Southern Rep and The NOLA Project to Co-produce The Lieutenant of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh




by Aimée Hayes, Aimée Hayes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 10, 2007
For more information, call:
Aimée Hayes, Managing Director (504) 891-8332


Southern Rep and The NOLA Project to Co-produce The Lieutenant of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh

New Orleans—Southern Rep and The NOLA Project will co-produce the latest Broadway hit by Ireland’s leading playwright, The Lieutenant of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh from July 25 to August 19. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m.

The Lieutenant of Inishmore tells the story of Mad Padraic, an Irish Liberation Army enforcer who goes on a vengeful rampage when his best friend, a little black kitty named Wee Thomas, goes missing. Winner of both the Olivier Award and Lucille Lortel Award for Best Comedy, the Obie Award for Best Playwright, five Tony nominations, as well as Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League nominations, The Lieutenant of Inishmore has been described as Tarantino meets Monty Python. The New York Times’ Ben Brantley called it “the funniest show in town—a guaranteed adrenaline booster!” and The Sunday Times in London said it is “bitterly blood curdling and breathtakingly funny.”

This production marks the first collaboration between Southern Rep and The NOLA Project. The impetus for working together came from SRT Producing Artistic Director Ryan Rilette’s desire to support and enhance NOLA Project’s development into a professional theatre company. “If you’ve seen any of NOLA Project’s work in the last two years, you know that they’ve been working miracles on a shoestring,” Rilette said. “When I realized that the characters in Inishmore are almost all in their early 20s – and that this is a play NOLA couldn’t do on its own because of its size - it seemed like the perfect opportunity to partner with them and help them take the next step in their development.”

“When Ryan asked us to do Lieutenant with Southern Rep, we leapt at the chance,” said The NOLA Project’s Artistic Director Andrew Larimer. “The play tells a darkly hilarious and ruthlessly beautiful story while pushing the envelope of what can be done on stage technically.”

NOLA Project company members Peter McElligott, Andrew Larimer, Will Connolly, James Bartelle, A.J. Allegra, and Kathlyn Tarwater will be joined in the cast by local actors Dane Rhodes and George Sanchez. It will be directed by Noel Wilson and will feature gun choreography and special effects by Waldo Warshaw, who created the play’s bloody gunfights on Broadway. Sean Creel will design the set with costumes by Michelle Bohn, lighting design by Christian Smith, and sound design by Peter McElligott.

Tickets for The Lieutenant of Inishmore are on sale now and range from $18 for Previews to $30 on Opening Night. To order, call (504) 522-6545, or order online through a secure server at www.southernrep.com.