Lia Chang: C.J. Wilson navigates armor and swordplay in Signature Theatre Company’s World Premiere of Kenneth Lonergan’s Medieval Play

C.J. Wilson (Photo by Lia Chang)

For C.J. Wilson, the Signature Theatre Company’s new Frank Gehry-designed complex- The Pershing Square Signature Center in New York- has been his home away from home since January 17th.

The Lady from Dubuque castmembers Laila Robins, C.J. Wilson, Tricia Paoluccio and Peter Francis James. Photo by Lia Chang

That’s when he began rehearsing for his role as Fred in Signature’s revival of Edward Albee’s The Lady From Dubuque, starring Jane Alexander in the title role, and featuring Catherine Curtin, Michael Hayden, Peter Francis James, Tricia Paoluccio, Laila Robins and Thomas Jay Ryan. The Lady From Dubuque began preview perfomances on February 14, was twice extended, and closed on April 15th.

C.J. Wilson as Fred and Tricia Paoluccio as Carol in Signature Theatre Company’s production of Edward Albee’s The Lady from Dubuque. Photo by Joan Marcus

“It was the first time I’d done an Albee play,” said Wilson. “Edward was around for the meet and greet, and then there was an ‘ask Edward any question you want day’. Later on, he would come to run thrus. I was inspired by him. He can be a very intimidating presence. I felt it was very inspiring because of his intensity. I was playing a very intense character. Fred, he’s a drinker, he’s been married 3 times, he’s brought his girlfriend to a party to meet his friends. He’s a bit of a racist, a lush, a drunk. I think there has to be something charming about him to have been married 3 times.”

In reviews of The Lady From Dubuque, Erik Haagensen of BACKSTAGE writes, “C.J. Wilson’s Fred is the epitome of testosterone-fueled misogyny, gleefully common and palpably sexual,” and Suzanna Bowling of Times Square Chronicles writes, “C.J. Wilson is perfect as the self obsessed soulless midlife man obsessed with youth.”

“Being a part of the cast of The Lady from Dubuque was my first time working with Signature,” said Wilson. It’s an honor to have performed in the inaugural production for the space. I’m very lucky.”

Medieval Play castmembers C.J. Wilson, Josh Hamilton, Tate Donovan, Kevin Geer and Halley Feiffer. Photo by Lia Chang

Little did Wilson know at the time that he would be cast in the world premiere of Kenneth Lonergan’s new comedy Medieval Play, which Lonergan is also directing. Against the classic comic background of late 14th century ecclesiastical politics, Lonergan’s Medieval Play follows the story of two French mercenary knights who set out on a quest for relative moral redemption.

It is a story of friendship, love, noble feats of arms, indiscriminate brutality, the progressive refinement of medieval table manners and the general decline of the chivalric ideal at the onset of the Great Papal Schism of 1378. When I met up with Wilson in the Café of the Center during his dinner break, he was in the throes of tech – navigating swords, shields, suits of armor and endless costume changes.

C.J. Wilson (Photo by Lia Chang)

“I’m having a blast working with Kenny Lonergan, who as the director and playwright, will instantly incorporate hilarious one-liners into the play,” said Wilson. “I’m playing three knights. I have three sets of armor changes. I fight in two of them. I feel like Robocop. You move differently. There’s no peripheral vision with the helmets. In addition to the knights, I play a medieval doctor with all of the trappings, a lusty cardinal, a pigeon, pilgrims and a monk. I’ve done a good handful of Shakespeare plays where I’ve worked with swords, using swordplay, but I’ve never had to wear armor before. There are lots of quick changes, and working with armor takes some getting used to.”

In addition to Wilson, the cast includes Anthony Arkin (I’m Not Rappaport, The Waverly Gallery), Heather Burns (Middletown, Lobby Hero), Tate Donovan (Good People, Lobby Hero), Kevin Geer (Unconditional, Twelve Angry Men), Halley Feiffer (The House of Blue Leaves, Tigers Be Still), Josh Hamilton (The Coast of Utopia, The Cherry Orchard) and John Pankow.

Wilson caught the acting bug when he attended Troy State University in Alabama.

C.J. Wilson (Photo by Lia Chang)

“My first acting experience was in college,” said Wilson. “I’m from Fairhope, Alabama, where there were no dramatic arts programs. I always wanted to act. I had a choice between watching Monday night football or auditioning for 1776. It was a Scottish part, and I could do the accent. After I auditioned for 1776, I also got cast in A.R. Guerney’s The Dining Room. I’ve been hooked ever since.”

