Ed
Dixon and Lynne Wintersteller
Photo credit: David Armstrong |
Ed Dixon's new backstage comedy, Scenery,
will make its debut at Mason Street Warehouse in Saugatuck,
Michigan on August 25 for a limited run through September
10. Lynne Wintersteller will appear alongside the author
in this two-hander directed by David Glenn Armstrong (the
York's The Great Big Radio Show! and NYMF's Isabelle and the
Pretty-Ugly Spell).
Scenery is a "broadsided salute
to the triumphs and heartbreaks of working in the theatre as
seen through the eyes of 'The Crains,' an aging pair of married
actors on the disastrous opening night of a new Broadway show," according
to notes on the show.
“I wrote Scenery,” said
Dixon, “because I have always wanted to do a backstage
play. I chose the device of a theatrical couple, like Lunt
and Fontanne, to illustrate the kind of lives they had,
but with a modern sensibility. Everyone knew they had
colorful lives, but the mores of the day prevented tales from
being told ‘out of school.’ I've also seen
some really bad behavior over the years... Scenery tries
to let every cat out of every bag of what it's really like
to spend a lifetime in the legitimate theater.”
Ed Dixon is also the author and composer of
the off-Broadway productions of Fanny Hill, Richard
Cory and Shylock. Dixon has appeared on Broadway
in The Best Man, The Iceman Cometh, The
Scarlet Pimpernel, Cyrano, Les Miserables, The
Three Musketeers, and No, No, Nanette.
Lynne Wintersteller starred in the Broadway
and national tours of Annie as Grace Farrell and in
the Tony-nominated A Grand Night for Singing. Off-Broadway
appearances include Richard Cory (NYMF Best Actress
Award), The Mistress Cycle, I Sent a Letter to
My Love and Closer Than Ever.
James Morgan, Artistic Director of the York
Theatre, has designed the sets and resident MSW designers Darlene
Christopher (costumes) and Jennifer Kules (lighting) are also
onboard for this premiere.
(An earlier iteration of Scenery was
seen at the John Drew Theatre in 2001 - the MSW premiere has
been completely rewritten and bears little resemblance to the
former production other than the title.)
Mason Street Warehouse (Kurt Stamm, Artistic
Producing Director and Ricki L. Levine, Managing Director)
was founded in 2002 and is enjoying its most successful season
to date. Past productions include The Great American Trailer
Park Musical and Cabaret. The Stamm-helmed Hunka,
Hunka Burnin' Love received its regional premiere as the
2006 season opener and will be making a transfer to Florida's
Caldwell Theatre in October.
MSW is a professional, Equity, non-profit
501(c)3 theater. Tickets to Mason Street Warehouse productions
range from $22-$33 and are available at the MSW box office
or by calling (269) 857-4898.
For more information, visit www.masonstreetwarehouse.org.
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