Cast Announced for West Coast Premiere of Bess Wohl's Barcelona

BESS WOHL’S WEST COAST PREMIERE BARCELONA
DIRECTED BY TRIP CULLMAN
CAST FEATURES BETTY GILPIN AND CARLOS LEAL

FEBRUARY 2 TO MARCH 13 (OPENING NIGHT IS FEBRUARY 10, 2016)
IN THE GIL CATES THEATER AT THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE

LOS ANGELES (December 18, 2015) – Geffen Playhouse announces the cast for its West Coast premiere production of Barcelona written by Bess Wohl (2015 Special Drama Desk Award Winner). Trip Cullman, who helmed the acclaimed 2014 production of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Choir Boy, returns to the Geffen to direct Barcelona starring Betty Gilpin as Irene and Carlos Leal as Manuel.

After midnight in Gaudi's magic city, a drunk American woman plunges recklessly into a one-night stand with a dashing Spaniard. But during the course of that single, shocking night – by turns funny and dangerous – her romantic fantasy morphs into a complicated game of cat and mouse. As bodies and cultures collide, two strangers veer between mutual destruction and awkward, unexpected moments of salvation.

“It has been a long time since a new work has challenged the very core of existence.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer

Tickets currently priced from $32 to $82 are available in-person at the Geffen Playhouse box office, via phone at 310.208.5454 or online at www.geffenplayhouse.org. Fees may apply.

West Coast Premiere
BARCELONA
Written by Bess Wohl
Directed by Trip Cullman
Previews: Tuesday, February 2 – Tuesday, February 9
Opening Night: Wednesday, February 10
Closing Night: Sunday, March 13, 2016

CAST
Betty Gilpin as Irene
Carlos Leal as Manuel

PRODUCTION TEAM
Scenic Design by Mark Wendland
Costume Design by Leah Katznelson
Lighting Design by Japhy Weidman
Sound Design by Vincent Olivieri
Stage Manager Maggie Swing
Assistant Stage Manager Amy Ramsdell
Casting by Phyllis Schuringa, CSA

OPENING NIGHT SPONSORS
Audi of America
Palomino Restaurant & Bar
Hint Water
Richard Ruskell Pastries
Los Angeles magazine

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Monday No Performance
Tuesday – Friday 8:00 pm
Saturday 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Saturday 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm

TICKET INFORMATION
Ticket prices are currently $32 to $82 and are available in-person at the Geffen Playhouse box office, via phone at 310.208.5454 or online at www.geffenplayhouse.org. Fees may apply.

LOCATION
Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse
10886 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024

BIOGRAPHIES

BETTY GILPIN (IRENE)
On stage, Gilpin has worked with Roundabout (The Language Archive), Second Stage (Boys Life, Good Boys and True) and Manhattan Theatre Club (We Live Here and That Face.) She has also appeared with Atlantic Theater (I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard); Williamstown (What Is the Cause of Thunder? and An Intervention); HERE Arts (Fish Eye) and Rattlestick (Where We’re Born). Film roles include: True Story, Ghost Town, Take Care, Death in Love and Northern Kingdom. She has been a series regular on Nurse Jackie and has appeared in guest-starring roles in numerous television series including: Law & Order: SVU, The Good Wife, Medium, The Unusuals, Past Life and Fringe, among others. Gilpin trained at Fordham University at Lincoln Center.

CARLOS LEAL (MANUEL)
Born in Switzerland and now based in Los Angeles, Leal began his career as lead vocalist of the four-time Gold Record European hip hop group SENS UNIK, before pursuing a serious acting career, training under director Jack Garfein at The Actors Studio in Paris. He has worked with directors Pedro Amador and Emilio Estevez. His on-screen credits include lead roles in a host of American and European feature films including: Casino Royale, Snow White, Spaceman, Collision, There Be Dragons, Sennentunschi, Parallel, Verso, among others. On television, he had lead roles in several French and Spanish television series and appeared in Criminal Minds, Agents of Shield, The Last Ship, Covert Affairs, Devious Maids and Perception. Leal has received “Best Actor” awards from The Berlin International Film Festival, Swiss Film Prize, Madrid Film Festival and Tamil Nadu Festival.

BESS WOHL (PLAYWRIGHT)
Bess Wohl’s most recent play, Small Mouth Sounds was cited in the New York Times as one of the Best Ten Plays of 2015. Her other plays include American Hero, Barcelona, Touched and In. They have been produced at theaters in New York and around the country, including Second Stage, Ars Nova, The Williamstown Theatre Festival, and many others. Her original musical about the adult entertainment industry, Pretty Filthy, was nominated for both the 2015 Lucille Lortel and Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Musical. Bess herself won the Sam Norkin special Drama Desk Award for “establishing herself as an important voice in New York theater” in 2014-2015. She also has written features for Disney and Paramount, and has developed original television pilots for ABC, HBO, USA, FOX and the CW. Her work has been supported by a MacDowell Fellowship and she is the recipient of new play commissions from Manhattan Theatre Club, Hartford Stage and Lincoln Center.


TRIP CULLMAN (DIRECTOR)
Also at the Geffen: Tarell Alvin McCraney's Choir Boy. Select NYC: Joshua Harmon's Significant Other (Roundabout), Halley Feiffer's I'm Gonna Pray For You So Hard (Atlantic), Simon Stephens's Punk Rock (MCC, Obie Award), Jon Robin Baitz's The Substance of Fire (Second Stage), McCraney's Choir Boy (MTC), Julia Jordan and Juliana Nash's Murder Ballad (MTC and Union Square Theater), Paul Weitz's Lonely, I'm Not (Second Stage), Leslye Headland's Assistance (Playwrights Horizons), Adam Bock's A Small Fire (Playwrights Horizons, Drama Desk nom.), Adam Rapp's The Hallway Trilogy: Nursing (Rattlestick), Headland's Bachelorette (Second Stage), Terrence McNally's Some Men (Second Stage), Bert V. Royal's Dog Sees God (Century Center), Bock's The Drunken City (Playwrights Horizons), Weitz's Roulette (EST), Jonathan Tolins's The Last Sunday In June (Rattlestick and Century Center), Bock's Swimming In The Shallows (Second Stage), Gina Gionfriddo's US Drag (stageFARM), and several productions with The Play Company. London: Bock's The Colby Sisters of Pittsburgh, PA (Tricycle). Select regional: Williamstown Theater Festival, Alliance, Old Globe, South Coast Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Bay Street. Upcoming: Feiffer's A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Gynecologic Oncology Unit At Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Of New York City (MCC), Headland's Layover (Second Stage).

ABOUT GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE
Geffen Playhouse has been a hub of the Los Angeles theater scene since opening its doors in 1995. Noted for its intimacy and celebrated for its world-renowned mix of classic and contemporary plays, provocative new works and second productions, the not-for-profit organization continues to present a body of work that has garnered national recognition. Named in honor of entertainment mogul and philanthropist David Geffen, who made the initial donation to the theater, the company was founded by Gilbert Cates, and is currently helmed by Artistic Director Randall Arney, Executive Director Gil Cates, Jr., and Co-Chairs of the Board Martha Henderson and Pamela Robinson. Proudly associated with UCLA, the Geffen welcomes an audience of more than 130,000 each year, and maintains extensive education and community engagement programs, designed to involve underserved young people and the community at large in the arts. Following a strong 2014/2015 season during which five productions extended, the company’s 20th anniversary season features eight productions (two world and three West Coast premieres) featuring some of the nation’s leading playwrights and directors. www.geffenplayhouse.org.