December 29, 2004

Philadelphia Theatre Company kicks off the New Year with the Philadelphia premiere of The Story by Tracey Scott Wilson beginning January 28 and running through February 27 at Plays & Players Theater (1714 Delancey Street). Directed by Maria Mileaf, the ensemble cast features Tony Award nominee Pamela Isaacs and also includes Kenajuan Bentley, Brienin Bryant, Jann Ellis, Miriam Hyman, Christine Long, Michael Polak and Karen Vicks.

Previews begin Friday, January 28 with opening night on Wednesday, February 2. Performances run Tuesday through Sunday until February 27. Tickets are $30 to $45, with discounts for students, seniors and groups, and are available by calling the Box Office at 215-985-0420 or visiting www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org.

The production sponsors for The Story are the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News. The media sponsor for The Story is the Philadelphia Tribune. Philadelphia Theatre Company's season media sponsor is the Philadelphia City Paper.

In The Story, a young African American newspaper reporter investigates a shocking murder and exposes a web of ambition, prejudice and social politics –– but is her story true? Inspired by recent events in journalism, Tracey Scott Wilson, an original voice in theater explores the mysterious boundaries between reality and fiction, morality and ambition.

Tracey Scott Wilson is the winner of the 2004 Kesselring Prize for playwriting and the 2004 Whiting Award, both for THE STORY as well as the Van Lier Fellowship and the 2001 Helen Merrill Emerging Playwright Award. Her other work includes I Don't Know Why That Caged Bird Won't Shut Up, Exhibit #9, and Leader of the People. Wilson holds a Masters degree in English Literature from Temple University. The Story was first produced at the Joseph Papp Public Theater in December 2003 in a co-production with the Long Wharf Theatre.

Maria Mileaf (Director) has directed Philadelphia Theatre Company's productions of Nickel and Dimed, Wit, How I Learned to Drive, and The Beauty Queen of Leenane. New York credits include the critically acclaimed Sakharam Binder by Indian playwright Vijay Tendulkar for The Play Company, Oren Safdie's Private Jokes, Public Places for the Center for Architecture and new works by such writers as Neena Beber, Brighde Mullins, Kira Obolensky and Erik Ehn at theaters such as Playwrights Horizons, Women's Project, Lincoln Center Festival, New Georges and P.S. 122. Regionally, Ms. Mileaf has staged the National Tour of Yasmina Reza's Art and directed for the La Jolla Playhouse, NY Stage and Film, and Actors Theatre of Louisville among others. She lives in NYC with her husband, designer Neil Patel and their two children.

Kenajuan Bentley (Neil) is an audience favorite at Connecticut Repertory where he has appeared in a half-dozen productions. He has also appeared at New York Shakespeare Festival, Long Wharf Theatre, Hartford Stage, Baltimore Center Stage, and TheatreWorks USA.

Brienin Bryant (Yvonne) is a frequent guest at Trinity Repertory Company, McCarter Theatre and New York Shakespeare Festival. She has also been seen at the Cherry Lane Theater, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and Cincinnati Playhouse.

Jann Ellis (Ensemble) has been featured locally at the Wilma Theater, Freedom Theatre, and the Philadelphia Drama Guild. She has also appeared in Twelve Monkeys and on television in Hack and All My Children. Ellis is an Assistant Professor at Cheyney University.

Danai Jekesai Gurira (Latisha) is a recent graduate of the Tisch NYU Graduate Acting Program. She received the award for Best Actress in a Lead Role at the Zimbabwe Arts Festival and was the 2004 recipient of the Laura Pels Award.

Miriam Hyman (Ensemble) recently appeared in the collaborative Philadelphia Theatre Company/Philadelphia Young Playwrights production of The Diary of Sa'Dream Washington. She has also appeared in Resurrection Blues at The Wilma Theater and Black Nativity at Freedom Repertory Theatre as well as in productions at InterAct Theatre Company, Bristol Riverside Theatre, Delaware Theatre Company and Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival.

