For Immediate Release: April 4, 2006
Media Contact: Erin Denton, Theatre Exile, 215.922.4462

Theatre Exile pushes the boundaries once again with Tracy Letts', KILLER JOE, the smash Off Broadway mega-hit and Edinburgh Fringe Festival award winner. Directed by Exile's Artistic Director, Joe Canuso, KILLER JOE runs April 28 though May 28th at Second Stage @the Adrienne, 2030 Samson Street.

KILLER JOE tells the sordid tale of the Smith family, a pack of trailer park-inhabiting, fast food devouring survivalists who dig themselves into a hole of deceit, drugs, sexual abuse and murder. When exposed-wiring Chris needs cash to pay off his dealers, he enlists his ineffectual pot smoking father, sexually voracious stepmother and beloved sister to help in a scheme to murder his mother and collect on the insurance. Enter Killer Joe, full-time cop, part-time assassin. Betrayal and sexual terrorism spin out of control until the bloody, shocking climax of this strange love story.

A Pulitzer Prize finalist, and included in Time Magazine's "Best Theatre of the Year", Letts' work is being produced by some of the riskiest companies around the country, and has been performed in over ten different languages around the world. Even Hollywood has been bitten by the Letts bug. This fall, Oscar-winning director, William Friedkin leads Ashley Judd and Harry Connick Jr. in a film version of Lett's Bug. The highly anticipated film will be released this upcoming fall.

Theater Exile will host KILLER JOE's Philadelphia debut. Enjoying critical success and awards wherever it plays, KILLER JOE has been compared to the "the emotional rawness of Sam Shepard and the sensational storytelling of Quentin Tarantino" (LA Times). At once a darkly hilarious tale of murder gone wrong, and a story of strange, but true, love, KILLER JOE is a "crazy, harrowing, deeply disturbing play that contains touches of humanity and glimpses of lost spirit". (Chicago Center Stage) The New York Daily News says KILLER JOE is "slick, it's well constructed, it knows exactly where it's going." Graphic violence, strong language and full frontal nudity makes KILLER JOE for mature audiences only.

Featuring an all star cast of Philadelphia favorites, KILLER JOE boasts John Lumia, winner of the 2000 F Otto Hass Award for Emerging Artist and Barrymore nominee for outstanding performance, who returns to Exile after critically acclaimed performances in Belmont Avenue Social Club and Amputation Nation. Matt Saunders, Barrymore nominee for outstanding performance and F. Otto Hass Award for Emerging Artist nominee also returns to Theatre Exile after getting praise reviews for his performance in Valparaiso. Theater Exile also welcomes back Pearce Bunting, host of the televisions series Travelers and past Barrymore winner for Best Lead Actor. New to Theatre Exile are Amanda Schoonover, Barrymore nominee for outstanding performance, and critically hailed actress of indie-theatre's cult classic Grease and Desist and Moby Dick Unrehearsed, as well as Mary Lee Bednarek, whose performance in Danny and the Deep Blue Sea was hailed as "nervy" and "particularly fascinating.a mix of physical ticks and jangled nerves"(City Paper) Directing the talented ensemble of actors and designers is Theatre Exile's Artistic Director, Joe Canuso. Canuso states "it would be hard to look past the bungling hilarity of one redneck family and not see the eerie similarities in our country's Capitalist dream-plan. When the philosophy that GREED IS GOOD drives our leader's policies, we end up in a moral abyss with no clear exit strategy. Like it or not, we've all been riding shotgun on this killing spree."

Theatre Exile is a non-profit theater company dedicated to enhancing the cultural experiences of all Philadelphians through the staging of works that engage the imagination. We produce risky and challenging plays that contain a sense of true Philadelphian grittiness and passion. We are constantly striving to reach out to new theater audiences throughout the community by presenting both new works as well as established plays that often are reinterpreted in original ways and/or held in unique site-specific locations. We believe in freedom of expression and the necessity of provocation. At the same time, we provide a safe and creative environment in which local artists can grow and experiment and ultimately, find their own voice.

For tickets, call 215-922-4462 or visit www.theatreexile.org.

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