GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE PROUDLY PRESENTS THE STARTING LINE UP FOR TAKE ME OUT

2003 TONY AWARD WINNER FOR BEST PLAY

The Geffen Playhouse Production of Richard Greenberg’s Multi-Award Winning Play Features Carlos Albert, Carmen Argenziano, Ian Barford, Jeffrey Hutchinson, Bryce Johnson, Jeffrey Nordling, Morocco Omari, Byron Quiros, Jeremy Sisto, Terrell Tilford, and Ryun Yu

LOS ANGELES, CA – August 18, 2004 – Geffen Playhouse Producing Director Gilbert Cates proudly announces the West Coast Premiere of Take Me Out, the 2003 Pulitzer Prize-nominated and Tony Award-winning play by Richard Greenberg. Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director, Randall Arney, will direct this critically acclaimed play about a superstar baseball player who publicly announces that he is gay, and the fall-out from his announcement as it ripples through the team, the media, and the country. Take Me Out stars Carlos Albert, Carmen Argenziano, Ian Barford, Jeffrey Hutchinson, Bryce Johnson, Jeffrey Nordling, Morocco Omari, Byron Quiros, Jeremy Sisto, Terrell Tilford, and Ryun Yu. The Geffen Playhouse production of the West Coast premiere of Take Me Out begins in previews at the Brentwood Theatre on September 14, 2004 and runs through October 24, with an official opening on September 22, 2004.

“This is a wonderful and exciting time for theatergoers in Los Angeles,” said Cates. “The Geffen Playhouse production of Take Me Out marks the first play in the Geffen’s Festival of American Originals, a 10-year celebration of plays that examine the values and ideals of America. I can’t think of a better way to begin this journey than with this incredibly moving piece about America’s favorite pastime.”

Lauded by critics and fans worldwide, The New York Times called Take Me Out “an unconditional, all-American epiphany that, in these days of fretful ambivalence, is something to cherish.” Take Me Out had its world premiere in a co-production arrangement at London’s Donmar Warehouse. The play made its off-Broadway debut at The Public Theater in 2002 and transferred to Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theatre in February 2003. One of America’s most prominent playwrights currently writing for the stage, Greenberg is known for his use of witty dialogue and eloquent characterizations. Greenberg’s other plays include Eastern Standard (1989), Night and Her Stars (1994), Three Days of Rain (1997 Pulitzer Prize finalist), Hurrah at Last (1998), and The Violet Hour (2003).

Arney, who last directed the Geffen’s production of I Just Stopped By To See The Man, also directed the Geffen productions of Boy Gets Girl, God’s Man in Texas, and The Weir. He is an ensemble member and former artistic director of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre (1987-1995), where he directed numerous plays including The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Death and the Maiden and Curse of the Starving Class. Arney also directed the world premiere of Picasso at the Lapin Agile at Steppenwolf Theatre.

“What a great time to love baseball in LA! The Dodgers are at the top of their game and people are getting back into the swing of the all-American pastime,” said Arney. “Take Me Out is an incredibly smart and moving piece of work written by a man who fell in love with baseball. What we get is the resulting combination of what may be the most traditional American sport with an overlay of contemporary issues surrounding identity and sexuality.”

The cast of Take Me Out features Carlos Albert (The Women of Juarez at The Frida Kahlo Theater), Carmen Argenziano (Drama Critics’ Circle Award for A Prayer for My Daughter), Ian Barford (God’s Man In Texas and The Weir at the Geffen), Jeffrey Hutchinson (Cyrano De Bergerac at South Coast Rep.), Bryce Johnson (WB’s Popular and Chasing Papi), Jeffrey Nordling (The Taming Of The Shrew at The Old Globe; Once and Again), Morocco Omari (Joan of Arcadia; Crossing Jordan), Byron Quiros (LA Drama Critics’ Circle honorable mention for Short Eyes), Jeremy Sisto (Six Feet Under; Thirteen), Terrell Tilford (The Exonerated; Showtime’s Soul Food), and Ryun Yu (Kate Crackernuts at the 24^th Street Theater).

