T2 Presents "Tigers Be Still"

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TheatreSquared Presents the Bold New Comedy
TIGERS BE STILL
By Kim Rosenstock — Directed by Portia Krieger
On Stage February 9 – March 4, 2012


NORTHWEST ARKANSAS—January 20, 2011—TheatreSquared today announced the casting and creative team for Tigers Be Still, the critically acclaimed new comedy fresh from its hit off-Broadway premiere, opening in Fayetteville on February 10, 2012. Through a special partnership with Fayetteville Public Library, playwright Kim Rosenstock will attend the play’s opening weekend performances and host a public event on Saturday, February 11 at 4:30pm. The T2 production is directed by Portia Krieger, who served as assistant director for the play’s premiere at Roundabout Theatre. In Tigers Be Still, Sherry Wickman—heroine for a new generation of underemployed college graduates—returns home to her mess of a family and a part-time gig as a substitute art teacher, desperately trying to get her life in order as an escaped tiger stalks the suburbs. Performances will be held in the 180-seat Studio Theatre at Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studios, previewing February 9, opening February 10 and continuing through March 4, 2012, with performances Thursdays at 7:30, Fridays at 7:30, Saturdays at 2:00 and 7:30, and Sundays at 2:00 and 7:00. Tickets range from $22-28 ($10/under 30) and can be purchased by calling the Walton Arts Center Box Office at (479) 443-5600 or by visiting theatre2.org. 

“If Diablo Cody and Wes Anderson went on a bender and wrote a play, you’d probably end up with something like Tigers Be Still,” said T2 Managing Director Martin Miller, “though that comparison doesn’t do full justice to the lively heart at the core of this play. It’s quirky, touching, and completely hilarious—and we’re thrilled to bring it to Northwest Arkansas.”

“This is the story of how I stopped being a total disaster,” declares Sherry Wickman, the young protagonist of Tigers Be Still. After graduating and spending several miserable months unemployed, she has just snagged her first part-time job at the local high school, where a tiger’s escape from the zoo has provoked the principal to cancel recess and start toting his rifle to work. Back at home, Sherry’s sister has taken up residence on the sofa with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, wallowing in grief after her fiancée dumped her for his podiatrist, while their mother has barricaded herself in her room. At once “devastatingly hilarious” (The New York Times) and startlingly moving, Tigers Be Still is a bold new work for the stage.

The cast for Tigers Be Still includes: Lauren Blumenfeld, Quinn Gasaway (Sundown Town) Amelia McClain and Rick Holden (2011 Arkansas New Play Festival).  The creative team includes: Portia Krieger (director), Anna Lucia Dede-Panken (stage manager), Josh Tillotson (production head), Mark Erbaugh (scenic designer), who also serves as Art Director for The Late Show with David Letterman, David Stoughton (lighting designer), Ruby Billig Kemph (costume design), and Asa Wember (sound design).

Through a special partnership with Fayetteville Public Library, TheatreSquared will offer two public events in the Willard and Pat Walker Community Room in tandem with its production of Tigers Be Still.  On Tuesday, January 31 at 6:30pm, Ozarks at Large host Kyle Kellams will moderate a T2 Artists Forum with director Portia Krieger and cast members, including a special ten-minute preview performance of a scene from the show.  On Saturday, February 11 at 4:30pm, playwright Kim Rosenstock will hold a public talk and reception as part of the library’s distinguished visiting author series.

Tickets for Tigers Be Still are on sale now at the Walton Arts Center Box Office, and can be reserved by calling (479) 443-5600 or visiting theatre2.org.

TheatreSquared is Northwest Arkansas’s regional theatre, dedicated to creating exceptional theatrical works and innovative educational outreach. The theatre is the recipient of the 2011 National Theatre Company Grant from the American Theatre Wing, founder of the Tony Awards, recognizing the nation’s ten most promising emerging professional theatres. For further information, contact TheatreSquared at 479.445.6333 or visit the Theatre's website at theatre2.org.

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Major funding for the TheatreSquared Season 6 is provided by The Walton Family Foundation, Inc., and the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Major marketing support for TheatreSquared Season 6 is provided by the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotions Commission. Media sponsors include NWA Media, CitiScapes, KUAF and Mailco USA.