Mauckingbird Theatre Company, under the direction of Artistic Director Peter Reynolds and Managing Director Lindsay Mauck, is pleased to announce its premiere production - Molière's The Misanthrope performed with an all-male cast. The production runs January 10 through February 2, 2008 at the Adrienne Theatre's Second Stage located at 2030 Sansom Street in Philadelphia. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students and are available by calling the Adrienne box office at (215) 563-4330.

Molière's brilliant comedy about the hypocrisies of the 17th century French aristocracy is transplanted to a gay society in Mauckingbird Theatre Company's production. This modern spin on the classic debate between etiquette and earnestness features Dito van Reigersberg (Pig Iron Theatre Company, Martha Graham Cracker) as Alceste.

Alienated from society by its insincerities, the misanthropic Alceste rails against the disingenuous conduct of the men who surround him. Yet he pursues the seemingly most shallow of all: the narcissistic "pretty-boy" Célimène, played by Evan Jonigkeit, whose recent stage credits include Six Characters in Search of an Author at People's Light & Theatre, Dishwashers at Walnut Street Theatre, and Fox TV's Twice a Hero. When Célimène's deceitful nature is revealed, Alceste's excessive virtue is challenged and Molière makes his strongest argument against a world of fashionable false pretenses.

Maukingbird's production of The Misanthrope is translated into English verse by Ranjit Bolt, whose translation has been staged by Sir Peter Hall and at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The fastpaced dialogue builds tension with every insult of the rich and powerful, and the traditional renaissance court is reimagined as a new world, one populated and controlled by gay men.

"Our aim is to illuminate Moliere's text in a new way by transporting the artifice inherent in the French court to an equally pretentious world where gay men call all the shots," says director Reynolds. The Misanthrope cast is led by Dito van Reigersberg as Alceste. Van Reigersberg is a founding member of Pig Iron Theatre Company and has also made a name for himself over the past several years performing as his drag alter-ego, Miss Martha Graham-Cracker. He has also performed with several Philadelphia companies, including Arden Theatre Company, Mum Puppettheatre, Lantern Theater Company, Headlong Dance Theater, and the Opera Company of Philadelphia. Van Reigersberg studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse, the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, and is a graduate of Swarthmore College.

"We're excited to have Dito leading our cast, giving him an opportunity to tackle the rich language in this classic text," says Reynolds. "We think audiences familiar with his other more physical theatre work will thrill to his skill with heightened text."

The full cast of nine features Keith Conallen as Arsinoé, Brian Cowden as Oronte, Jerrell Henderson as Acaste, Josh Hitchens as Clitandre, Evan Jonigkeit as Célimène, Patrick Joyce as Éliante, Cosimo Mariano as Basque/Dubois, Dito van Reigersberg as Alceste, and Bradley Wrenn as Philinte.

The design team includes set designer Meghan Jones, costume designer Marie Anne Chiment, lighting designer Maria Shaplin, and sound designer Evan Jonigkeit.

Founded by Reynolds and Mauck, Mauckingbird Theatre Company is committed to producing professional gay-themed theatre, while also exploring classic literature and musical genres and providing affordable productions of infrequently produced works.

Reynolds currently serves as the Director of Musical Theater for the Department of Theater at Temple University. For Temple Theaters he has directed productions of Into the Woods, Ragtime, Company, Pericles, Shakin' the Mess Outta Misery and Beautiful Thing. He also served as an Assistant Professor of Theatre at Villanova University where he directed The Robber Bridegroom. In 2008, he will direct Baby for Villanova Theatre, Smoke on the Mountain for Hedgerow Theatre and Songs for a New World for Act II Playhouse. He has directed for the Philadelphia Theatre Company in their collaborations with Philadelphia Young Playwrights and spent two seasons with the Lenape Regional Performing Arts Center in New Jersey where he assisted the Producing Artistic Director. He spent 6 years as Artistic Director of the award-winning HealthWorks Theatre in Chicago.

Molière was born Jean-Baptiste Poquelin in Paris, France in 1622. Working as an actor, director and playwright in his own theatre troupe, he was admired by the King and went on to find success with his comedies such as Tartuffe (1664), School for Wives (1662) and The Misanthrope (1666). Moliere is said to have written The Misanthrope as a reaction to the critics who prohibited and slandered his previous works. On February 17, 1673, Molière, who suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis, died hours after performing the lead role in The Imaginary Invalid.