“KISSING” HEATS UP THE STAGE AT NEW THEATRE

"THE GATES OF CHOICE" GETS ITS WORLD PREMIERE AT NEW THEATRE

November 13 - December 14, 2008

 (Press Opening- Saturday, November 15)

Performances Thursday through Saturdays at 8 pm

Sunday at 1 pm.  Additional Sunday 5:30 pm on November 23, 30 and December 7.

Ticket & Subscription information:

Preview- Thursday, November 13 at 8 pm: $ 20

Thursdays & Sunday evenings $ 35, All other performances: $ 40 

4 play Flexible Season pass:  $ 120
A SAVINGS of 25% off the regular ticket price.

Student Rush tickets available for students (under 25 with valid I.D.) for $ 15, at the door no earlier than 1 hour prior to curtain.  Subject to availability. 

Location:

New Theatre is located in Coral Gables, just one block from Village of Merrick Park at

4120 Laguna Street, Coral Gables, Florida 33146

Contact:
For tickets, call (305) 443-5909

Or visit www.new-theatre.org

'The Rant' full of unsubtle mouthpieces

By Bill Hirschman | Special to the Sun Sentinel

The New Theatre world premiere of Andrew Case's The Rant is a promising work in progress that needs more work to progress.

Case's tale of an inquiry into a fatal police shooting of an autistic teenager contains lyrical writing and trenchant insights about the quixotic, doomed search for Truth with a capital T.

But to get his philosophies across, Case uses his characters as direct mouthpieces with all the subtlety of a ventriloquist pulling the string on a dummy. And to make those points, some of these people are nearly cartoonish in their extremes of cynicism, paranoia, prejudice and self-righteous bias.

A burned-out, opportunistic reporter tosses off facile double talk that no journalist would say in real life: "Sometimes the truth itself is a kind of bias" and "I no longer believe in fact; I believe in leverage."

And yet, Case follows that with incisively observed and beautifully written passages such as the recollection of an officer on the scene. The officer rejects fellow minorities' expectation that he will be black first and blue second, saying he has "failed to take up the family business of blame."

The story focuses on a driven police misconduct investigator who hates cops (Pilar Uribe) struggling through conflicting lie-laden and agenda-bending accounts of the shooting. Her problem is not the fungibility of perceptions; she's sorting out deliberate distortions by witnesses driven by self-interest and prejudices -- including her own.

Through her interviews with witnesses and the involvement of the reporter (Ricky Waugh), Case dramatizes a half-dozen important observations, such as how decades of racial prejudice cripple a community's pursuit of justice. Case also invests the situation with finely-observed details and nuances learned in his own years as a police misconduct investigator.

Though flawed, the script and the performances are undeniably moving and thought-provoking. Patrice DeGraff-Arenas' opening monologue of the anguished mother describing the killing in her statement to the investigator is electrifying. Reiss Gaspard delivers an equally anguished closing aria, a police officer's mea culpa that gets us as close to the truth as we're going to get.

The play moves on in the next few months to fresh mountings in Philadelphia and New Jersey where Case can fine-tune this worthy work.

Bill Hirschman can be reached at muckrayk@aol.com.

The drama The Rant is scheduled through Oct. 26.

Where: New Theatre, 4120 Laguna St., Coral Gables

When: 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 1 p.m. Sundays; 5:30 p.m. Oct. 12, 19

Tickets: $15-$40; 305-443-5909 or new-theatre.org

The Rant – By: Andrew Case

World Premiere

One crime, four points of view; the truth itself is a kind of bias. A New York City Police Officer shoots and kills an unarmed sixteen year-old boy. The investigator assigned to the case must wade through prejudice, deceit, and a volley of anonymous threats to find out where culpability really lies.

Case's plays have been presented at Stephenwolf, Nuyorican Poets Café, and the Lincoln Center and he is a member of the New American Writers Group at Primary Stages and a former Manhattan Theatre Club playwriting fellow.

This Season

Being a subscriber is EASY and CONVENIENT.
And you SAVE 25%
off the regular ticket price.

Sail into the 2008-2009 Season
Don't miss even one play!
Flexible Subscription passes are NOW available.
Click here to order or call our box office at 305 443-5909.

2008-2009 Season

As You Like It August 14 - September 14, 2008
by William Shakespeare
Adapted by Ricky J. Martinez
One of the Bard's most accessible romantic comedies! Follow Shakespeare's gorgeous heroine into a forest of possibilities where the nature of true love vs. romantic love are put to the test amidst misunderstandings, gender confusions, and mistaken identities.

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players, they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages..."
- Excerpt from AS YOU LIKE IT

Main Season

The Rant September 25 - October 26, 2008
by Andrew Case   World Premiere
One crime, four points of view; the truth itself is a kind of bias. A New York City Police Officer shoots and kills an unarmed sixteen year-old boy. The investigator assigned to the case must wade through prejudice, deceit, and a volley of anonymous threats to find out where culpability really lies.

Case's plays have been presented at Steppenwolf, Nuyorican Poets Café, and the Lincoln Center and he is a member of the New American Writers Group at Primary Stages and a former Manhattan Theatre Club playwriting fellow.

