captioning

Mary T. & Lizzy K. (Midwest Premiere)

Previews: Oct 18-24, 2013

Regular Run: Oct 25-Nov 10, 2013

By Tazewell Thompson

Directed by Richard Cook, featuring Linda Kelsey, Sha Cage, Stephen DAmbrose and Nike Kadri.

Mary Todd Lincoln and Lizzy, her mixed-race friend and seamstress get ready for a night at the theater. Step through the doors of the White House dressing room and eavesdrop on their banter, score-settling, and intimate secrets. As one womans skilled hands create beautiful garments, the other's reality slips further from her grasp.

PARK SQUARE THEATRE. 20 W. Seventh Place, Saint Paul. Box office: 651.291.7005. www.parksquaretheatre.org