April 13, 2011 MARTIN MCDONAGH’S THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN CLOSES 10/11 ANNENBERG CENTER SEASON DRUID & ATLANTIC THEATER PRODUCTION RECEIVES CRITICAL PRAISE ACROSS THE COUNTRY SIX PERFORMANCES ONLY BEGINNING MAY 19 (Philadelphia, April 13, 2011) —The Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts brings yet another of the world’s renowned theatre companies to Philadelphia audiences this spring when the Druid and Atlantic Theater Company production of Academy® Award winner Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy The Cripple of Inishmaan arrives in Philadelphia for six performances only beginning May 19, 2011. Audiences won’t want to miss the production the Chicago Sun-Times heralds as “one of those rare and enchanted productions that will live in the memory of all who see it for years to come.” Directed by Druid’s Artistic Director and Tony® Award winner Garry Hynes, The Cripple of Inishmaan is part of an eight-city, 14-week tour of the United States, the biggest U.S. tour undertaken by an Irish company since the 1930s. This is also the first time the Druid has toured to Philadelphia. For tickets or for more information, please visit AnnenbergCenter.org or call 215.898.3900. Tickets can also be purchased in person at the Annenberg Center Box Office. Performances of The Cripple of Inishmaan take place on Thursday, May 19 at 7:30 PM; Friday, May 20 at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM; Saturday, May 21 at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM; and Sunday, May 22 at 2:00 PM. Tickets for all performances start at $20. Support for The Cripple of Inishmaan has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through the Philadelphia Theatre Initiative. The Cripple of Inishmaan cast includes (in alphabetical order) Liam Carney (BabbyBobby), Nancy E. Carroll (Mammy O’Dougal), Ingrid Craigie (Kate), Dermot Crowley (JohnnyPateenMike), Clare Dunne (Slippy Helen), Laurence Kinlan (Bartley), Dearbhla Molloy (Eileen), Tadhg Murphy (Billy Claven) and Paul Vincent O’Connor (Doctor McSharry). The set and costume design is by Francis O’Connor, lighting design by Davy Cunningham, sound design by John Leonard and music by Colin Towns. -more- Page 2 The Cripple of Inishmaan at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Set in 1934 on a remote island off the coast of Ireland, the second play in Martin McDonagh’s Aran Islands trilogy, The Cripple of Inishmaan, tells of the day when the local gossip, JohnnyPateenMike, finally stumbles upon news that is exciting. A Hollywood director is coming to the neighboring island of Inishmore to film The Man of Aran and there’s a chance some of the locals will be hired. This chance at stardom interests Slippy Helen, the village beauty, her brother Bartley and even BabbyBobby, but there is no one more eager to audition than Cripple Billy, if only to break away from his overprotective aunts and the bitter tedium of his daily life. Martin McDonagh received a 2006 Tony® Award nomination for Best Play for The Lieutenant of Inishmore. His play The Pillowman won the Olivier Award for Best New Play in 2004 and was nominated for a Tony® Award in 2005. McDonagh also received Tony® Award nominations for The Beauty Queen of Leenane (1998) and The Lonesome West (1999). In 2005 he won the Academy® Award for Best Live Action Short Film for Six Shooter, and his first feature film, In Bruges won an Academy® Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay in 2008, as well as the BAFTA Best Original Screenplay Award in 2008. The Cripple of Inishmaan is Martin McDonagh’s fourth play with Druid. Garry Hynes founded Druid in 1975 and has worked as its Artistic Director from 1975 to 1991, and from 1995 to date. From 1991-94 she was Artistic Director of the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. Hynes has also worked with the Gate Theatre (Ireland), internationally with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Court (UK), with New York’s Atlantic Theater, New York City Center Encores!, Second Stage, Signature Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club; and with The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. She is the recipient of the 1998 Tony® Award for Direction for Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane and many other theatre awards, including The Irish Times/ESB Irish Theatre Award for Best Director and a Special Tribute Award for her contribution to Irish Theatre (2005). Founded in Galway in 1975 by Garry Hynes, Mick Lally and Marie Mullen, Druid became the first professional theatre company in Ireland based outside Dublin. Druid presents work at home in Galway as well as touring extensively in Ireland and throughout the world; in 2009 alone, the company presented hundreds of performances at venues across Australia, Canada, the UK and United States. The company's extensive 2011 tour of The Cripple of Inishmaan to the Annenberg Center and across the US is part of Imagine Ireland, a yearlong Irish arts series in the United States funded by the Irish