The Gates of Choice November 13 - December 14, 2008
by Michelle Rosenfarb   World Premiere
In the Israeli Ultra Orthodox quarter of Mea Shearim, Mehira, a Hasidic young woman facing an arranged marriage, finds refuge and answers in a taboo relationship with an ex-Haredi soldier. Fueled by her curious nature and longing for identity, she delves further to find "the truth" forming the foundation of her religion, her community, and her family.

Rosenfarb is recipient of the Emerging Artist Foster Fellowship granted by the Broward County Cultural Arts Foundation and winner of the 17th Annual Florida Playwright Competition.

Kissing January 15 - February 15, 2009
by Robert Caisley   World Premiere
Things heat up in this quirky romantic comedy and lives spin out-of-control during an office softball game. When an illicit kiss between Sam and Tess threatens to break up his long-time marriage to Helen, Tess breaks off the relationship, and makes an attempt at a new life with Andrew. A play about the biology and sociology of kissing and the choices we make after passion and guilt intervene. Perfect for Valentines!

Caisley is Associate Professor of Theatre & Film, and Head of the Dramatic Writing Program at the University of Idaho. His plays have played at Walnut Street Theatre, Mill Mountain Theatre, Sundance Writer's Lab, and Actor's Theatre of Louisville.

Glass Menagerie February 26 - March 29, 2009
by Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams' most lyrical and powerful memory play about the Wingfield family, THE GLASS MENAGERIE is one of the great masterpieces of American drama and winner of the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best play. Tom is torn between family obligation and his deep desire to escape his domineering mother, Amanda, and his frail sister, Laura.

"When you look at a piece of delicately spun glass you think of two things: how beautiful it is and how easily it can be broken."
- Tennessee Williams

Mauritius April 16 - May 17, 2009
by Theresa Rebeck   South Florida Premiere
This sharp, funny, and engaging work straight from its Broadway premiere by Pulitzer Prize nominated Theresa Rebeck keeps us at the edge of our seats hinged on each plot twist. Jackie and Mary are half-sisters whose mother's death leaves them in possession of a rare stamp collection, while battling over who owns the stamps three dealers have designs of their own. Who is friend and who is foe?

"A gifted writer with an expansive mind, willing to explore old terrain to find new paths."
- The New York Times

JOIN the "365 Club!"

Become a member or our "365 Club" by donating a dollar for each day of the year to New Theatre. If 500 patrons donate $365, we will raise $182,000, precisely the amount we need to raise from private donors. Of course, if you can afford to contribute more, that would be greatly appreciated. And, if you make this tax-deductible contribution before September 30th, you will be acknowledged in our Playbill and we will send you an inscribed gift indicating your membership in the "365 Club."

Hosted By: Stephanie and Vanessa
When: Saturday Aug 23, 2008
at 9:00 PM
Where: 303 Lounge
241 S. Royal Poinciana Blvd.
miami springs, Florida|10 33166
United States
Description:
Stephanie and Vanessa

Click Here To View Event

Dear Friends,

We are sure you are aware about all the budget cuts occurring in city, county, state, and national funding making things a bit tough this next year for the Arts.  Nevertheless, the signs of the time has made producing our "new voices—new works" an exhilarating challenge!  A challenge you can help face-off with us…

We'd like to introduce -- ACT 10 -- an amusing, affordable, and effective way all generations wherever you may be in relation to us, can actively help New Theatre battle the signs of the time!

ACT 10:  1,000 friends each donate $10 generating $10,000 supporting New Theatre's 08-09 line-up!

Starting NOW through August 14^th, 2008 (Opening night of Shakespeare's As You Like It), wrangle up anyone and everyone you know to join ACT 10.  The individual that has collected the most donations will be announced that evening.

Instead of passing along one of those crazy chain emails that promises fate altering results, you can spread the word of ACT 10 to your family, circle of friends, neighbors, co-workers, clients, even strangers, increasing awareness and actively supporting a theatre you love.  Every individual who donates will be recognized as an  ACT 10 member in our production program. 

For $10- the cost of a drink at a club, an outing to a movie, or simply getting your car valet parked- you and yours can support live theatre!..:namespace prefix = o />

• Do it for yourself,
• Do it as a group,
• Make it a charitable donation in honor of loved ones (Birthday, X-mas, Hanukah gift),
• Or become our hip emissary of the theatre by collecting the most donations and get two full subscriptions to next season plus a few other goodies!

Forward this e-mail to your list with a personalized intro, make sure they id you as their reference or be creative and have a dinner party and collect $10 for ACT 10.  You make up the rules! You become our theatre activist!

Make your donations on our website at www.new-theatre.org.  Click on -- ACT 10-- or print out the form attached and mail in your check to New Theatre,..:namespace prefix = st1 />4120 Laguna Street, Coral Gables, Fl  33146.

While you're on our website check out our recent accolades and awards, but most importantly view our upcoming New Theatre 2008-2009 season of six stellar works you'll be supporting!

Foresight and Heart,

Ricky J. Martinez

Artistic Director

New Theatre