Assigned the task of creating the ambiance and nostalgia of a baseball field in all its glory, the creative team for Take Me Out includes Daniel Ionazzi (Lighting Design), Christina Haatainen Jones (Costume Design), Eric Larson (Scenic Design), Karl Fredrik Lundeberg (Sound Design), and Lisa J. Snodgrass (Production Stage Manager).

Tickets for Take Me Out go on sale Saturday, August 21^st. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Geffen Playhouse box office at the Brentwood Theatre, by phone at (310) 208-5454, or online at www.geffenplayhouse.com. Single ticket prices for Take Me Out range from $38 to $40 for preview performances, and $45 to $55 during the regular run. The Geffen Playhouse is located at the Brentwood Theatre at 11301 Wilshire Boulevard, building 211 on the campus of the Veterans Administration in Brentwood. 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 and 7:00 p.m.

Take Me Out Biographies

RICHARD GREENBERG (Writer) is the author of Take Me Out (2003 Tony Award for Best Play; Pulitzer Prize finalist; Drama Desk Award; NY Drama Critics’ Circle Award; Outer Critics’ Circle Award; Lucille Lortel Award), which recently premiered on Broadway after successful runs at The Public Theater in New York City and The Donmar in London’s West End. Greenberg’s other works include The Violet Hour; The Dazzle (Outer Critics Circle Award: John Gassner, Lucille Lortel nominations); Everett Beekin; Three Days of Rain (L.A. Drama Critics’ Award, Pulitzer Prize finalist, Olivier Award, Drama Desk Award, Hull-Warriner nominations); Hurrah At Last; Night and Her Stars; The American Plan; Life Under Water and The Author's Voice, among many other plays. His adaptation of Strindberg’s Dance of Death premiered on Broadway starring Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren and David Straithairn. Greenberg received the Oppenheimer Award for New Playwright as well as the first PEN/Laura Pels Award for Playwright in Mid-Career. He is an associate artist at South Coast Repertory and a member of Ensemble Studio Theater.

RANDALL ARNEY (Director) is Artistic Director at the Geffen Playhouse. Most recently, he directed Stephen Jeffrey’s I Just Stopped by to See the Man, and prior to that he directed Rebecca Gilman’s Boy Gets Girl, David Rambo’s God’s Man in Texas and Conor McPherson’s The Weir at the Geffen. Arney is an ensemble member and former Artistic Director of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre, where he directed The Beauty Queen of Leenane; Death and the Maiden; Curse of the Starving Class; Bang; A Walk in the Woods; Killers; and The Geography of Luck. Arney also directed the world premiere of Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile at Steppenwolf, as well as the subsequent Los Angeles (Westwood Playhouse, Drama-Logue Critics’ Award), Off-Broadway, San Francisco, Washington D. C. and Tokyo productions. Broadway transfers under his leadership include The Rise and Fall of Little Voice; The Song of Jacob Zulu (six Tony Award nominations); and The Grapes of Wrath (1990 Tony Award, Best Play). Arney has an MFA degree in Acting and has taught acting and directing at Columbia College in Chicago and Illinois State University. He has also held master classes and workshops at Steppenwolf, around the U.S., and in Tokyo.

CARLOS ALBERT (Martinez/Guard/TV Announcer) recently completed his 100^th performance in The Women of Juarez at The Frida Kahlo Theater, a powerful piece that sheds light on the atrocities being perpetrated against women in Juarez, Mexico. Albert has also starred in Malinche and Close But No Cohiba and has performed in a variety of plays in New York and Florida. Albert’s recent television credits include The Bold & the Beautiful; The Handler; and Arrested Development. He teaches drama to at-risk children through the East L.A. Classic Theater Company. He is also a member of the Actor’s Network.

