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WORLD PREMIERE!
By Y York
Based on the novel by Jerry Spinelli
Directed by Mark Lutwak
Steinbright Stage

9-year-old David and 13-year-old Primrose are both pretty unhappy with life at home. David is sent to live with his grandmother after the death of his mother, and Primrose's mom is a fortuneteller who barely notices when Primrose moves into the van parked outside their house. Their unlikely friendship includes midnight trashpicking, bickering over gulps of Mango Madness and hanging out with refrigerator John, the local refrigerator repairman. They set off on an unexpected journey that leads to self-discovery and new perspectives on friendship and family. Best appreciated by ages 9 and up.

Primrose: Claire Inie-Richards
David: Nathaniel Brastow
Margaret: Alda Cortese*
Madam Dufee: Kittson O'Neill*
Refrigerator John: Brian Anthony Wilson*

Director: Mark Lutwak
Set Designer: James F. Pyne, Jr.
Costume Designer: Marla Jurglanis
Lighting Designer: Dennis Parichy
Sound Design: Christopher Colucci
Dramaturg: Elizabeth Pool
Stage Manager: Pat Sabato*

* Member, Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 2, 2009

PEOPLE'S LIGHT & THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS:

EGGS

April 23 -- May 24, 2009

(Malvern, PA) -- People's Light & Theatre Company presents the World Premiere of Y York's EGGS, based on the novel by local author Jerry Spinelli. EGGS runs from April 23 -- May 24, 2009, on the Steinbright Stage. Mark Lutwak directs. People's Light & Theatre is located at 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern. For tickets call 610-644-3500 or visit www.peopleslight.org. EGGS is part of the Target Family Discovery Series.

In EGGS 9-year-old David and 13-year-old Primrose are both pretty unhappy with life at home. David is sent to live with his grandmother after the death of his mother, and Primrose's mom is a fortuneteller who barely notices when Primrose moves into the van parked outside their house. Their unlikely friendship includes midnight trashpicking and hanging out with Refrigerator John, the local refrigerator repairman. They set off on an unexpected journey that leads to self-discovery and new perspectives on friendship and family.

Jerry Spinelli has been involved with the production, working with the book's adapter, playwright Y York. "She does the book justice," says Spinelli.

He adds, "My wife, Eileen, and I attended a rehearsal several days ago with the intention of staying for two hours and we couldn't move. We stayed for four until the rehearsal was over. It was terrific. Having seen just that little fragment we are more than expectant that the finished play will meet all of our hopes for this staging."

EGGS previews on Thursday, April 23rd at 7pm. The show opens on Friday, April 24th at 7pm and runs through May 24th. Tickets are now on sale and cost $20 for youth and $29 for adults, with special discounts available for groups of 10 or more.

Subscriptions to the TARGET Family Discovery Series are still available. Subscriptions for youth ages 17 and under are $28 or $32 -- a savings of up to 34% off single ticket prices! The two-show subscription includes: A Tale of Two Cities (March 11 -- May 3, 2009) and Eggs (April 23 -- May 24, 2009).

Special performances and discounts, in addition to discount meal packages and talk-backs with the artists, are available for groups of 10 or more. For more information or to purchase group tickets, call 610.647.1900, ext. 134 or email group@peopleslight.org.

KEY BIOS

Mark Lutwak (Director) is the Director of Education at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. He was Artistic Director for Honolulu Theatre for Youth from 1999-2005, directing 28 plays, including 15 world premieres, and developing several new play programs. As a freelance stage and video director, he has been based variously in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Seattle, and Hawai'i, developing and directing new plays at New Dramatists, New York Theatre Workshop, Public Theatre, Kennedy Center New Visions/New Voices, Taller Latinoamericano, George Street Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, Seattle Group Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre, Seattle Children's Theatre, First Stage Milwaukee, Annex Theatre, A.S.K. Theatre Projects, Kumu Kahua Theatre, and other venues. He was a founding director of The Road Show in L.A. and Theatre for Your Mother in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was founding executive director of Rain City Projects, a Pacific Northwest playwrights' service organization; a producer, director, and writer of award-winning interactive media; and a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. He plays accordion and keyboards, most recently for for Kupa'aina. This is the 19th or 20th Y York production he has directed.

Y York (Playwright) is returning to People's Light with her fourth production and second world premiere. She is the recipient of the 2008 Smith Prize for . . . and LA is Burning and the 2006 Hawai'i Award for Literature for Nothing is the Same. Y's other third millennium plays include: Getting Near to Baby (2008 People's Light; Barrymore Nomination for Outstanding New Play), River Rat and Cat (2006 ChildsPlay, premiere); Fork in the Road (Dramatic Publishing commission); The Forgiving Harvest (2004 AT&T:Onstage Award, People's Light premiere, 2006 AATE Distinguished Play Award); Mask of the Unicorn Warrior (Rockefeller Foundation grant, 2001, Seattle Children's Theatre premiere); Othello (4-character hip hop adaptation, 2002 premiere); Krisit (ACT Commission, 2001 Primary Stages, NYC premiere); The New Dark Clarity, (2000 ASK commission); Bleachers in the Sun, (SmashBox Productions, 2008); and Framed (SmashBox Productions, 2007). These and earlier plays are still produced in theatres across the country and available from Broadway Play Publishing, Dramatic Publishing, St. Martin's Press, Smith and Kraus, or from Carl Mulert at The Gersh Agency. Y is an alumna of New Dramatists, member of the Dramatists Guild, Pen Women Hawai'i, Pen National, and still lives with husband Mark Lutwak to whom all things are still dedicated.