A graduate of Juilliard, Wilson has worked steadily in theater, film and TV, making his Broadway debut in the 2000 revival of Gore Vidal’s The Best Man. His other Broadway credits include A Steady Rain, Festen, Henry IV and Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Off-Broadway, he appeared in All-American at LCT 3; The Bear at HERE; Offices and Voysey Inheritance at Atlantic Theater; Race at Jewish Rep; Stop Kiss, The Cripple of Inishmaan and The Merry Wives of Windsor at The Public.

In 2010, Wilson received a Lucille Lortel nomination for his role as Michael, in Primary Stages’ production of Lucinda Coxon’s Happy Now?.

“I played this British ne’er-do-well,” said Wilson. “He was funny, charming and genuinely loved women. It made it easier for women to like him. It was a lot more joyful to play.

Charles Isherwood, of The New York Times writes, “This jolly lout, played to perfection by C. J. Wilson, exudes the friendly neediness of a tail-wagging golden retriever. He practices a patented form of seduction, lavishing sympathy and flattery on hard-driven professional women looking for a steam valve to release some pressure.”

Mary Bacon as Kitty and CJ Wilson as Michael in the Primary Stages production of Happy Now? by Lucinda Coxon at Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters. Directed by Liz Diamond. Photo credit: James Leynse.

A staff writer for the New York Daily News writes, “And Wilson delivers an especially potent performance as the sad-sack serial seducer who sets out to pick up a woman and ends up helping her to wake up to her life.”

Regionally, he has worked with the Berkshire Theatre Group, Wilma, Shakespeare Theatre, Old Globe, Williamstown, ACT in Seattle, Fulton Opera House, McCarter, Syracuse Stage, Acting Company. On TV, he has guest starred on “Blue Bloods,” “Pan Am,” “Onion Sportsdome,” “Brotherhood,” “Without a Trace,” “Third Watch,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order:SVU,” Law & Order: CI,” “Ed,” “New Amsterdam,” and “All My Children.” Wilson can be seen as a fireman in the summer release of Rob Reiner’s The Magic of Belle Isle, which stars Morgan Freeman and Virginia Madsen, and he has also appeared in the film Ghoul.

The design team for Medieval Play includes Walt Spangler (Scenic Design), Michael Krass (Costume Design), Jason Lyons (Lighting Design), David Van Tiegham (Sound Design) and J. David Brimmer (Fight Direction). The production stage manager is David H. Lurie.

C.J. Wilson, Medieval Play playwright/director Kenneth Lonergan and Matthew Broderick at The Signature Pershing Square Center in New York on May 12, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Kenneth Lonergan’s Medieval Play runs May 15 – June 24, 2012 with a June 7 opening night in The Irene Diamond Stage at the Company’s new Frank Gehry-designed home The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues). Single tickets are now on sale for Medieval Play at the Signature Theatre Box Office (212-244-7529) and at signaturetheatre.org. Tickets are also on sale for Athol Fugard’s My Children! My Africa! and Will Eno’s Title and Deed.

Tickets to the initial runs of all productions of Signature’s Inaugural Season at The Pershing Square Signature Center are $25, part of the groundbreaking Signature Ticket Initiative: A Generation of Access, a program that guarantees affordable and accessible tickets to every Signature production for the next 20 years. Serving as a model for theatres and performing arts organizations across the country, the Initiative was founded in 2005 and is made possible by lead partner The Pershing Square Foundation and founding sponsor Time Warner, Inc., with additional seed support provided by the Ford Foundation, Margot Adams, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

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Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang. Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2012 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

Denise Burse as Claretha Jenkins in House of Payne’s “Payneful Visit”

Photo by Lia Chang

Denise Burse is most familiar to television audiences as Claretha Jenkins on Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, the 2011 NAACP Award recipient for Outstanding Comedy Series. In the current season of House of Payne, Claretha reveals she has leukemia.

Ms. Burse can be seen in Bruce Beresford’s Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding, a new film starring Jane Fonda, Elizabeth Olsen, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Catherine Keener, Chase Crawford and Kyle MacLachlan, scheduled for release this year.

Production still of Charles Randolph Wright's Preaching to the Choir (l-r) Kia (Janine Green), Miss Nettie (Eartha Kitt), Butter (Roger Robinson), Willie (Jonathan Lopez), Sister Marcie (Denise Burse), Sister Emma (Adriane Lenox) Photo by Robert Barocci/Preaching to the Choir

Her favorite film roles include her co-starring turns as Martin Luther King, Jr.’s mother opposite Howard Rollins in The Boy King (WSB); as Buster Marshall, Thurgood Marshall’s wife in Simple Justice (PBS American Experience); as Sister Marcie in Preaching to the Choir, directed by Charles Randolph Wright, as Sergeant Martin in A Time to Triumph (CBS) starring Patty Duke; and as Eleanor Clark in Resting Place (CBS, Hallmark Hall of Fame), starring John Lithgow and Morgan Freeman. Other film and TV credits include the BET/STARZ movie Funny Valentines, with Alfre Woodard and Loretta Devine, Angel, Basquiat, The Juror, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Third Watch, 100 Centre Street, The Sopranos, The Cosby Show, New York Undercover and One Life to Live.

