May XX, 2003

GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE ANNOUNCES FINAL PRODUCTION OF 2002-2003 SEASON:

THE WEST COAST PREMIERE OF TONY AWARD-WINNER RICHARD NELSON’S

“FRANNY’S WAY”

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JUNE 10 – JULY 20, 2003

LOS ANGELES, CA – May 15, 2003 – Geffen Playhouse’s Producing Director Gilbert Cates proudly announces the final production of Geffen’s 2002-2003 season: Franny’s Way, written and directed by Tony Award-winner Richard Nelson and featuring a cast of rising stars and seasoned thespians, including Domenica Cameron-Scorsese, Penny Fuller, Elisabeth Moss, Jesse Pennington and Susan May Pratt. Franny’s Way (for mature audiences) will run from June 10 - July 20, 2003, with an official press opening on Wednesday, June 18.

“We are thrilled to have Tony Award-winner Richard Nelson in our theater,” said Cates. “Franny’s Way is an extraordinarily warm and personal play that features an incredibly talented and gifted cast. It is the perfect production with which to end our exciting eighth season.”

Richard Nelson’s Franny’s Way is a coming-of-age play about two teenage sisters who venture to New York City with their grandmother during the summer of 1957. What begins as a short family getaway quickly morphs into an important emotional journey that mingles love, childhood secrets and adulthood desires.

Produced by Playwrights Horizons, Franny’s Way debuted in New York City in March 2002, and was lauded in The New York Times as “a wry, rueful and forgiving look at the ways people turn to one another for solace when they feel they have lost their bearings.” In April 2002, Franny’s Way was nominated for three Drama Desk Awards, including the award for Outstanding Play.

The cast of Franny’s Way will feature Domenica Cameron-Scorsese (movie credits include The Age of Innocence, Cape Fear and the lead in the upcoming film, Downtown), Emmy Award-winner Penny Fuller (Broadway credits include Barefoot in the Park, Cabaret, and Applause - for which she won critical plaudits; television credits include Judging Amy, Mad About You and Law & Order), Elisabeth Moss (television credits include a recurring role on NBC’s West Wing; movie credits include Girl, Interrupted, Spirit, and Mumford), Jesse Pennington (theater credits include James Joyce’s The Dead and Goodnight Children Everywhere, both directed by Richard Nelson at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater), and Susan May Pratt (television credits include Charmed, Third Watch and Law & Order; film credits include 10 Things I Hate About You and Center Stage).

Richard Nelson won the 2000 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for his production of James Joyce’s The Dead. He received the 1992 Tony nomination for Best Play for his production of Two Shakespearean Actors. Nelson was also nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Comedy for Some Americans Abroad. Nelson won the Olivier Award for Best Play for his play, Goodnight Children Everywhere. He has written numerous adaptations, including the screenplay for Ethan Frome.

FRANNY’S WAY BIOGRAPHIES

RICHARD NELSON’s (Playwright/Director) plays include My Life With Albertine (with Ricky Ian Gordon, Playwrights Horizons); Madame Melville (Vaudeville Theatre, London; Promenade Theatre, New York); James Joyce's The Dead (with Shaun Davey, Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical; Broadway, Ahmanson, Playwrights Horizons); Goodnight Children Everywhere (Olivier Award for Best Play; Playwrights Horizons, Royal Shakespeare Company); The General From America (R.S.C., Alley Theatre, Theatre For A New Audience); New England (R.S.C., Manhattan Theatre Club); Misha's Party (co-written with Alexander Gelman for the R.S.C. and Moscow Art Theatre), Columbus and the Discovery of Japan (R.S.C.), Two Shakespearean Actors (Tony nomination for Best Play; R.S.C., Lincoln Center), Some Americans Abroad (Olivier Award nomination for Best Comedy; R.S.C., Lincoln Center); Sensibility and Sense (American Playhouse); and Principia Scriptoriae (London Time Out Award; R.S.C., M.T.C.). He has written numerous adaptations and the screenplay for the film, Ethan Frome. He is an Honorary Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company and lives in upstate New York.

DOMENICA CAMERON-SCORSESE (Dolly) made her off-Broadway debut in the world premiere of Franny’s Way in New York City. She has appeared in The Age of Innocence, Cape Fear and has a lead role in the upcoming Downtown. She is an associate director at La Bottega dell’ Arte and received her Bachelor of Arts in film studies from Wesleyan University. She also studied at Trinity College in Dublin, A.C.T. and the Neighborhood Playhouse.

PENNY FULLER (Grandma/Older Franny) began to make a name for herself on Broadway in the 1960s. After appearing in Barefoot in the Park, Cabaret, and a handful of Shakespeare productions, she won critical plaudits for her portrayal of the outwardly sweet but inwardly subversive Eve Harrington in Applause, the 1970 musical version of All About Eve. In addition to her many TV-movie appearances, she has played roles on Mad About You, Law & Order and Judging Amy. She won an Emmy for her performance in the 1982 TV staging of The Elephant Man.

ELISABETH MOSS (Franny) has played the president’s daughter, Zoey Bartlett, on NBC’s The West Wing for the past four years. Her film credits include Girl, Interrupted opposite Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie, HBO films Earthly Possession with Susan Sarandon and Gypsy with Bette Midler, A Thousand Acres opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Jessica Lange, and Anywhere But Here with Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman.

JESSE PENNINGTON (Phil) has appeared in several performances at San Francisco’s renowned American Conservatory Theatre, including Richard Nelson’s Goodnight Children Everywhere and James Joyce’s The Dead.

SUSAN MAY PRATT (Sally) has appeared in widely popular television programs including Charmed, Third Watch and Law & Order. Her film credits include 10 Things I Hate About You with Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles, a co-starring role in Center Stage, and most recently Hunger Point with Barbara Hershey.

THE 2003-2004 SEASON AT GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE

Geffen Playhouse’s 2003-2004 season kicks off with Geffen Artistic Director Randall Arney directing the West Coast premiere of I Just Stopped By to See the Man. Hailed by The London Daily Telegraph as a “richly human and moving new play,” I Just Stopped By to See the Man is set in the thick of the Mississippi Delta in the mid-1970s and is a passionate and political ode to the power and truth of the blues. I Just Stopped By to See the Man, written by Stephen Jeffreys, runs from September 9 - October 19, 2003, with an official press opening on Wednesday, September 17.

I Just Stopped By to See the Man will be followed by the Los Angeles premiere of Sugar Plum Fairy (November 11 - December 21, 2003), written and performed by Sandra Tsing Loh and directed by David Schweizer. The third production of the season is Bryan Davidson’s War Music (January 13 - February 22, 2004), directed by Jessica Kubzansky. The season continues with the West Coast premiere of The Underpants (March 9 - April 18, 2004), by Carl Sternheim, adapted by Steve Martin. The Geffen season closes with a new play, directed by Gil Cates, to be announced at a later date.

Next season’s subscriptions are currently on sale. Orders may be placed in person at the Geffen’s box office or by calling the box office at (310) 208-5454. The five-play subscription price range is $130-$230. Special student subscriptions are available for $70.

Geffen Playhouse is located at 10886 Le Conte Avenue in Westwood. Single ticket prices for season productions range from $28 to $46. The performance schedule is Tuesdays–Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays at 8:00 p.m.; Saturdays at 4:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.; and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. For ticket information, please call the Geffen Playhouse box office at (310) 208-5454. For group reservations, please call (661) 250-7424. Visit the Geffen Playhouse website at www.geffenplayhouse.com.

Geffen Playhouse is headed by Producing Director Gilbert Cates, Artistic Director Randall Arney and Managing Director Stephen Eich.

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