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THE SUNSET LIMITED ROARS INTO Dayton

DAYTON, OH - October 11- Cormac McCarthy is on a roll. His latest novel, The Road, just won the Pulitzer Prize and the hearts and minds of Oprah’s Book Club. An earlier book, No Country for Old Men, is coming out next month as a Coen Brothers movie starring Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem. And his play, The Sunset Limited, gets a regional premiere by The Human Race Theatre Company at The Loft Theatre in downtown Dayton October 25 November 11.
 
The Sunset Limited is as basic as a play can be – two men, one question they try to answer. But when that question is “Is there a reason to go on?” and the discussion is guided by the immensely gifted hand of McCarthy, one question is plenty.
 
The play is set off when a professor named White tries to commit suicide by throwing himself in front of the title train and is saved by a faith-driven ex-con named Black. When Black takes White home to his tenement apartment to mull the meaning of life, they find their ideas meld into shades of gray.
 
While the set-up is perplexing geographically – the real Sunset Limited runs from Florida to California and Black’s apartment is in New York City – the discussion becomes more perplexing, as the two men try to resolve their conflicting views. Audiences quickly see why the Chicago Tribune calls The Sunset Limited “brilliantly articulated.”
 
The Sunset Limited is directed by Human Race Artistic Director Marsha Hanna. White is played by HRTC Resident Artist Michael Kenwood Lippert, most recently noted for his performance as Angus in The Drawer Boy. Black is played by visiting artist Lindsay Smiling, who was Darren Lemming in this summer’s production of Take Me Out.
 
Pam Knauert Lavarnway is the Scenic Designer, Carol Finley the Costume Designer, Charlie Parker the Sound Designer, and John Rensel the Lighting Designer.
 
The Sunset Limited is part of Series 2 of The 2007-2008 Eichelberger Loft Season. The production is sponsored by First United Methodist Church, Requarth Lumber, and Robert & Leesa Comparin. Season sponsors are The Jack W. and Sally D. Eichelberger Foundation, NCR, Premier Health Partners, Morris Home Furnishings, Jim and Enid Goubeaux and the Sam Levin Foundation, with Official Host the DoubleTree Hotel downtown and Official Media Sponsor ThinkTV.
 
Preview night for The Sunset Limited is October 25, with official opening night October 26. The show runs Wednesdays through Sundays through November 11, plus Tuesday November 6. There is a Pay What You Can Night, with admission by donations of food or money to local charities, October 24.  Tickets are $15.50 to $34, available by calling (937) or (888) 228-3630 or visiting www.humanracetheatre.org.

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Victoria Theatre Association is one of Dayton’s premier arts organizations, presenting the JPMorgan Chase Broadway Series, the Young at Heart Family Series, the Michelob Ultra Cool Films series, Star Attractions, the Universal 1 Variety Series, and the Physicians for Kids Discovery Series, which features curriculum-enhanced live theatre productions for school children. Victoria Theatre Association is proud of its alliance with the Dayton Opera Association and its collaboration on The Eichelberger Loft Series 1 with The Human Race Theatre Company. Victoria Theatre Association also manages the historic Victoria Theatre, the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center, and the Metropolitan Arts Center, which houses The Loft Theatre. Victoria Theatre Association receives funding from a variety of diverse public, corporate, individual and private sources, including the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District and the Ohio Arts Council. The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this organization with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.

Founded in 1986, The Human Race Theatre Company presents universal themes that explore the human condition and startle us all into a renewed awareness of ourselves. The company moved to the Metropolitan Arts Center in 1991, taking up residence at The Loft, a 219-seat theatre. In addition to the Loft Series (in collaboration with the Victoria Theatre Association) The Human Race produces for the Fifth Third Broadway Series, the Musical Theatre Workshop series, and special event programming. The Human Race, under the direction of Artistic Director Marsha Hanna and Executive Director Kevin Moore, also maintains educational outreach programs for children and adults, guest artists and artist residencies in area schools, The Muse Machine In-School Tour, Youth Summer Stock and The Human Race Conservatory. The new Caryl D. Philips Creativity Center of The Human Race opened in January 2006 to provide a space for extensive theatre education classes and workshops.