Denise Burse as Harriet Tubman in Harriet's Return. Photo by Lia Chang

Ms. Burse appeared on Broadway in Wendy Wasserstein’s An American Daughter, directed by Daniel Sullivan. Her Off-Broadway credits include Eisa Davis’ Angela’s Mixtape (Ohio Theatre), Don Juan of Seville (Classical Stage Company), Ground People (American Place Theatre), Harriet’s Return (Cherry Lane Theatre), Hannah Davis (Negro Ensemble Company) and Bill Harris’ Robert Johnson: Trick the Devil (New Federal Theatre). Her regional credits include Pearl Cleage’s Flyin’ West with Ruby Dee at The Kennedy Center; Charles Randolph Wright’s Blue (Cincinnati Playhouse, Geva); Miss Evers’ Boys (Illusion Theater); African Company Presents Richard III (Cleveland Playhouse); Fences (CENTERSTAGE); The Piano Lesson (Seattle Repertory Theatre, director Lloyd Richards) and James Baldwin’s The Amen Corner (True Colors Theatre Company/Alliance Theatre). Helmer Kenny Leon has directed her in August Wilson’s Fences (Alliance Theatre), Radio Golf (CENTERSTAGE, Mark Taper Forum, Seattle Repertory Theatre), The Piano Lesson and Seven Guitars (Alliance Theatre). Ms. Burse garnered a Theatre World Award for her Off-Broadway debut in Ground People and an AUDELCO Award for Robert Johnson: Trick The Devil.

(l-r) Denise Burse, Navaina Rhodes, Margo Moorer and Chandra Currelley in True Colors Theatre's production of The Amen Corner by James Baldwin at The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. Photo by Tom Meyer

A native of Atlanta, Ms. Burse honed her craft performing at the Just Us Theatre, The Alliance Theatre and The Atlanta Children’s Theater.

Here is the link – http://wp.me/pla1d-3hJ – to post this article on Facebook.

On October 16, 2005, fourteen days after American playwright August Wilson's death, the theatre was renamed in his honor. (l-r) August Wilson's niece Kimberly Ellis with Radio Golf castmembers Denise Burse, John Earl Jelks and Anthony Chisholm in front of the August Wilson Theatre on October 16, 2005. Photos by Lia Chang

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Lia Chang, Peter Jay Fernandez, Denise Burse and Marva Hicks after the concert presentation of Pat Holley's Me and Caesar Lee at The Triad Theatre in New York on April 3, 2011.

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.

As a photographer and videographer, Lia collaborates with artists, organizations and companies in establishing their documentary photo archive and social media presence. She has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden. Lia currently plays Nurse Lia on “One Life to Live”. She has appeared in Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and “New York Undercover”.

Selections of Lia’s archive of Asian Pacific Americans in the arts, fashion, journalism, politics and space are now in the newly created LIA CHANG THEATER PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO in the ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection.

Lia’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Broadwayworld.com, Life & Style, OUT, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, thelmagazine.com, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post. A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Lia is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog.

Geffen Playhouse Production Photos of Neil LaBute’s The Break of Noon starring Kevin Anderson, Tracee Chimo, Catherine Dent and John Earl Jelks, 1/25-3/6/11

Kevin Anderson in the Geffen Playhouse production of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon directed by Jo Bonney. Photo by Michael Lamont

Broadway veteran Kevin Anderson leads the cast of the Los Angeles run of the world premiere production of Neil LaBute’s The Break of Noon, helmed by Jo Bonney, which is currently in previews at the Geffen Playhouse, located on 10886 Le Conte Avenue. A co-production with MCC in New York, The Break of Noon cast includes Catherine Dent as well as Tracee Chimo and John Earl Jelks, who performed their roles in the New York portion of the run. Opening night for The Break of Noon is February 2, with performances continuing through March 6, 2011.

