FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Steven Box, Marketing Director
937-461-3823 x3112
steven@humanracetheatre.org

THE HUMAN RACE EXPLORES THE GREAT DEPTHS OF FRIENDSHIP WITH LIGHTHEARTED HUMOR IN THE AWARD-WINNING THE DRAWER BOY, JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 13, 2005 

(Dayton, OH) – DECEMBER 22 — The Human Race Theatre Company continues its 2004-2005 Humana Loft Series 2 with Michael Healey’s award-winning play, The Drawer Boy. Named by Time Magazine as one of the ten best plays of 2001 and having played to sold out houses in Louisville, Cincinnati and Indianapolis last season, The Drawer Boy makes its Dayton premiere on January 27, with performances through February 13. It stars The Human Race Theatre Company resident artists Michael Kenwood Lippert and Bruce Cromer and University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music graduate Justin Schultz. Long-time resident artist Richard E. Hess directs.

It is the summer of 1972 on a small farm in Ottawa, where two middle-aged bachelors, Morgan and Angus, live and work quietly. Morgan does the chores and Angus makes sandwiches and counts the stars in the night sky, something that he does with amazing accuracy. Wounded during a London air raid in World War II, Angus goes about his daily routine, suffering from a head injury that has left him with memory loss and a very short attention span.

Their years of isolated peace are interrupted when a young actor named Miles arrives. Fresh from the big city, Miles wants to learn about farm life for a new play. Morgan hesitantly takes him in, on the condition that Miles helps out in the fields and barnyard in exchange for room and board. It doesn’t take long before Miles proves himself to be totally incompetent as a farmhand, with great comedic results.

This new arrangement takes on deeper dimensions when Mile’s curiosity about the men’s past awakens Angus’ long-lost memories of war and love. Angus struggles for understanding, and Morgan is compelled to reveal some painful truths about their relationship and heartbreaks from long ago. This humorous and heart-warming tale of friendship and acceptance is appropriate for all ages.

Winner of four Dora Mavor Moore Awards (Canada’s version of the Tony Award), including Outstanding New Play, The Drawer Boy is loosely based on true-to-life events surrounding a 1972 collective Toronto theater project that eventually resulted in a popular play and subsequent Canadian television program called The Farm Show. Healey’s script, full of down-home wit and laid-back charm, serves up likable and distinctive characters that enfold a touching tale of loss and friendship.

Michael Healey trained as an actor at Toronto’s Ryerson Theatre School in the mid 1980s. He began writing for the stage in the early 1990s and his first play, a solo one-act called Kicked, was produced at the Fringe of Toronto Festival in 1996. He subsequently toured the play across Canada and internationally, and in 1998 it won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best New Play. He and collaborator Kate Lynch wrote The Road to Hell, a pair of one-act comedies, which was produced at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto, where he is currently Writer-in-Residence, in the fall of 1999. The Drawer Boy, his first full-length play, opened at Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto and won the Dora Award for Outstanding New Play, a Chalmers Canadian Playwriting Award and the Governor General’s Literary Award. His next play, Plan B, opened at the Tarragon in 2002 and also won the Dora for Best New Play. He has two new plays: Rune Arlidge, which is a nominee for 2004 Governor General’s Literary Award, and The Innocent Eye Test, a commission for Toronto’s Mirvish Productions.

Michael Kenwood Lippert (Angus) is a founding member and resident artist with The Human Race Theatre Company, where he appeared in Death of A Salesman, Macbeth, the Midwest premiere of Spinning Into Butter, Picasso at the Lapin Agile and The Elephant Man. Michael is a professional arts integration consultant who instructs educators and students across the country in ways to reform education by integrating the arts across the curriculum. Originally from Toledo, Michael chose Dayton as his home 25 years ago and continually shares his talents with such local arts organizations as The Muse Machine, Rhythm in Shoes and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company.

Bruce Cromer (Morgan) is also a resident artist with The Human Race, where he has starred in Macbeth, Angels In America: Perestroika and Millennium Approaches, True West, and I Hate Hamlet. He has appeared as Bob Cratchit in the Cincinnati Playhouse's A Christmas Carol for the past seven years. His performance in Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati’s Underneath the Lintel received acclaim from critics and audiences alike. Bruce is an Associate Professor in the Acting program at Wright State University.

Both men will share the stage again in February in Tom Stoppard’s Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, produced by The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and The Human Race Theatre Company and conducted by Neal Gittleman.

Justin Schultz (Miles) is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and was last seen at The Human Race in the 2000 production of Beautiful Thing. He has performed at the Coconut Grove Playhouse and the New York Theatre Workshop. He recently appeared in Anatomy:1968, the sequel to Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s production of Going Gone.

The director of The Drawer Boy is Richard E. Hess. In addition to being a resident artist with The Human Race, Richard has been an associate professor and chair of the Drama Department at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music for the past 11 years. Recent directing credits at CCM include: Ghetto, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, A New Brain and Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches. Favorite directing credits at The Human Race include: Proof, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune and A Little Night Music.

The scenic designer is Mark Halpin, the lighting designer is John Rensel, the costume designer is Mary Beth McLaughlin and the production stage manager is Sherri M. Nierman.

The Human Race Theatre Company’s production of The Drawer Boy will be presented at The Loft Theatre January 27 – February 13*. The Loft Theatre is located on the third floor of the Metropolitan Arts Center, next to the Victoria Theatre at 126 North Main Street in downtown Dayton. Performances begin at 8:00 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays, Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m. The open-forum discussion, While We’re on the Subject, will be held immediately following the Sunday, February 6 matinee.

In conjunction with The Drawer Boy, The Human Race will host Night Out at the Race. Following the Friday, February 4 performance, ticket holders are invited to join the company of The Drawer Boy at Celebrity Show & Dance Club, 850 North Main Street. The show ticket stub will be good for free admission to the club. The Human Race and Candlelight Singles of Central Ohio will host Singles Night at the Race on Saturday, February 12. Tickets for the pre-show party are by reservation only and can be made by calling Candlelight Singles at 800-431-2411 or online at www.candlelightsingles.com.

Tickets for The Drawer Boy are priced at $29, with discounts available for students, seniors and groups. Tickets are on sale now through Ticket Center Stage, with locations at the Victoria Theatre and Schuster Center box offices in downtown Dayton. Tickets may also be purchased by phone at 937-228-3630 or toll free 888-228-3630. Ticket Center Stage hours are Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday noon – 4:00 p.m. The Loft Theatre box office opens two hours prior to each performance. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.ticketcenterstage.com.

For more information about The Human Race Theatre Company and The Humana Loft Series, visit www.humanracetheatre.org.

The Human Race Theatre Company receives organizational support from Culture Works, Montgomery County and The Shubert Foundation. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund The Human Race Theatre Company with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.

* The Saturday, February 5 performance may be sign interpreted and/or audio described by request with two weeks advance notice to Ticket Center Stage at 937-228-3630.
 

###

Founded in 1986, The Human Race Theatre Company moved to the Metropolitan Arts Center in 1991, taking up residence at The Loft, a 219-seat theatre. In addition to the Humana Loft Series 1, produced in collaboration with the Victoria Theatre Association, The Human Race produces the Humana Loft Series 2, 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 six to eighteen, guest artists and artist residencies in area schools, The Muse Machine In-School Tour, Youth Summer Stock and The Human Race Conservatory.