February 3, 2014
The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance presents Sarah Ruhl’s thoughtful and intriguing play Dead Man’s Cell Phone, February 14-23 at the Oscar G. Brockett Theatre.
“Ruhl’s zany probe of the razor-thin line between life and death delivers a fresh and humorous look at the times we live in.” – Variety
When Jean answers the cell phone of a recently deceased café patron, she holds on to the device to keep the man alive in a strange yet significant way. Jean’s quiet life is turned upside-down as she’s thrust into a world of mysterious strangers, shady business deals, and the potential for true love. “This play is about the journey from isolation to connection,” says director Jess Hutchinson. “At the heart is Jean’s desire to make authentic connections with people, and by the end she comes to own her desire for fully requited love.”
Sarah Ruhl’s plays include In the Next Room, or the vibrator play (Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Tony Award nominee for best new play), The Clean House (Pulitzer Prize Finalist, 2005; The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, 2004); Passion Play, a cycle (Pen American Award, The Fourth Freedom Forum Playwriting Award from The Kennedy Center); Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Helen Hayes Award); Melancholy Play; Eurydice; Orlando, Demeter in the City (NAACP nomination), Late: a cowboy song, and most recently, Stage Kiss. Her plays have been produced on Broadway at the Lyceum by Lincoln Center Theater, off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons, Second Stage, Lincoln Center’s Mitzi Newhouse Theater, Clubbed Thumb and Classic Stage Company. She was recently the recipient of the PEN Center Award for a mid-career playwright, the Feminist Press’ Forty under Forty Award, and the 2010 Lilly Award.
Dead Man’s Cell Phone features an all-star cast including: Mackenzie Dunn as Jean, Harrison Harvey as Gordon, Merin Rogers as The Other Woman/The Stranger, Maddrey Blackwood as Mrs. Gottlieb, Tasha Gorel as Hermia, and Joseph Keith Wilson as Dwight.
Direction by Jess Hutchinson - Original Art by Jason Buchanan - Technical Direction by W. Scott Bussey - Sound Design by Jared LeClaire - Scenic Design by Yongmin Lee - Projection Design by Patrick Lord - Costume Design by Kelly Ruiz - Lighting Design by Dawn M. Wittke - Stage Management by Colton Perry
Dead Man’s Cell Phone is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.
For more information on Dead Man’s Cell Phone, please visit texasperformingarts.org/event/dead-mans-cell-phone-ut-austin-theatre-dance
CALENDAR LISTING
February 14-23, 2014 – The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance presents Dead Man’s Cell Phone at Oscar G. Brockett Theatre (300 E. 23rd St.), located in the F. Loren Winship Drama Building. A map of the campus: texasperformingarts.org/visit/maps_directions. Performance times are February 14-15, 19-22 at 8:00 p.m. and February 16, 23 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets ($25 adult, $20 UT faculty & staff, $15 student) are now on sale at authorized ticket outlets, which include the Bass Concert Hall Box Office, most H-E-B stores and all Texas Box Office outlets, online at www.JoinTheDrama.org, or by calling (512) 477-6060 or (800) 982-BEVO.