CARMEN ARGENZIANO (Skipper/William R. Danziger) trained for the stage at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. He has studied with Stanford Meisner, Lee Grant, Milton Katselas, and Lee Strasberg. Carmen is a lifetime member of the Actors Studio and was awarded the Los Angeles Drama Critics’ Circle Award for his performance as Jack Delasante in Thomas Babe’s A Prayer for my Daughter. Argenziano’s Los Angeles theater credits include A View from the Bridge (Strasberg Institute); Palladium is Moving (Court Theatre); El Salvador (Tiffany); and the West Coast premiere of Julian Barry’s Last Lucid Moment directed by Jon Voigt. He has appeared in more than 50 films, including The Accused; Stand and Deliver; Don Juan DeMarco; Gone in 60 Seconds; and Identity. He has appeared in more than 100 television movies and episodic dramas. Argenziano is currently shooting the new NBC series Medical Investigation and has a recurring role on Stargate SGI.

IAN BARFORD (Toddy Koovitz) has appeared in God's Man in Texas and The Weir at the Geffen Playhouse. On Broadway, Barford appeared in The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (Outer Circle Critics’ Award nomination). He toured nationally with Steve Martin's Picasso at the Lapin Agile. Barford appeared in several plays at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre, including Three Days of Rain, The Berlin Circle, The Libertine, As I Lay Dying, Time of My Life, and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice. At the Goodman Theatre, Barford appeared in All the Rage and Design for Living. His television and film credits include Without a Trace, Strong Medicine, Zoey 101, Martial Law, 13 Going on 30, Road to Perdition, Catch Me if You Can, and Hellraiser-Inferno.

JEFFREY HUTCHINSON (Mason Marzac) just completed a run in Cyrano De Bergerac at South Coast Rep. His other recent credits include the two-man comedy Rounding Third at The Old Globe, and the role of Rev. Jim Casy in The Grapes of Wrath at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC. Originally from Chicago, Hutchinson’s performances there have included numerous shows at The Goodman (including the title role in Richard II); and Slaughterhouse Five, The Secret Rapture and Harvey (with Randall Arney) at Steppenwolf. He has also performed in Greater Tuna, Cloud Nine, Master Harold...and the boys, Hedda Gabler, Ghosts, and The Front Page at regional theatres including Seattle Rep, Dallas Theatre Center, Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Cincinnati Playhouse, and Milwaukee Rep. Hutchinson’s other theatrical highlights include playing Walker/Ned in Richard Greenberg’s Three Days of Rain at Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati (Winner, Cincinnati Entertainment Award for Best Production of the Year; Nominee, Best Actor) and a season performing the Stratford, Ontario, Shakespeare Festival. Television credits include NYPD Blue, ER, JAG, Bernie Mac, Gilmore Girls and Charmed. Hutchinson can also be seen in the upcoming film The Ring II.

BRYCE JOHNSON (Jason Chenier) is making his stage debut at the Geffen Playhouse. He is best known as Josh Ford on the WB’s hit television series, Popular. Johnson has starred in numerous television shows and pilots, including Still Life and In My Life. He has guest-starred on The Gilmore Girls, Dawson's Creek and MTV's Undressed among others. Feature films include Chasing Papi and Bring It On Again. He currently stars in Harry and Max and Home of Phobia, both official Sundance Festival selections for 2004.

JEFFREY NORDLING (Kippy Sunderstrom) has appeared in The Taming Of The Shrew (The Old Globe); Macbeth, Richard III, and Cymbeline (New York Shakespeare Festival); Don Juan Of Seville (CSC); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Ballerina (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). His theater credits also include Legal Briefs (The Will); Queen Magnolia; A Doll’s House; Normal Heart; Cat On A Hot Tin Roof; The Real Thing; Misalliance; Twelfth Night; As You Like It; and The Recruiting Officer. Nordling’s television and film credits include Once and Again; War Stories; And The Band Played On; Richard Greenberg’s Ask Me Again; Citizen Cohn; Fear Of Flying; Polish Wedding; Working Girl; Ruby; Mighty Ducks 3; Quiz Show; Personally Yours; Blue Moon; Saint Maybe; Apollo 11; Stranger In Town; Harrison: Cry Of The City; Harrison: The Shamrock Conspiracy; True Women; and Sex In The City. Nordling is a member of the Antaeus Company and was trained at Southern Methodist University’s Graduate Actor Training Program.