Kevin Anderson and John Earl Jelks in the Geffen Playhouse production of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon directed by Jo Bonney. Photo by Michael Lamont

Kevin Anderson, who was recently nominated for a Tony Award for his role in Death of a Salesman, portrays the play’s central character, John Smith, a man who hears the voice of God during a tragic office shooting. Smith is a selfish, philandering liar – or at least he was. After the incident, this imperfect man reforms himself and goes on a mission to spread the word about a better way of life to everyone surrounding him: his wife and his wife’s cousin, both portrayed by Catherine Dent, known for her longtime role on The Shield; a morning talk show host and a call girl, both played by Tracee Chimo, who recently received the Eugene O’Neil Award for her role in Irena’s Vow; and his lawyer and the detective on the case, both played by Tony Award nominee John Earl Jelks (Radio Golf). But is Joe’s divine encounter merely a ploy for celebrity, a chance to escape his rocky past, or is it part of an infinite and almighty plan? In The Break of Noon, LaBute explores the trials and tribulations of a modern day prophet – and what he signifies in a jaded world that is thousands of years removed from burning bushes and stone tablets.

Kevin Anderson and Catherine Dent in the Geffen Playhouse production of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon directed by Jo Bonney. Photo by Michael Lamont

The production team includes set design by Neil Patel, costume design by Emilio Sosa, lighting design by David Wiener, sound design by, Darron L. West, with Christina Lowe as production stage manager.

Tracee Chimo and Kevin Anderson in the Geffen Playhouse production of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon directed by Jo Bonney. Photo by Michael Lamont

The Break of Noon marks the fourth time LaBute’s work has been at the Geffen Playhouse; his past works at the theater include Fat Pig (also directed by Bonney), Some Girl(s) and Wrecks, all of which ran in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater.

The performance schedule for The Break of Noon is Tuesday – Friday 8:00pm, Saturday at 3:00pm and 8:00pm and Sunday at 2:00pm and 7:00pm. Ticket prices range from $37 – $57 for preview performances and from $47 – $77 for the regular run. Tickets are available at the Geffen Playhouse box office at 310-208-5454 or online at www.geffenplayhouse.com.

Kevin Anderson in the Geffen Playhouse production of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon directed by Jo Bonney. Photo by Michael Lamont

KEVIN ANDERSON (John Smith)
Kevin just returned from London’s West End and Dublin as Andy Dufresne in the new stage adaptation of The Shawshank Redemption. An ensemble member since 1984, other plays at Steppenwolf include I Never Sang for My Father, Our Town, Three Sisters, Earthly Possessions and Orphans, which took him to New York (Theatre World Award), London’s West End and eventually the movie with Albert Finney. Other Chicago credits include A Guide for the Perplexed (Victory Gardens); Pal Joey and Death of a Salesman (The Goodman); among others. Broadway and off-Broadway include Death of a Salesman (Outer Critics and Drama Desk awards, Tony® nomination), the musical Brooklyn, Orpheus Descending, Moonchildren, Brilliant Traces, The Red Address, Speaking in Tongues and Summer and Smoke. Other London theatre credits include the original Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard and Dinner with Friends. Some of his films include Charlotte’s Web, Miles from Home, In Country, Sleeping with the Enemy, Liebestraum, Hoffa, The Night We Never Met, Rising Sun, Firelight, A Thousand Acres, Eye of God, Doe Boy and the new Al Pacino docu-drama Wilde Salome. Cable films include Orpheus Descending, The Wrong Man, Hunt for the Unicorn Killer, Ruby’s Bucket of Blood, Monday Night Mayhem and Power and Beauty. He starred in the TV series Nothing Sacred, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination.

JO BONNEY (Director)
Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig (MCC/Geffen Playhouse) and Some Girl(s) (MCC); Culture Clash’s American Night (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Darci Picoult’s Lil’s 90th (Long Wharf Theatre); Suzan-Lori Parks’ Father Comes Home from the Wars (Public LAB); Naomi Wallace’s The Hard Weather Boating Party and The Fever Chart; Michael Weller’s Beast (New York TheatreWorkshop); Alan Ball’s All that I Will Ever Be (NYTW); Eric Bogosian’s subUrbia, Charles Fuller’s A Soldier’s Play and Lisa Loomer’s Living Out (Second Stage); Will Power’s The Seven (NYTW & La Jolla Playhouse; Lortel Award, Best Musical); Christopher Shinn’s On the Mountain (Playwrights Horizons); Universes’ Slanguage (NYTW/Mark Taper Forum); Lanford Wilson’s Fifth of July (Signature Theatre; Lortel Award, Best Revival); José Rivera’s References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot (The Public Theater); Diana Son’s Stop Kiss (The Public Theater); Jessica Goldberg’s Good Thing (The New Group); John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger (CSC); Danny Hoch’s Some People and Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop (USA/Britain); numerous solos by Eric Bogosian (USA/Britain). Recipient of a 1998 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Direction and editor of Extreme Exposure: An Anthology of Solo Performance Texts from the Twentieth Century (TCG). Upcoming: Lynn Nottage’s By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (Second Stage).