Jerry Spinelli (Author) played baseball until one day in eleventh grade when he wrote a poem about a high school football game. It was published in the local (Norristown, PA) newspaper and that's when he traded in his baseball bat for a pencil and became a writer. The story of his life to that point is told in his memoir Knots in My Yo-Yo String. His sixth novel, Maniac Magee, was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1991 for "The Most Distinguished Contribution to American Literature for Children." His eighteenth book, Wringer, received a Newbery Honor. Several are optioned for film. Jerry Spinelli's books appear in more than 40 languages. Anti-apartheid forces in South Africa recruited Maniac Magee to their cause. Stargirl is translated and distributed throughout the Middle East to encourage peace between Arab nations and the West. Stargirl Societies are springing up. Village audiences in rural Japan view stage performances of Loser. The author graduated from Gettysburg College and lives with his wife and fellow author, Eileen, in Wayne, Pennsylvania. They have six children and -- at last count -- 16 grandchildren.

Nathaniel Brastow (David) played Isaac in the world premiere of Getting Near to Baby last season at People's Light. He is a 5th grade honor student at Fern Hill Elementary School where he enjoys playing the violin in his school orchestra. He also participates in many after-school sports. But his favorite sport is soccer and he often finds himself playing the positions of goalie and left wing for the West Chester Soccer League.

Alda Cortese (Margaret) has been with People's Light since 1976, first appearing in Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage at the Yellow Springs Center for the Performing Arts in Chester Springs. She has since appeared in nearly 100 productions with this theatre -- most recently in Sherlock Holmes & The Case of the Jersey Lily, The Persians, and The Day of the Picnic. Less recent appearances include Humble Boy, The Foreigner, Jack & the Beanstalk, The O'Connor Girls, The Miser (for which she received a Barrymore nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actress), String of Pearls, and Arthur's Stone, Merlin's Fire. Alda also serves as the Literary Manager.

Kittson O'Neill (Madam Dufee) is making her People's Light debut. Some of her favorite productions include: Violent Delights (The Public Theatre), DestiNation America (Second Stage), The Darker Face of the Earth (TWAS Productions), The Hunger Waltz (Relentless Theatre), The Phoenician Women (Synapse Productions), Edward II (The Queens Company), Nights at the Circus (New York Int'l Fringe Festival), October 1962, Maggie Rose and An Unhappy Woman (New Jersey Repertory), Jigsaw Nation (Playwrights Center, South Coast Repertory, Curious Theater), and A Christmas Carol (Milwaukee Repertory Theatre). She has also dearly loved the following workshops: Wildflower (PlayPenn, The Lark), A Human Equation (PlayPenn), Phenomenon (HERE/Nerve), Promiscuous Materials (NY Stage & Film/Nerve). Her film & TV work includes: 15 Films for A&E, Ghostlight (Tribeca Film Festival Selection), and Overtime (Kanbar Film Festival Winner -- Best Ensemble). She is a regular player for The Onion both online and on the radio. She is a graduate of The Shakespeare Lab at The Public.

Claire Inie-Richards (Primrose) has appeared in four other productions at People's Light, including as Willa Jo in Getting Near to Baby and Betty Paris in The Crucible. She is a third-year home schooler and a junior at the Center for Performing and Fine Arts in West Chester. In addition, Claire is serving as an apprentice at PLTC, which includes projects in the office and work as a Production Assistant.

Brian Anthony Wilson (Refrigerator John) is returning to the stage at People's Light, where he previously appeared as Alexandre Dumas pere in Les Trois Dumas. Favorite roles include Alonzo Fields in Looking Over the President's Shoulder at Hedgerow Theatre, Avery in The Piano Lesson at the Arden, Othello at the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival, Becker in Jitney at Kansas City Repertory Theatre and Arizona Theatre Company, Marty in Dreamgirls at the Prince Music Theatre, Lyons in Fences at the Arden and the Actors Theatre of Louisville, Hambone in Two Trains Running and Juror #6 in 12 Angry Men at Cleveland Playhouse, King Hedley II at Philadelphia Theatre Company, Herald Loomis in Joe Turner's Come and Gone, and Gabriel in Fences at Bushfire Theatre. TV credits include HBO's The Wire and The Sopranos, as well as Law & Order: SVU. Movie credits include The Postman, Keeping the Faith, Explicit Ills, Shelter, and Law Abiding Citizen.

Click here to listen to an interview with Mark Lutwak, the Director of Eggs. This interview was conducted by Philadelphia Sound Designer Christopher Colucci, who also developed the podcast.

Mark Lutwak
Director

Mark Lutwak is the Director of Education at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. He was Artistic Director for Honolulu Theatre for Youth from 1999--2005, directing 28 plays, including 15 world premieres, and developing several new play programs. As a freelance stage and video director, he has been based variously in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Seattle, and Hawai'i, developing and directing new plays at New Dramatists, New York Theatre Workshop, Public Theatre, Kennedy Center New Visions/New Voices, Taller Latinoamericano, George Street Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, Seattle Group Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre, Seattle Children's Theatre, First Stage Milwaukee, Annex Theatre, A.S.K. Theatre Projects, Kumu Kahua Theatre, and other venues. He was a founding director of The Road Show in L.A. and Theatre for Your Mother in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was founding Executive Director of Rain City Projects, a Pacific Northwest playwrights' service organization; a producer, director, and writer of award-winning interactive media; and a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. He plays accordion and keyboards, most recently for Kupa'aina. This is the 19th or 20th Y York production he has had the pleasure of directing.