FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Publicity Contact: Email: [email protected] “ELOQUENTLY WRITTEN – DEEPLY MOVING” Thursday Night Theater Club Presents A Classic True-life Tale in THE ELEPHANT MAN By Bernard Pomerance Opening March 21 at El Portal Theatre Press Review Night: March 22, 2019 LOS ANGELES (January 28, 2019) – Thursday Night Theatre Club is proud to present a classic true-life tale and heart wrenching story that depicts the best and the worst of humanity. The Elephant Man is an eloquently written play by Bernard Pomerance, and is being directed by Robyn Cohen at The Historic El Portal Theatre. Running March 21 – 23 and April 3 – 14, 2019. Tickets: www.ElPortalTheatre.com ABOUT THE SHOW Taking place in Victorian England 1884, this gripping drama is based on the real life events of Joseph Carey Merrick. The Elephant Man is the story of a 19th century Englishman who has an unprecedented physical deformation. As a victim of a rare skin and bone disease called Proteus Syndrome, Merrick eventually becomes the star of a traveling freak show circuit. When the renowned Dr. Frederick Treves takes Merrick under his care, he is astonished by the young man’s brilliant mind, unshakable faith, and passionate desire for love, acceptance and romance. Merrick‘s astonishing and moving story is the basis for this Tony award winning play. Part of that story includes Merrick’s acquaintance with a beautiful actress, Mrs. Kendal. She becomes entranced by Merrick‘s pure and genuine soul. As a complex friendship between the three main characters blossoms, Dr. Treves and Mrs. Kendall struggle to protect Merrick from the severity of his worsening condition, as well as from a world of opportunism, exploitation that make achieving a normal life seem all but impossible. THE CAST OF THE ELEPHANT MAN John Ralston Craig – “Frederick Treves” Skip Pipo – “Carr Gomm / Conductor” Tom Vitorino – “John Merrick” Alice L. Walker – “Mrs. Kendal” Jon Sperry – “Ross / Bishop Howe” Jennipher Lewis – “Miss Sandwich / Pinhead” Vanessa Vaughn – “The Duchess / Pinhead” Albert Soratorio – “Belgian Policeman” Robin Roth – “Princess Alexandra / Nurse” Nathan Wallace – “Policeman/Snork /Doctor #1” Jay Parker – “Pinhead Manager / Lord John” Logan Padilla – “Orderly Will” David Revaza – “Orderly / Porter” THE PRODUCTION TEAM Written by Bernard Pomerance Directed by Robyn Cohen Technical Direction by Edwin Pleitez Co-Produced by Tom Vitorino and Alice L. Walker Produced by Thursday Night Theater Club Production Assistant: Sasha Panfilova Sound Engineering by Beau Bancroft Set Design by Lillian George Lighting Direction by Bo Tindall Costume Design by Melissa Marks Stage Managed by Brenna Howe Flyman / Stage hand: Brian Green Photography by Jason Ross Levy D/P/Videography by David Ruano Media Content Producing by Albert Soratorio Publicity by Sandra Kuker PR HISTORY OF JOHN JOSEPH MERRICK Joseph Merrick has been the subject of many medical studies, documentaries and works of fiction. Born in Leicester in 1862 at the age of five, Merrick began to develop physical deformities to his skin, face, arms and feet. When he was 11 years old his mother died from bronchopneumonia, and his father remarried shortly thereafter. By 17, his relationship with his father had deteriorated and Merrick was forced to take up residence in a workhouse. After several years of destitution, Merrick sought to escape and found his way into a human oddities show in London where he was exhibited as 'The Elephant Man.’ In 1884, a doctor named Frederick Treves happened to witness Merrick being exhibited in a store front across the road from where he was working at the London hospital. Dr. Treves rescued Merrick from his abusive situation, and admitted him into the London Hospital where Merrick lived until his untimely passing in 1890. He was 27 years old. Pomerance’s work brims with intelligence and ideas regarding human nature and the arbitrariness of life. Ideas that are as relevant today as they were in the Victorian era. MULTIPLE AWARD WINNING PRODUCTION THE ELEPHANT MAN is based on the life of Joseph Merrick, The play opened in London in 1977. It premiered on Broadway in 1979 and won all of the major theater awards, including three Tony Awards, three Obie Awards, four Drama Desk Awards, and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. It was revived in both 2002 and 2014. Thursday Night Theatre Club is proud to open The Elephant Man at El Portal Theatre. THE ELEPHANT MAN is set to open March 21 – 23 and April 3 - 14, 2019. Red Carpet Gala and Press will be invited to review on March 22 @ 8PM. Information and tickets now on sale through The El Portal website: www.ElPortalTheatre.com Located at 5269 Lankershim Blvd. No. Hollywood, CA. 91601 Additional information about Thursday Night Theater Club: www.ThursdayNightTheaterClub.com Running time: 135 minutes (including intermission) (818) 508-4200 ### BIO’S John Ralston Craig - Frederick Treves John Ralston Craig’s stage credits include 'Hello Out There' by William