Pamela Isaacs (Pat) received a Tony Award nomination, Drama Desk nomination, Outer Critics Circle Award nomination, and People's Choice Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical for The Life. She won the Obie Award for Best Actress in a Musical for New Yorkers at Manhattan Theatre Club. Regionally she has performed at Long Wharf Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, Yale Repertory Theatre, Goodspeed Opera House, and in the national tour of Thoroughly Modern Millie. On television, she has recurring roles in Oz and One Life to Live.

Christine Long (Jessica) has starred on Broadway in Titanic, Off-Broadway in The Fantasticks, and in the national tours Showboat and Titanic. A recipient of the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts Vocal Award, she has also performed at MUNY in St. Louis, Utah Music Theatre, West Virginia Public Theatre, and Mac-Haydn Theatre.

Michael Polak (Jeff/Tim) has recently appeared in Much Ado About Nothing at Hartford Stage and The Shakespeare Theatre as well as in The Laramie Project at Playmaker's Rep. He has been a frequent guest at San Francisco Shakespeare, A.C.T. and California Shakespeare. He worked with director Moises Kaufman in Gross Indecency at Theatre on The Square.

Karen Vicks (Ensemble) was nominated for Barrymore Awards for her performances in Nickel and Dimed at Philadelphia Theatre Company and for Pretty Fire at Act II Playhouse. She has appeared at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in both Let the Church Role On and Are You Heaven Bound, and in the national tours of A Change is Gonna Come and Where's Shirley.

The Story brings together a creative team of Philadelphia Theatre Company alumni including set designer Neil Patel (At Philadelphia Theatre Company: Nickel and Dimed, Barbra's Wedding, Wit and How I Learned to Drive. He is the recipient of an Obie Award for Sustained Achievement); lighting designer Russell Champa (At Philadelphia Theatre Company: Wit and The Laramie Project); lighting designer Janus Stefanowicz (At Philadelphia Theatre Company: Nickel and Dimed, The Infidel, Side Man, Wit, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, King Hedley II, Edward Albee's The Play About the Baby and others); and sound designer Eileen Tague (At Philadelphia Theatre Company: Nickel and Dimed, King Hedley II, Wit, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, and How I Learned to Drive among others).

Philadelphia Theatre Company's 2004/2005 season continues with the Philadelphia premieres of ELEGIES: A SONG CYCLE by William Finn, composer of Falsettos, directed by Joe Calarco, running March 18 through April 17 and TAKE ME OUT, winner of the 2003 Tony Award for Best Play, by Richard Greenberg, directed by James J. Christy running May 13 through June 12.

Philadelphia Theatre Company, now in its 29th season, is Philadelphia's only non-profit professional theater dedicated to producing regional and world premieres of works by contemporary American playwrights. Under the artistic direction of Sara Garonzik, Philadelphia Theatre Company has had ever-increasing national impact with over 100 new American plays. Recent world premiere productions include: Bruce Graham's According to Goldman; Jeffrey Hatcher's A Picasso; Daniel Stern's comedy Barbra's Wedding; John Henry Redwood's No Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs; J.T. Roger's White People; David Ives' Lives of the Saints; three-time Tony Award-winning Master Class by Terrence McNally; Bunny Bunny by Alan Zweibel; and the American premiere of Birdy by Naomi Wallace. A Picasso will receive its New York premiere at the Manhattan Theatre Club in March, 2005. Philadelphia Theatre Company was chosen Best Theatre Company 2003 by Philadelphia Magazine. Since 1995, Philadelphia Theatre Company has received 83 nominations and 24 awards from Philadelphia's Barrymore Awards, most recently for The Last Five Years (Overall Outstanding Production of a Musical, 2002-2003) and A Picasso (Outstanding New Play, 2002-2003). Philadelphia Theatre Company has been in residence at the historic Plays & Players Theater since 1982.

For further information, please call 215-985-1400 or visit www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org.

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