Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins (Jelly’s Last Jam; Caroline, or Change), who appears as Susan Thompson on the CBS drama series Madam Secretary, will star in the world premiere of Time Alone, a new play by Academy Award-nominated writer Alessandro Camon.
Pinkins will co-star with Alex Hernandez (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Peter and the Starcatcher) in the two-hander play that tells the parallel stories of a young man incarcerated for a gang-related murder and a grieving mother of a slain police officer murdered in the line of duty.
Bart DeLorenzo (Annapurna, Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress at the Geffen Playhouse) will direct the Los Angeles world premiere, which begins September 30 at Theatre 2. Time Alone will officially open October 7 for a run through October 29.
Camon received a Best Original Screenplay Academy Award nomination for his 2009 film The Messenger, which dealt with the human cost of war and its impact on the lives of U.S. soldiers returning home.
Time Alone was inspired by his research and volunteer work within the California juvenile justice system. “I have been particularly interested in solitary confinement, which I studied in some depth,” Camon said in a statement. “As part of my research, I visited Pelican Bay State Prison, where I was given access to the Secure Housing Unit. I wrote about the hunger strikes in Pelican Bay for the LA Review of Books, but I wanted to write about it in dramatic form.”
He added, “I am also interested in the experiences of crime survivors—particularly, people who lost loved ones to murder. I wanted to write dramatically about this, too. The characters in the play are fictional, but directly inspired by reality.”
The production will feature scenic design by Francois-Pierre Couture, lighting design by Pablo Santiago-Brandwein, sound design by John Zalewski, projection design by Keith Skretch, and costume design by Ingrid Ferrin. Gabe Figueroa serves as production manager, and Wayne Nakasone serves as technical director. Casting is by Beth Lipardi.
The premiere is produced by Belle Rêve Theatre Company (Executive Producer Michelle M. Núñez, Producers Suzanne Warren and Tanya Cohen) and The Latino Theatre Company.
For tickets, visit BelleReveTheatre.com or TheLATC.org. Theatre 2 is located at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S., Spring Street.
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