Tracee Chimo and Kevin Anderson in the Geffen Playhouse production of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon directed by Jo Bonney. Photo by Michael Lamont

TRACEE CHIMO (TV Host, Gigi)
Tracee was last seen as Regan in The Bachelorette. Broadway: Irena’s Vow. Off Broadway: Circle Mirror Transformation (Lucille Lortel nom, Drama Desk award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance), Vendetta Chrome, Guilty, Bushwhackin’, Vamp. Regional: Sundance ’08, Humana Festival/Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, The Cleveland Playhouse and Philadelphia Theatre Company. TV: Guest-star in the FX series Louie, Guiding Light. Film: Evening, What Would Jesus Do?, Daughters of Liberty and Wasted Time. Last year Tracee was honored by actress Marian Seldes and The O’Neill Studio, where she studied, with the Eugene O’Neill Award for her work in Irena’s Vow.

Kevin Anderson and Catherine Dent in the Geffen Playhouse production of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon directed by Jo Bonney. Photo by Michael Lamont

CATHERINE DENT (Ginger, Jesse)
Theater: (Broadway) Uncle Vanya (Off-Broadway) Amoeba Concerto (Regional) The Country, The Street of the Sun. TV: N.C.I.S., Law and Order: Los Angeles, The Closer, Rockford Files, Ghost Whisperer, Day One, Lie to Me, Natalee Holloway, The Shield, Law & Order: SVU, Criminal Minds, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Without A Trace, Numbers, Grey’s Anatomy, Seattle Serial Killer, Law and Order, Judging Amy, CSI, Taken, The Sopranos, Dharma and Greg, Third Watch, The X-Files, Frasier, L.A. Doctors, Chicago Hope, New York Under Cover. Film: Duress, 21 Grams, Auto Focus, The Majestic, Someone Like You, The Replicant, March 29 1997, Nobody’s Fool, Jaded.

Kevin Anderson and John Earl Jelks in the Geffen Playhouse production of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon directed by Jo Bonney. Photo by Michael Lamont

JOHN EARL JELKS (Lawyer, Detective)
John was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance as “Sterling” in August Wilson’s Radio Golf, which he also toured to the McCarter, Goodman, Center Stage, Seattle Rep., Mark Taper and Yale Repertory theaters. Jelks also appeared with Phylicia Rashad on Broadway in August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean as “Citizen” (after runs at the Goodman, Huntington, and Mark Taper theaters, where he won an NAACP Theater Award and an L.A. Ovation Award).

John Earl Jelks Photo by Lia Chang

In 2008, Jelks won an AUDELCO Award for his work in the Off-Broadway revival of The First Breeze of Summer. Regional theater credits include Fetch Clay, Make Man at the McCarter Theatre, the world stage premiere of The Shawshank Redemption at the Gaiety Theatre in Ireland, Magnolia at the Goodman Theater, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the Penumbra Theatre Company and the Missouri Repertory Theatre, The Piano Lesson at the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre and Diary of a Black Man at the Union Square Theatre and the Shaw Theatre in London, England. Recently, Jelks appeared in Spike Lee’s film Miracle at St. Anna.

NEIL LaBUTE (Playwright)
Neil LaBute received his Master of Fine Arts degree in dramatic writing from New York University and was the recipient of a literary fellowship to study at the Royal Court Theatre, London and also attended the Sundance Institute’s Playwrights Lab. His films include In the Company of Men (New York Critics’ Circle Award for Best First Feature and the Filmmaker Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival), Your Friends and Neighbors, Nurse Betty, Possession, The Shape of Things (a film adaptation of his play by the same title), The Wicker Man, Lakeview Terrace and Death at a Funeral. LaBute’s plays include bash: latter-day plays, The Shape of Things, The Mercy Seat, The Distance From Here, Autobahn, Fat Pig (Olivier nomination for Best Comedy), Some Girls, This Is How It Goes, Wrecks, Filthy Talk for Troubled Times, In a Dark Dark House and reasons to be pretty (Tony Award nomination for Best Play). LaBute is also the author of Seconds of Pleasure, a collection of short fiction which was published by Grove Atlantic. His new play, In a Forest Dark and Deep, will open on London’s West End in 2011.

ABOUT THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE
The Geffen Playhouse has been a hub of the Los Angeles theater scene since opening its doors in 1995. Noted for its intimacy and celebrated for its world-renowned mix of classic and contemporary plays, provocative new works and musicals, the Geffen Playhouse continues to present a body of work that has garnered national recognition. Named in honor of entertainment mogul and philanthropist David Geffen, who made the initial donation to the theater, the company is helmed by Producing Director and President of the Board Gilbert Cates, Artistic Director Randall Arney, Managing Director Ken Novice and Chairman of the Board Frank Mancuso. Proudly associated with UCLA, the Geffen Playhouse welcomes an audience of more than 130,000 each year, and maintains an extensive education and outreach program, designed to engage young people and the community at large in the arts. For more information, visit www.geffenplayhouse.com.

