Plays & Players presents David Mamet's
provocative and controversial OLEANNA

Performance stars Mark Cairns and Molly Casey
and is directed by Daniel Student

"There can be no tougher or more unflinching play than Oleanna" - Harold Pinter

Plays & Players will present David Mamet's OLEANNA, from November 21 to December 7 at its Skinner Studio (3rd Floor), directed by Daniel Student and starring Mark Cairns and Molly Casey. Held as one of Mamet's most controversial and inciteful plays, Oleanna tests the power of the spoken and written word and examines the motives behind them. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door, and are available from Plays & Players online at www.playsandplayers.org or by calling (800) 585-4TIX. OLEANNA runs approximately one hour and forty five minutes.

Since its premiere in 1992, David Mamet's provocative OLEANNA has polarized audiences on Broadway, in the West End and around the world. Written at the time of the birth of the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill Confirmation Hearings that divided the nation, OLEANNA begins with an unconventional university professor, John, trying to assist a struggling female student, Carol, who has come to him for help. The encounter soon sours. As opinions collide an epic power struggle is born, crashing ideals of sexual empowerment and free speech with invasive political correctness. The result is explosive.

Performed in an intimate space on the thrust stage, the audience will be given a suggested seating alignment that segregates attendees based on various social identifiers such as gender and age. "Upon returning to open seating after intermission, the experience of feeling separate will provide much for audiences to talk about," says Director Daniel Student. "After going through an election that often spoke of privilege and elitism, of playing the race and gender "card", this play could not be more timely. It's one of those plays that challenges everyone - as all great theatre should."

Mark Cairns currently lives in Glenolden, PA and is performing for Plays & Players for the first time. His performance in The Faculty Room with Flashpoint Theatre Company was named one of the best of the 2007-2008 season by Philadelphia Weekly. He most recently appeared in The Wilma Theater's Rock 'n' Roll.

Molly Casey currently lives in Queen Village and is performing for Plays & Players for the third time. This Irish-American actress appeared as Jenny in Neil LaBute's The Shape of Things during the 2007-2008 season, and as CB's Sister in DOG SESS GOD: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead.

Daniel Student currently lives in Queen Village and is directing for Plays & Players for the first time. This Jewish director most recently directed Bee-luther-hatchee by InterAct Theatre Company's Playwright-In-Residence Tom Gibbons at Allens Lane Theater in Chestnut Hill. Notably, he was accepted to attend the esteemed Lincoln Center Director's Lab in the Summer of 2007.

The cast and director of OLEANNA will participate in post show talk-backs throughout the production. Two special talk-backs will be led by women who have held integral positions in local universities related to the content of the play. A November 23 talk-back will be lead by Sharon Krag, Professor Emeritus & former Associate Dean of Graduate Education and Research at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and Wendy White, Senior Vice President & General Counsel for the University of Pennsylvania & Penn Medicine will lead one on December 6.

"Mamet imagined two very different characters with regards to gender, class, education, authority," says actress Molly Casey. "Both exploit these labels to obtain the much coveted claim to power. Who's right? Who's wrong? That's what we want the audience to decide."

WHEN: Performances Nov. 20, 21, 22, 24, 28, 29, Dec. 4, 5, 6, 7 at 8pm; Nov. 23, 30 at 7pm. Pay-what-you-can-preview on Nov. 21 and $10 Industry Night tickets on Nov. 24.

WHERE: Plays & Players Skinner Studio (3rd Floor), 1714 Delancey Place (between Spruce & Pine Sts.)
Skinner Studio is not handicap accessible.

ADMISSION: Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door, and are available from Plays & Players online at www.playsandplayers.org or by calling (215) 735-0630.

ABOUT PLAYS & PLAYERS
Plays & Players is celebrating its 97th Season of local and community focused performance in Philadelphia. Located in the historic Plays & Players Theatre at 1714 Delancey Place, which includes two performance spaces, Plays & Players offers year-round memberships that include both social and entertainment possibilities. To learn more about memberships go to www.playsandplayers.org or call (215) 735-0630.