MOROCCO OMARI (Davey Battle) has appeared in numerous Chicago theater productions at Steppenwolf Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Victory Gardens Theatre, and Chicago Theatre Company. He has also performed at Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery, Alabama. Omari’s television credits include recurring roles on the Emmy nominated show Joan of Arcadia; Dragnet; and Girlfriends; and 24; Frasier; Crossing Jordan; Judging Amy; Angel; and The District. Omari’s film credits include Andre Royo's Big Scene; Hope; A Song for Jade; Momentum; and Shakedown. Omari is executive producer, writer and star of the short film, The Male Groupie, currently touring the film festival circuit.

BYRON QUIROS (Rodriguez) is a graduate of UC Irvine and continued his studies with a Masters in Meisner at the Ruskin School of Acting. His theater credits include Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Florentino in The Bullfight; and a Los Angeles Drama Critics’ Circle honorable mention for his performance as Paco in Short Eyes. Quiros’s film credits include Set It Off; Rikki The Pig; the recently filmed Hard Pill and Coronado as General Rafael opposite John Rhys-Davies.

JEREMY SISTO (Shane Mungitt) grew up in Chicago, where at the age of six he appeared in a production of Tennessee Williams’ play, A House Not Meant to Stay In for The Goodman Theatre. He returned to the Goodman six years later to star alongside Brian Dennehy in Robert Fall’s production of Bertolt Brecht’s Galileo. Sisto’s Los Angeles theater credits include Breaking the Code; The Care and Custody of Barbara Moon, and the one-man show Sanguine. His television credits include HBO’s Six Feet Under in which he recurs as Rachel Griffiths’ manic-depressive brother; CBS’ Jesus, and TNT’s Julius Caesar. His film credits include Larry Kasdan’s Grand Canyon; Catherine Hardwicke’s Thirteen; Wrong Turn, Suicide Kings; May; White Squall; Clueless and Without Limits. His upcoming films include A Lot Like Love with Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet, and in Method with Elizabeth Hurley. Sisto recently produced and starred in the feature film, One Point O, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival.

TERRELL TILFORD (Darren Lemming) received his MFA from Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, Professional Actor Training Program under the guidance of William Esper and his Bachelor of Arts from University of California, Berkeley. His theater credits include Yellowman (McCarter Theatre); The Memorandum (The Guthrie); The Exonerated in which he was in the original cast which won the Theatre LA Ovation Award nomination for Best Ensemble Performance (The Actors’ Gang); Malcolm X in El-Hajj Malik: Malcolm X (national Black Arts Festival); The Rivals at Rutgers; Involuntary Homicide (The Actors’ Gang); The African Company Presents Richard III and Wait Until Dark (Rutgers); Miss Julie (HERE). Tilford’s film credits include the soon-to-be-released Serenity (2005); A Year and A Day; and Jackson. His television credits include CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; The District; Showtime’s Soul Food (recurring); MDs (recurring); 24; Guiding Light in which he played Detective David Grant for three years; and Cosby. He is also the founder of the Tilford Art Group, a fine arts gallery, devoted to promoting emerging artists from around the world, while providing a sacred space for artistic discussion, education and celebration.