ABOUT MCC THEATER
MCC Theater is one of New York City’s leading Off Broadway theater companies, committed to presenting New York and world premieres each season. When MCC Theater was founded in 1986, its mission was simple: to bring new theatrical voices to theater-going audiences. MCC Theater continues to accomplish this yearly through presentation of its mainstage works; its Literary Program, which actively seeks and develops new and emerging writers and its Education & Outreach Program, allowing more than 1,200 students yearly to experience theater, increase literacy and discover their own voices in the arts. Notable MCC Theater highlights include: the 2008 Tony Award-nominated Reasons to be Pretty by Neil LaBute, last season’s Fifty Words, the 2004 Tony-winning production of Bryony Lavery’s Frozen; Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig; Rebecca Gilman’s The Glory of Living; Marsha Norman’s Trudy Blue; Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Wit; Tim Blake Nelson’s The Grey Zone and Alan Bowne’s Beirut. Over the years, the dedication to the work of new and emerging artists has earned MCC Theater a variety of awards. For a complete production history, visit www.mcctheater.org.

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Kevin Anderson, Catherine Dent, Tracee Chimo, John Earl Jelks in Neil La Bute’s The Break of Noon at the Geffen 1/25-3/6
Photos: David Duchovny, John Earl Jelks, Amanda Peet,Tracee Chimo opening night of Neil LaBute’s The Break of Noon
Photos: Chinese New Year Festival at The Huntington in San Marino
Up Close and Personal with Darren Pettie, Star of The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore
A.B. Cruz III of Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc., Lillian Kimura To Receive 2011 Justice in Action Awards
Photos:The Working Theater’s Off-Broadway production of HONEY BROWN EYES by Stefanie Zadravec at The Clurman -2/6/11
Jarlath Conroy Leads Cast of Pinter’s The Homecoming at CENTERSTAGE in Baltimore, 1/26-2/20/11
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive.

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2011 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com.

Lia Chang: Kevin Anderson and Catherine Dent Join Tracee Chimo and John Earl Jelks in Neil La Bute’s The Break of Noon for LA Run at the Geffen Playhouse, 1/25-3/6

John Earl Jelks and Tracee Chimo at the opening night afterparty at 49 Grove for MCC's production of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon in New York on November 22, 2010 Photo by Lia Chang

Broadway veteran Kevin Anderson leads the cast in the Los Angeles run of the world premiere production of Neil LaBute’s The Break of Noon. The Break of Noon, which is a co-production with MCC in New York, will feature Catherine Dent as well as Tracee Chimo and John Earl Jelks, who performed their roles in the New York portion of the run. Helmed by director Jo Bonney, The Break of Noon begins in previews on January 25, 2011 and officially opens February 2, 2011.

Kevin Anderson, who was recently nominated for a Tony Award for his role in Death of a Salesman, portrays the play’s central character, John Smith, a man who hears the voice of God during a tragic office shooting. Smith is a selfish, philandering liar – or at least he was. After the incident, this imperfect man reforms himself and goes on a mission to spread the word about a better way of life to everyone surrounding him: his wife and his wife’s cousin, both portrayed by Catherine Dent, known for her longtime role on The Shield; a morning talk show host and a call girl, both played by Tracee Chimo, who recently received the Eugene O’Neil Award for her role in Irena’s Vow; and his lawyer and the detective on the case, both played by Tony Award nominee John Earl Jelks (Radio Golf). But is Joe’s divine encounter merely a ploy for celebrity, a chance to escape his rocky past, or is it part of an infinite and almighty plan? In The Break of Noon, LaBute explores the trials and tribulations of a modern day prophet – and what he signifies in a jaded world that is thousands of years removed from burning bushes and stone tablets.

The production team includes set design by Neil Patel, costume design by Emilio Sosa, lighting design by David Wiener, sound design by, Darron L. West, with Christina Lowe as production stage manager.

The Break of Noon marks the fourth time LaBute’s work has been at the Geffen Playhouse; his past works at the theater include Fat Pig (also directed by Bonney), Some Girl(s) and Wrecks, all of which ran in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater. The Break of Noon runs from January 25 to March 6, 2011.