Saroyan and 'Twelfth Night' as Feste the Jester, 'Rabbit Hole', 'Doubt', and 'Dog Sees God' He was also in a film adaptation of Anton Chekov's 'The Seagull.' On the east coast, John appeared in back to back productions of Tom Stoppard's classics, 'Arcadia' and 'Rosencrantz and Guildentstern are Dead.' Later on He appeared as Connie Rivers in The Grapes of Wrath all through Boston Theatre Works. His training includes Playhouse West LA, Cohen Acting Studios and Larry Moss. John has written and performed in numerous short films and is currently finishing his second feature film script. He is a lover of Shakespeare and Calvin and Hobbs, practices martial arts and snowboarding and maintains his gratitude of his fellow artists for their inspiration and support. Skip Pipo - Carr Gomm / Conductor Skip is very happy to be working with this amazingly talented cast and crew. His credits include LA Theater Works national tour of Dracula, Copenhagen, How I Learned to Drive, Mrs. Warren's Profession (LA Weekly nominee), LADCC award nominated Equus and Enron, and the North American tour of West Side Story. Also in LA and Seattle, Midsummer Night's Dream, Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, and School for Wives. Skip also has numerous commercial and film credits and has been featured in many series made for new media. Tom Vitorino- John Merrick Actor, producer and/Co-founder of Thursday Night Theater Club; is thrilled to be taking on the role of John (Joseph) Merrick in TNTC’s production of The Elephant Man at the historic El Portal Theatre. /// THEATRE select; A View From The Bridge (El Portal Theatre), Noises Off (The Olivier Theatre), Hamlet (The Randall L. Jones Theatre), Light Sensitive (Playhouse West), Othello (Adams Memorial Theatre), The Wasteland (Liberty Theater off Broadway), 12 Angry Men (The Little Theatre), It’s Only A Play (The Little Theatre), Burn This (Craft Avenue Theatre), Breaking Legs (Westside Arts Theatre) /// FILM select: Called & Chosen (James C. Kelty), Top Of The World (Sydney Fury), Fly Me To The Moon (Jeff Becko), Somebody (Henry Barrial)*Official Sundance Film Festival Selection, Blue Light Special (Rich Rodriquez) *Award winning short film at Cinevegas, Blood Is Thicker (Adventure Pictures), The Seventh Veil (Amin Q. Chaudhri), Love & War II (Starline Entertainment), Baby Blues (American Independent Media), A Letter From Home (Tony Savant) /// BROADCAST select: Has appeared in numerous national broadcast campaigns, including for Coca Cola, Yamaha, and Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s. Appeared on the ABC Soap Opera, Port Charles (Season 3, Larry), Lords Of The Mafia (Don Goldman for PBS), Last Don (Michael Martin). /// STUDIES select: Wolf Trap Farm/Bobby Lewis, Joseph Bernard’s Actors Studio/Joseph Bernard, Stella Adler Conservatory/Stella Adler, Elizabeth Sabine Studio/Elizabeth Sabine, Playhouse West/Various Instructors, Studio 4/James Caan/Matthew Scott Snyder, and currently The Cohen Acting Studio/Robyn Cohen. Alice L Walker – Mrs. Kendal A Chicago native, Alice began her career as a ballet dancer, performing with Joffrey Ballet, Ballet Chicago, Ballet Austin and Ontario Ballet Theater of Canada, to name a few. She joined the Chicago theater scene studying at Piven Theater Workshop then in L.A. at Playhouse West with Robert Carnegie and with famed coaches Larry Moss and Tom Toddoroff and with Robyn Cohen. Her tv credits include ABC’s Secrets of A Small Town, Fresh Off The Boat, and The Office spinoff, The Trainer, and the upcoming series, Choreographers directed by Bernard Rose, as well as working in commercials for companies like Ford and Leinenkugal’s Beer. Her select film credits include Riddance opposite Jim Parrack (Best Actress award PWFF), Abruptio (coming 2020), opposite Jordan Peele, A Numbers Game opposite Ken Howard and Steven Bauer and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari directed by David Lee Fisher. Also a writer and producer, Alice’s original screenplay musical, Le Grand Jete was made an Official Selection of The Beverly Hills Film Festival and is among several of her scripts in development or option. She’s produced music videos for Snoop Dogg, choreographed and directed ballets like Cinderella: A Rock and Romance Ballet/El Portal and taught acting at The Youth Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles. Her first love being theater, she has always found her home there performing in Beauty & The Beast, The Sound of Music, Shrek The Musical, A Chorus Line, Arthur Miller’s A View From The Bridge, and coming this fall she will play her most challenging role yet of Claudia Draper in Tom Topor’s Nuts at El Portal Theater for Thursday Night Theater Club. Jon Sperry – Ross/Bishop Howe Jon Sperry has been acting for over 35 years and is thrilled to be working with the Thursday Night Theater Club for the first time. Jon has appeared on film, TV, commercials, web- series and on stage in New York, Los Angeles and regionally.
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