RYUN YU (Takeshi Kawabata) is the first Korean-American to graduate from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the first theater major ever from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His theater credits include Hamlet (Singapore Rep); Sisters Matumoto (Huntington Theater); Kate Crackernuts (24^th Street Theater); the upcoming Chay Yew adaptation of The Cherry Orchard; The Winter People (The Theatre at Boston Court). Yu’s television appearances include Huff (new for Showtime); The Agency; Cold Case and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Geffen Playhouse 04/05 Season at the Brentwood Theatre

Paint Your Wagon (World Premiere Adaptation)

November 23, 2004-January 9, 2005

Written by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, Adapted by David Rambo

Directed by Geffen Producing Director Gilbert Cates

Set in the midst of the California Gold Rush, Paint Your Wagon is the story of a grizzled old prospector and his sixteen-year-old daughter who finds gold near their camp. When the word gets out, gold miners descend upon the area and create a boomtown. The Geffen Playhouse production of Paint Your Wagon is the first revival of the musical and is being presented in association with Christopher Allen, D. Constantine Conte and Larry Spellman. Paint Your Wagon made its Broadway debut at the Shubert Theatre in 1951 and ran for 289 performances. The Geffen Playhouse production of Paint Your Wagon begins in previews at the Brentwood Theatre on November 23 and runs through January 9, with press performances beginning December 1, 2004.

Golda’s Balcony

February 1-20, 2005

Written by William Gibson

Directed by Scott Schwartz

Tovah Feldshuh will recreate her award-winning performance as Golda Meir in Golda’s Balcony when the show moves to Los Angeles in a co-presentation by the Wadsworth Theatre and the Geffen Playhouse. This new play is a portrait of the indomitable Meir, the Milwaukee schoolteacher who became Prime Minister of Israel in 1969. From the pogroms of Russia to the halls of the Knesset, Meir’s life, and the play, encapsulates the dramatic story of the birth of Israel in the wake of the Holocaust, and its subsequent, seemingly endless struggle for peace for much of the 20^th Century. Golda’s Balcony will run for a limited engagement from February 1, 2005 through February 20, 2005 at the Wadsworth Theatre.

You Can’t Take It With You (Winner, 1937 Pulitzer Prize for Drama)

April 12-May 22, 2005

Written by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart

Directed by Christopher Hart

The Geffen Playhouse celebrates the 100^th birthday of Moss Hart with a revival of the Pulitzer Prize winning play You Can’t Take It With You. A paean to independence and self-indulgence, the play is centered on an eclectic family of individualists, who amuse with their energetic physical antics and inspire with their wholehearted pursuit of happiness. Directed by Christopher Hart, the son of Moss Hart, the Geffen Playhouse production of You Can’t Take It With You begins in previews at the Brentwood Theatre on April 12, 2005 and runs through May 22, with press performances beginning April 20, 2005.

I Am My Own Wife

(Winner, 2004 Tony Award for Best Play; Winner, 2004 Tony Award for Best Actor; Winner, 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Winner, 2004 Drama League Award for Best Play; Winner, 2004 Drama Desk Award for Best Play)

June 14-July 24, 2005

Written by Doug Wright

Starring Jefferson Mays

Directed by Moisés Kaufman

Last year, The New York Times praised Doug Wright’s solo show I Am My Own Wife as “the most stirring new work to appear on Broadway this fall.” The Geffen Playhouse production of this 2004 Pulitzer Prize winner will feature the original acclaimed Broadway actor/director team of Jefferson Mays and Moisés Kaufman. Under the direction of Kaufman, The New York Times lauded Mays’s performance of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a soft-spoken but tenaciously gender-bending biological male, as “thoroughly mesmerizing.” Based on a true story, and inspired by interviews conducted by Wright over several years, I Am My Own Wife won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Play and the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Geffen Playhouse production of I Am My Own Wife begins in previews on June 14, 2005 and runs through July 24, with press performances beginning June 22, 2005.

Geffen Playhouse at the Brentwood Theatre

Subscriptions to the 2004-2005 season are currently on sale and may be purchased online at www.geffenplayhouse.com, at the Geffen’s box office located at the Brentwood Theatre, or by calling the box office at (310) 208-5454.

From June 2004 through September 2005, Geffen Playhouse will be located at the historic Brentwood Theatre on the grounds of the Veterans Administration in Brentwood. The Brentwood Theatre is located at 11301 Wilshire Boulevard, building 211. Dependent upon the production, single ticket prices range from $38-$43 in previews, and $40-$64 during the regular run. 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 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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