The performance schedule is Tuesday – Friday 8:00pm, Saturday at 3:00pm and 8:00pm and Sunday at 2:00pm and 7:00pm. Ticket prices range from $37 – $57 for preview performances and from $47 – $77 for the regular run. Tickets are on sale now at the Geffen Playhouse box office at 310-208-5454 or online at www.geffenplayhouse.com.

Tracee Chimo, David Duchovny, Amanda Peet and John Earl Jelks at the opening night curtain call of MCC Theater's world premiere of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon at the Lucille Lortel in New York on November 22, 2010. Photo by Lia Chang

The New York production of The Break of Noon, starring David Duchovny, Amanda Peet, Tracee Chimo and John Earl Jelks has been extended through December 22, 2010 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street, NYC). The show is playing the following schedule for the extension due to the holiday:
Thursday, December 16 at 8:00 p.m.
Friday, December 17 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 18 at 2:00 & 8:00 p.m.
Sunday. December 19 at 3:00 p.m.
Monday, December 20 at 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, December 21 at 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 22 at 2:00 & 7:00 p.m.

Subscriptions for MCC’s 2010-2011 season are on-sale now and priced as low as $99 for the 3-play season. For more information visit www.mcctheater.org or to purchase packages, contact TicketCentral directly at www.ticketcentral.com or call 212-279-4200.

KEVIN ANDERSON (John Smith)
Kevin just returned from London’s West End and Dublin as Andy Dufresne in the new stage adaptation of The Shawshank Redemption. An ensemble member since 1984, other plays at Steppenwolf include I Never Sang for My Father, Our Town, Three Sisters, Earthly Possessions and Orphans, which took him to New York (Theatre World Award), London’s West End and eventually the movie with Albert Finney. Other Chicago credits include A Guide for the Perplexed (Victory Gardens); Pal Joey and Death of a Salesman (The Goodman); among others. Broadway and off-Broadway include Death of a Salesman (Outer Critics and Drama Desk awards, Tony® nomination), the musical Brooklyn, Orpheus Descending, Moonchildren, Brilliant Traces, The Red Address, Speaking in Tongues and Summer and Smoke. Other London theatre credits include the original Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard and Dinner with Friends. Some of his films include Charlotte’s Web, Miles from Home, In Country, Sleeping with the Enemy, Liebestraum, Hoffa, The Night We Never Met, Rising Sun, Firelight, A Thousand Acres, Eye of God, Doe Boy and the new Al Pacino docu-drama Wilde Salome. Cable films include Orpheus Descending, The Wrong Man, Hunt for the Unicorn Killer, Ruby’s Bucket of Blood, Monday Night Mayhem and Power and Beauty. He starred in the TV series Nothing Sacred, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination.

JO BONNEY (Director)
Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig (MCC/Geffen Playhouse) and Some Girl(s) (MCC); Culture Clash’s American Night (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Darci Picoult’s Lil’s 90th (Long Wharf Theatre); Suzan-Lori Parks’ Father Comes Home from the Wars (Public LAB); Naomi Wallace’s The Hard Weather Boating Party and The Fever Chart; Michael Weller’s Beast (New York TheatreWorkshop); Alan Ball’s All that I Will Ever Be (NYTW); Eric Bogosian’s subUrbia, Charles Fuller’s A Soldier’s Play and Lisa Loomer’s Living Out (Second Stage); Will Power’s The Seven (NYTW & La Jolla Playhouse; Lortel Award, Best Musical); Christopher Shinn’s On the Mountain (Playwrights Horizons); Universes’ Slanguage (NYTW/Mark Taper Forum); Lanford Wilson’s Fifth of July (Signature Theatre; Lortel Award, Best Revival); José Rivera’s References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot (The Public Theater); Diana Son’s Stop Kiss (The Public Theater); Jessica Goldberg’s Good Thing (The New Group); John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger (CSC); Danny Hoch’s Some People and Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop (USA/Britain); numerous solos by Eric Bogosian (USA/Britain). Recipient of a 1998 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Direction and editor of Extreme Exposure: An Anthology of Solo Performance Texts from the Twentieth Century (TCG). Upcoming: Lynn Nottage’s By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (Second Stage).

TRACEE CHIMO (TV Host, Gigi)
Tracee was last seen as Regan in The Bachelorette. Broadway: Irena’s Vow. Off Broadway: Circle Mirror Transformation (Lucille Lortel nom, Drama Desk award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance), Vendetta Chrome, Guilty, Bushwhackin’, Vamp. Regional: Sundance ’08, Humana Festival/Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, The Cleveland Playhouse and Philadelphia Theatre Company. TV: Guest-star in the FX series Louie, Guiding Light. Film: Evening, What Would Jesus Do?, Daughters of Liberty and Wasted Time. Last year Tracee was honored by actress Marian Seldes and The O’Neill Studio, where she studied, with the Eugene O’Neill Award for her work in Irena’s Vow.

