FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAY 26, 2010

 

(CINCINNATI) – Two-time Golden Globe winner, Academy Award and Tony Award nominee Kathleen Turner will be joined by Tony Award nominee Michael Berresse and rising newcomer Evan Jonigkeit, in the world premiere of Matthew Lombardo's new play, High.

 

The world premiere of High is the result of the collaboration of three noteworthy American regional theatres.

 

The play will be seen at TheaterWorks in Hartford, Connecticut in a run July 2 through August 15, 2010. High opens the 2010-2011 Season at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, running September 4 through October 2, 2010. Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents the play October 13 through November 7, 2010.

 

In High, when Sister Jamison Connelly, played by Kathleen Turner, agrees to sponsor a 19 year-old drug-user in an effort to help him combat his addiction, her own faith is ultimately tested. Struggling between the knowledge she possesses as a rehabilitation counselor and her own moral convictions, she begins to question the belief in miracles and whether people can find the courage to change. High explores the universal themes of truth, forgiveness, redemption and human fallibility.

 

Sister Jamison Connelly's colleague and occasional adversary in High, Father Michael Delpapp, is portrayed by Michael Berresse. Mr. Berresse received both Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for his starring work in Bartlett Sher's acclaimed Broadway production of The Light in the Piazza. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his portrayal of Bill Calhoun in Kiss Me, Kate. Other major Broadway credits include A Chorus Line, Chicago and Damn Yankees. His coast-to-coast regional appearances include L.A.'s Mark Taper Forum, the Old Globe Theatre, Great Lakes Theatre Festival and Paper Mill Playhouse.  

 

Evan Jonigkeit plays hustler and addict Cody Randall. A Philadelphia based artist, he has worked in many of that city's theatres, including Arden Theatre, Mauckingbird Theatre, Walnut St. Theatre, Montgomery Theatre and People's Light & Theatre. He has been seen in the films Calendar Girl, The Gift and on Fox TV's Amazing Sport Stories. He serves on the New Play Development Committee, as Director of Development for Mauckingbird Theatre and as a teacher. He is a graduate of Temple University.

 

The opportunity for audiences to experience this exceptional trio of actors in the world premiere of High comes by way of playwright Matthew Lombardo. In 2002, his Katharine Hepburn bio-play Tea at Five (with Kate Mulgrew) debuted at Hartford Stage, instantly becoming an audience favorite and breaking all box office records. The play later debuted off-Broadway prior to a successful national tour. Mr. Lombardo most recently made his Broadway debut at The Lyceum Theatre with Looped, the hilarious and poignant look at Tallulah Bankhead, starring Valerie Harper in a Tony Award-nominated portrayal.

 

Director Rob Ruggiero staged the world premiere of Looped by Matthew Lombardo at Pasadena Playhouse, and subsequent productions in West Palm Beach, Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. and on Broadway. His Playhouse credits are Ella and Last Train to Nibroc. Regionally, he has earned recognition for his work on both plays and musicals, having received numerous awards including a Joseph Jefferson Award in Chicago. For Goodspeed Musicals, Mr. Ruggiero directed 1776, Big River, Camelot and Annie Get Your Gun. He conceived and directed the popular Ella (starring Tina Fabrique), which continues to play major regional theatres nationwide.

 

The design team for High includes set designer David Gallo (Company, The Fall of Heaven, The History of Invulnerability), winner of the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, American Theatre Wing Award, Lucille Lortel Award, LA Critics Circle Award and the Obie Award. Costume designer is Tony Award winner Jess Goldstein, Lighting Designer is John Lasiter and Sound Designer is Vincent Oliveri.

 

Tickets to High are on sale August 16. For more information, call the Playhouse box office at 513/421-3888 (toll-free in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana at 800/582-3208) or visit www.cincyplay.com. Call 513/345-2248 for TDD accessibility.

 

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

 

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 Shubert Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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