government, through which hundreds of events will showcase the work of Ireland's rich artistic community. Druid productions have won over 50 awards in Ireland and internationally including four Tony® Awards for The Beauty Queen of Leenane. Atlantic Theater Company is the award- winning Off-Broadway theater company dedicated to producing great plays simply and truthfully utilizing an artistic ensemble. Since its inception, Atlantic has produced over 125 productions including the Tony® Award-winning play The Beauty Queen of Leenane (with Druid and Royal Court), the world premieres of Academy® Award winner Ethan Coen’s comedies Almost an Evening and Offices, David Mamet’s Romance and his adaptation of The Voysey The Cripple of Inishmaan at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Page 3 Inheritance, the musical Spring Awakening, and double-bills of Harold Pinter’s Celebration and The Room and The Collection and A Kind of Alaska. Philadelphia Irish Theatre Festival Performances of The Cripple of Inishmaan are part of the Philadelphia Irish Theatre Festival, taking place between December 2010 and May 2011. The Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts joins five other Philadelphia-area theatre companies, including Amaryllis Theatre Company, the Lantern Theater Company, Inis Nua Theatre Company, Theatre Exile and ACT II playhouse, in presenting works by Irish playwrights. Tickets for the Philadelphia Irish Theatre Festival are available at www.phillytheatretix.com. Theatergoers have the opportunity to order tickets to two or more Philadelphia Irish Theatre Festival plays and save 20%. The Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts The University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts has been the region's leading multi-disciplinary performance venue for theatre, dance, jazz, world music, new music and children’s programming since its inception in 1971. The Annenberg Center’s curatorial vision emphasizes four primary values: artistic integrity, cultural diversity, curatorial balance and a willingness to take risks. By presenting world-renowned and cutting edge artists and companies who express adventuresome perspectives on contemporary issues, timeless ideas and diverse cultures, the Annenberg Center promotes critical thinking and dialogue among its audiences, creating a uniquely rewarding arts experience. The Annenberg Center has achieved national recognition for its outstanding Dance Celebration series (presented in partnership with Philadelphia's Dance Affiliates), touring theatre series, and for its superior offerings for children, including both its Student Discovery Series and the acclaimed 27-year- old Philadelphia International Children’s Festival, the oldest festival of its kind in the United States. Through a generous grant from The Wallace Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Annenberg Center also showcases its commitment to local artists each year through its By Local series. Throughout its history, the Annenberg Center has presented innovative and critically-acclaimed theatre productions with some of the biggest stars of stage and screen including Liv Ullmann and Sam Waterston in A Doll's House, A Streetcar Named Desire with Glenn Close, Jessica Tandy in Beckett's Not I, and Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth with Irene Worth and Christopher Walken. University of Pennsylvania alumnus and noteworthy Broadway producer and director Harold Prince staged many of his plays at the Annenberg Center before taking them to Broadway. -more- Page 4 The Cripple of Inishmaan at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts CALENDAR EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: The Cripple of Inishmaan Druid and Atlantic Theater Company Thursday, May 19 at 7:30 PM Friday, May 20 at 2:00 PM Friday, May 20 at 8:00 PM Saturday, May 21 at 2:00 PM Saturday, May 21 at 8:00 PM Sunday, May 22 at 2:00 PM Zellerbach Theatre at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Famed Irish theatre company Druid and New York's Atlantic Theater present The Cripple of Inishmaan, written by Academy® Award winner Martin McDonagh and directed by Tony® Award winner Garry Hynes. Set in rural Ireland in 1934, this dark comedy depicts the impact that a Hollywood film crew has over the local residents when it shows up to document the tiny island of Inishmore. When a young, orphaned "cripple" named Billy Claven is selected for a part in the film, his dreams of escape take flight. The Cripple of Inishmaan has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through the Philadelphia Theatre Initiative. Media support provided by WHYY. Open captioning will be offered for the 8 PM performance on May 21 and the 2 PM performance on May 22. Tickets: Tickets: $20-$45 (weekday evening) $20-$50 (weekend evening and matinee). For more information please call 215.898.3900 or visit AnnenbergCenter.org. For further press information or to set up interviews, please contact: Lauren Saul, Marketing and Communications Manager phone: 215.573.8537; email: [email protected] # # # .