CATHERINE DENT (Ginger, Jesse)
Theater: (Broadway) Uncle Vanya (Off-Broadway) Amoeba Concerto (Regional) The Country, The Street of the Sun. TV: N.C.I.S., Law and Order: Los Angeles, The Closer, Rockford Files, Ghost Whisperer, Day One, Lie to Me, Natalee Holloway, The Shield, Law & Order: SVU, Criminal Minds, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Without A Trace, Numbers, Grey’s Anatomy, Seattle Serial Killer, Law and Order, Judging Amy, CSI, Taken, The Sopranos, Dharma and Greg, Third Watch, The X-Files, Frasier, L.A. Doctors, Chicago Hope, New York Under Cover. Film: Duress, 21 Grams, Auto Focus, The Majestic, Someone Like You, The Replicant, March 29 1997, Nobody’s Fool, Jaded.

John Earl Jelks Photo by Lia Chang

JOHN EARL JELKS (Lawyer, Detective)
John was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance as “Sterling” in August Wilson’s Radio Golf, which he also toured to the McCarter, Goodman, Center Stage, Seattle Rep., Mark Taper and Yale Repertory theaters. Jelks also appeared with Phylicia Rashad on Broadway in August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean as “Citizen” (after runs at the Goodman, Huntington, and Mark Taper theaters, where he won an NAACP Theater Award and an L.A. Ovation Award). In 2008, Jelks won an AUDELCO Award for his work in the Off-Broadway revival of The First Breeze of Summer. Regional theater credits include Fetch Clay, Make Man at the McCarter Theatre, the world stage premiere of The Shawshank Redemption at the Gaiety Theatre in Ireland, Magnolia at the Goodman Theater, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the Penumbra Theatre Company and the Missouri Repertory Theatre, The Piano Lesson at the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre and Diary of a Black Man at the Union Square Theatre and the Shaw Theatre in London, England. Recently, Jelks appeared in Spike Lee’s film Miracle at St. Anna.

NEIL LaBUTE (Playwright)
Neil LaBute received his Master of Fine Arts degree in dramatic writing from New York University and was the recipient of a literary fellowship to study at the Royal Court Theatre, London and also attended the Sundance Institute’s Playwrights Lab. His films include In the Company of Men (New York Critics’ Circle Award for Best First Feature and the Filmmaker Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival), Your Friends and Neighbors, Nurse Betty, Possession, The Shape of Things (a film adaptation of his play by the same title), The Wicker Man, Lakeview Terrace and Death at a Funeral. LaBute’s plays include bash: latter-day plays, The Shape of Things, The Mercy Seat, The Distance From Here, Autobahn, Fat Pig (Olivier nomination for Best Comedy), Some Girls, This Is How It Goes, Wrecks, Filthy Talk for Troubled Times, In a Dark Dark House and reasons to be pretty (Tony Award nomination for Best Play). LaBute is also the author of Seconds of Pleasure, a collection of short fiction which was published by Grove Atlantic. His new play, In a Forest Dark and Deep, will open on London’s West End in 2011.

ABOUT THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE
The Geffen Playhouse has been a hub of the Los Angeles theater scene since opening its doors in 1995. Noted for its intimacy and celebrated for its world-renowned mix of classic and contemporary plays, provocative new works and musicals, the Geffen Playhouse continues to present a body of work that has garnered national recognition. Named in honor of entertainment mogul and philanthropist David Geffen, who made the initial donation to the theater, the company is helmed by Producing Director and President of the Board Gilbert Cates, Artistic Director Randall Arney, Managing Director Ken Novice and Chairman of the Board Frank Mancuso. Proudly associated with UCLA, the Geffen Playhouse welcomes an audience of more than 130,000 each year, and maintains an extensive education and outreach program, designed to engage young people and the community at large in the arts. For more information, visit www.geffenplayhouse.com.

Other Articles by Lia Chang
Photos: David Duchovny, John Earl Jelks, Amanda Peet,Tracee Chimo opening night of Neil LaBute’s The Break of Noon
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Lia Chang

Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art photographer and an award-winning multimedia journalist.

Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer, an award-winning multimedia journalist.

As a photographer and videographer, Lia collaborates with artists, organizations and companies in establishing their documentary photo archive and social media presence. She has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden.

This year, selections of Lia’s archive of Asian Pacific Americans in the arts, fashion, journalism, politics and space will become part of newly created LIA CHANG THEATER PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO in the ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection.

Lia’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, VIBE, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Broadwayworld.com, Life & Style, OUT, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, thelmagazine.com, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post. A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Lia is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog.