Azuka Theatre announces the World Premiere of Sweetie Pie as part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. This contemporary interpretation of a classical tragedy opens September 1st and runs through September 15 at Plays and Players Theater, 1714 Delancey Place in Center City. Written by Madi Distefano and directed by John Clancy, the play features Barrymore Award winners Distefano and Tobias Segal along with Melissa Lynch and Tom Tansey. Tickets are $20; call 215-413-1318 or visit www.livearts-fringe.org.

Sweetie Pie, tells the story of teenagers Barbara Ann and Joey and a passionate love affair that terribly divides - and tragically unites - parent and child. Sweetie Pie marks the first time that Madi has created a work outside of Brat Productions, the company she founded ten years ago. Sweetie Pie is Madi's eighth Live Arts/Fringe Festival show, earning her the moniker "First Lady of the Philly Fringe." It is the third part of a trilogy which includes her earlier works, Popsicles Departure, 1989 and Eye-95 Re-tarred.

"We were eager to produce in the Fringe again after our success with Azuka One-Acts last year" says Producing Artistic Director Kevin Glaccum. "So when Madi asked me if Azuka would be willing to produce her new work, I jumped at the chance. To get my hands on a new play by so talented a playwright was a no-brainer. The fact that John Clancy was already attached to the project made the decision that much easier. John's extraordinary reputation preceded him, and we're thrilled to be working with an artist of his caliber." Says Distefano: "Every playwright would love to be in the position I'm in. There is a company ready and willing to produce my work, and allowing me the artistic freedom to create the piece the way I envision it."

Azuka Theatre was founded in 1999 by group of artists participating in the Arden Theatre Company's nationally recognized Professional Apprentice Program. Azuka Theatre has built a reputation for accessible, thought-provoking and socially conscious theatre. Over the past seven seasons, Azuka Theatre has produced twelve plays and been hailed as "a company to watch" and a "major player on the Philadelphia alternative theatre scene," by the Philadelphia Weekly. In 1999 they were awarded the Philadelphia Gay News' LAMBDA Award for Outstanding Arts Event for their first production, La Rue des Faux. They have received two Barrymore Award Nominations; Outstanding New Play for An Artist's Workshop (2004) Best Actress in a Play, Mary Martello in The Boys (2006)

Madi Distefano (writer/actress) is a Philadelphia-based playwright, actor, director and teacher. She is a recipient of awards from the Leeway Foundation, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the Independence Foundation. A 5-time Barrymore nominee, she recently won Best Leading Actress for Eden. Her one-woman show, Popsicle's Departure, 1989 recently played at New York's P.S. 122 and will perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this August. Madi is a Resident Artist at Brat Productions.

John Clancy (director) John Clancy is an OBIE award winning director and Executive Artistic Director of Clancy Productions, Inc. He is the founding Artistic Director of The Present Company, a leading Off-Off Broadway theatre company, and a founding Artistic Director of The New York International Fringe Festival, North America's largest theater and performance festival. His directing credits include Americana Absurdum, winner of an Edinburgh Festival Fringe First 2000, Cincinnati, winner of an Edinburgh Festival Fringe First 2002 and Adelaide Best of Fringe 2004, Horse Country, winner of an Edinburgh Festival Fringe First 2002, Scotsman Best of the Firsts 2002 and Adelaide Best of Fringe 2004 and Fatboy, Edinburgh Festival Fringe First 2004. His most recent directorial endeavor screwmachine/eyecandy: Or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love Big Bob, garnered him his fifth Fringe First in 4 years.