For Immediate Release: August 16, 2005
Media Contact: Jayme Powers, Arden Theatre Companty, 215.922.8900 x22

Arden Theatre Company kicks off its eighteenth season with the wickedly funny comedy Loot written by notorious English playwright Joe Orton. Directed by Douglas C. Wager, former artistic director of Arena Stage in Washington DC, Loot begins previews on Thursday, September 8; opens Tuesday, September 13; and runs through Sunday, October 30.

Flaunting a subversive wit, this biting British comedy spins a frenzied web of conspiracies fueled by greed, lust and hypocrisy. Inept bank robbers hijack mom's coffin to stash the loot from a recent heist in this attack on conventional mores that is as stinging and funny today as when it first spilled from the wicked pen of Joe Orton. Nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Reproduction of a Play, Loot was hailed by the London Evening Standard as a "...madcap farce, with cynical mockery that hits home with the sting of sharp comic wit."

Joe Orton, playwright and novelist, was born in Leicester and attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Originally an unsuccessful actor, Orton turned to writing where he experienced his first success in 1964 when his radio play The Ruffian on the Stair was broadcast by the BBC. Other plays by Orton include: What the Butler Saw, Entertaining Mr. Sloan and The Erpingham Camp. "Nobody came closer than Orton to reviving on the English stage the outrageous and violent prankster's spirit of comedy and creating the purest (and rarest) of drama's by-products: joy," writes John Lahr, author of Prick Up Your Ears: The Biography of Joe Orton. At the age of 34 and the pinnacle of his career, Orton was bludgeoned to death by his lifelong companion, Kenneth Halliwell in August 1967.

Winner of three Helen Hayes Awards for outstanding direction, director Douglas C. Wager makes his Arden debut, "Forty years since its sensational debut, Joe Orton's Loot has lost none of its deliriously funny, anarchic bite. In times of fearful obedience and blind devotion to the rule of law and to the self-appointed moral tyranny of the righteous, Orton's gleeful ode to anarchy offers us a freeing, wildly theatrical tonic for the contemporary soul."

The cast includes Chancellor Dean, Kate Hampton, David Howey (The Underpants), Anthony Lawton (Sweeney Todd, The Underpants), Paul L. Nolan and Tobias Segal. Emmy Award-winning scenic designer Bob Phillips (Café Puttanesca, All My Sons) will be joined by Barrymore Award-winning costume designer Janus Stefanowicz, lighting designer Jerold R. Forsyth (Proof) and sound designer/composer Greg Wilder (The Underpants).

Loot begins previews on Thursday, September 8; opens Tuesday, September 13; and runs through Sunday, October 30. Ticket prices ranges from $27 to $45 and may be purchased by calling the Arden Box Office at 215.922.1122, online at www.ardentheatre.org, or by visiting the box office at 40 N. 2nd Street in Philadelphia. The Arden will host College Night on Thursday, September 29. College Night features $10 tickets for college students with valid student ID. The Arden's Young Professionals Circle will mingle Friday, September 30 at a pre-show reception catered by Stephen Starr's restaurant The Continental.

Post-show discussions are scheduled on Thursday, September 22; Sunday, October 2; Wednesday, October 12; and Sunday, October 16. Discounted group rates are available through the Box Office.

Five-play and three-play mainstage subscriptions are now available, with prices ranging from $66 to $195.

The Arden is accessible to people with disabilities, including wheelchair accessibility, assisted listening devices and large print programs at every performance. Accessible seating is available by reservation. For more information, call the Arden Box Office at 215.922.1122.

WHERE:
Arden Theatre Company
40 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia

WHEN:
September 8 - October 30, 2005

REVIEWING PRESS: Will receive invitations to the opening night performance of Loot on Tuesday, September 13 at 7 p.m.

Other members of the press: Are invited to see the show during the first week of the run (Wednesday, September 14 - Tuesday, September 20) by scheduling tickets through the Director of Marketing and Public Relations at 215.922.8900 x22.

WHO:
Written by Joe Orton
Directed by Douglas C. Wager
Scenic Design by Bob Phillips
Costume Design by Janus Stefanowicz
Lighting Design by Jerold R. Forsyth
Sound Design/Composer by Greg Wilder

Cast:
Chancellor Dean as Dennis
Kate Hampton as Fay
David Howey as McLeavy
Anthony Lawton as Truscott
Paul L. Nolan as Meadows
Tobias Segal as Hal

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