FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: January 13, 2004
Contact: Christa Skiles
Public Relations Director
513-345-2242, ext. 232

CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK PRESENTS MICHAEL HEALEY’S AWARD-WINNING PLAY THE DRAWER BOY, FEBRUARY 7-MARCH 7

(CINCINNATI) — The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre season continues with Michael Healey’s award-winning play about friendship and the blurred line between memory and reality, The Drawer Boy. The show, named by Time Magazine as one of the ten best plays of 2001, begins public previews on February 7 and continues through March 7.

Hilarity and heartbreak mix in The Drawer Boy, a play about the power of art to help us remember what’s important. The simple life of long-time friends Morgan and Angus is thrown into disarray when a young urban actor named Miles comes to stay with them on their small Canadian farm in the early 1970s to research a new play.

As Miles learns how to use a tractor, stack bales of hay and milk the cows — mostly with disastrous and very funny results — he also begins to understand the unique friendship that exists between the two men. They seem vastly different — with Morgan the no-nonsense farmer and Angus the more artistic of the two, once known as “the drawer boy” for his love of art and design. Angus has a memory problem, the result of an injury he suffered during World War II. Since the injury, Morgan has been a constant caretaker to his friend.

Miles writes and writes about his experiences on the farm, but all of his scenes keep getting cut from the play he and his fellow performers are staging. One night, he overhears Morgan tell Angus a mysterious story from the past. When that story winds up as part of the action onstage, it stirs memories long locked away and opens the door to a life-altering realization.

The Drawer Boy is Canadian playwright Michael Healey’s first full-length play. Trained as an actor at Toronto’s Ryerson Theatre School in the 1980s, he is also the author of a solo one-act play titled Kicked, which was produced at the Fringe of Toronto Festival in 1996. The Drawer Boy first was produced at Theatre Passe Muraille, where it was honored with the 1999 Dora Mavor Moore Award for best new play (honoring the best of Toronto’s theatre), the 1999 Governor General’s Literary Award and the 2000 Chalmers Canadian Playwriting Award.

A major inspiration to Mr. Healey in the creation of The Drawer Boy was a landmark event in Canada’s theatre history. In 1972, a group of young Toronto actors working with Theatre Passe Muraille went to live and work with farmers in the rural area of Clinton, Ontario. The interviews, experiences and first-hand observations they collected there ultimately became the script for a new play that they wrote titled The Farm Show. The play helped to inspire some of the characters and experiences detailed in The Drawer Boy.

The cast for The Drawer Boy features John Thomas Waite, who appeared at the Playhouse in the 1999 production Much Ado About Nothing, as Angus. Making their Playhouse debuts are William McNulty as Morgan and Brian Ibsen as Miles.

The show is directed by Playhouse Associate Artistic Director Michael Evan Haney. Other production team members include Ursula Belden (Set Designer), John P. White (Costume Designer), Tony Penna (Lighting Designer) and Andrew Hopson (Sound Designer). The stage manager is Andrea L. Shell.

Tickets to The Drawer Boy are on sale now. Prices range from $38.50-$46.50, depending on day and seat location. All tickets are $31.50 for the preview performances at 9 p.m. Saturday, February 7, 7 p.m. Sunday, February 8, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 10 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 11. The official opening night performance is Thursday, February 12 at 8 p.m.

Any unreserved tickets are half-price every day when purchased at the Playhouse between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on the day of the show (for performances Tuesday through Saturday) and from 12 to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

The Playhouse is fully accessible. Audio enhancement receivers, large print programs and complete wheelchair access are available.

For tickets to The Drawer Boy or for more information, call the Playhouse box office at 513/421-3888 or toll-free in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana at 800/582-3208. Call 513/345-2248 for TDD accessibility. For single tickets purchased by telephone through the Playhouse box office there is a $2 convenience fee per call. Tickets also can be purchased on the Playhouse web site at www.cincyplay.com.

Artists fly to and from Cincinnati on Delta Connection COMAIR, the Playhouse’s official airline.

The Playhouse is supported, in part, by the generosity of the tens of thousands of individuals and businesses that give to the Fine Arts Fund.

The Ohio Arts Council helps fund the Playhouse with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.

The Playhouse also receives funding from the City of Cincinnati.

Meet the Artists
These free programs allow audiences to interact with cast members and others associated with the production following the show.

2 p.m. Sunday, February 15
2 p.m. Sunday, February 22
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 25
8 p.m. Thursday, March 4

Dining Options

Karlo's Bistro at the Playhouse offers full-service dining prior to most evening performances. Dinners include salad, entrée and dessert. Reservations are required at least 24 hours in advance. The price is $21, which does not include gratuity. Karlo's Casual Fare offers busy theatre patrons an alternative light, quick bite prior to the show. Options include salads, sandwiches, soups, pasta and desserts. No reservations are required.

Sponsors

Production Sponsor:
Clark, Schaefer, Hackett & Co.

Production Design Sponsor:
The Geiler Company

Fine Arts Fund Partner:
Western & Southern Foundation

The 2003-2004 Shelterhouse Series is presented by
Heidelberg Distributing Co.

The Shelterhouse Season Design Sponsor is
The Sheakley Group of Companies.

###