Among the five mainstage shows and two children's works will be the world premiere of Bruce Graham's two-hander, Dex and Julie Sittin' in a Tree, Jan. 11-March 4, 2007. James J. Christy directs the poignant play on Arden's Arcadia Stage, with actress Jennifer Childs.
Philly writer Graham penned Coyote on a Fence, Belmont Avenue Social Club and The Philly Fan.
In the new work, college sweethearts Dex and Julie meet 25 years later as he arrives to collect an award from their Pennsylvania alma mater. According to Arden, "Michael 'Dex' Dexter is a hotshot New York lawyer infamous for defending superstars and deviants. Dr. Julie Chernitsky is a recently widowed English professor with a biting sense of humor. Memories of their romance are rich, and things heat up fast. Filled with snappy dialogue and surprising twists, this bittersweet, two-actor tour-de-force is a must-see for everyone who has fantasized about a different outcome with a former love."
Graham wrote the role of Julie with actress Jennifer Childs in mind. Director James J. Christy directed nine other Graham plays and received the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.
Dex and Julie Sittin' in a Tree was developed through the Independence Foundation New Play Showcase and will be featured in the "Philadelphia New Play Festival: Where Theatre Begins," a program of the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, running Feb. 8-18, 2007. Also on the Arden slate for 2006-07 are the Philadelphia premieres of Simon Bent's A Prayer for Owen Meany, based on the novel by John Irving, directed by Arden producing artistic director Terrence J. Nolen on the Haas Stage; Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus' adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, directed by Aaron Posner, on he Arcadia Stage; Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori's Caroline, or Change, directed by Nolen on the Haas Stage; The Lookingglass Theatre production of Lookingglass Alice, inspired by Lewis Carroll and adapted and directed by David Catlin, on the Haas Stage; The BFG (Big Friendly Giant), by Roald Dahl, adapted by David Wood, directed by Whit MacLaughlin on the Haas Stage; Ferdinand the Bull, based on "The Story of Ferdinand" by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson, adaptation and lyrics by Karen Zacarias, music by Deborah Wicks La Puma, on the Arcadia Stage.
For more information, call (215) 922-1122 or visit www.ardentheatre.org.
