Philadelphia Theatre Workshop closes its season with the World Premiere of Kathy Anderson’s look at love, books, and animal carcasses in The Meatpackers Book Club. This new work runs May 30-June 14 at Walnut Street Theatre Studio 5. Single tickets cost $18 in advance and $20 day of show. More information can be found online at www.philadelphiatheatreworkshop.org .

Kathy Anderson’s plays have been produced in New York, Philadelphia, and Arizona and received staged readings in Chicago and New York. Prior to The Meatpackers Book Club, her work Incoming, a full-length comedy, had a world premiere with Philadelphia Theatre Workshop and went on to win the Queer Women’s Play Contest with Bloody Unicorn Theatre Company and full production in Arizona. Incoming was selected for the International Centre for Women Playwrights 2007 Chicago HER-RAH: A Festival of the World’s Best Women Playwrights and Their New Plays and the TOSOS II Robert Chesley/Jane Chambers Playwright Project in New York City in 2008. Her short stories have been published in magazines, journals, and anthologies. “You Are the Bad Smell” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2008 by The Apple Valley Review. “Cheesesteak Heaven” was published by Philadelphia Stories in 2006 and selected for The Best of Philadelphia Stories anthology in 2007. She is the recipient of a New Jersey State Council on the Arts fellowship and was admitted to The Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. She is currently Associate Artistic Director of Philadelphia Theatre Workshop and is a member of The Dramatists Guild.

“We are so excited to continue giving spotlight to Philadelphia playwrights with Kathy Anderson's The Meatpackers Book Club,” said PTW Artistic Director Bill Felty. “Kathy becomes the first playwright we've revisited, having produced her play Incoming in 2007. She has a wonderful comic voice and introduces us to totally unique characters and situations. That's exactly what our mission compels us to do."

Imagine a book club where the members wield bloody hacksaws for a living and discussions about literature break out in fistfights -- it's The Meatpackers Book Club. To rise above the raw gore of their daily lives, clever Harry, tough guy Red, one-armed Augustus, and lone female meatpacker Tiny discuss Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, The Life of Pi, and the proper way to hack animal carcasses. Meanwhile, a love triangle is evolving and something very strange and troubling is going on in Sector 8 of the meatpacking plant. And today, while all these worlds are colliding, it's really difficult to get a meaningful discussion going.

“I wanted to take a fantastically hard job - meatpacking - and play with the humor of workers starting a book club there, right in the middle of all that muck,” said Anderson. “Then, to take the setting and workers themselves and make both funny and larger than life added to the challenge, and the fun.”

Philadelphia Theatre Workshop Artistic Director Bill Felty directs The Meatpackers Book Club. His cast includes, Daniel DeRosier, Jerry Rudasill, Kristen Schier, and Nick Suders. DeRosier, who plays Augustus, recently appeared in Dog Sees God at Plays and Players. Rudasill plays Harry. He has appeared has Feste in Twelfth Night, Gerardo Escobar in Death and the Maiden, and Ford Prefect in The HitchHikers Guide to the Galaxy. Schier, the lone female in the play is Tiny. Schier is Artistic Director of The Philly N Crowd. She has worked with Commonwealth Classic Theater Company, Ego Po, and Vagabond Acting Troupe. Suders is Red. He is currently shooting as a featured martial artist in M. Night Shyamalan's latest feature film, The Last Airbender.

The design team includes: Stephen Hungerford (set design), Christiana Molldrem (lighting design), and Melissa Black (costume design).

About Philadelphia Theatre Workshop
Philadelphia Theatre Workshop strives to nurture bright and emerging artists at various stages of their careers. They will ignite Philadelphia by spotlighting communities of varying orientations, ethnicities, and age often underrepresented in the broader theatrical world. The company is dedicated to reflecting diverse audiences through original, evocative programming. Philadelphia Theatre Workshop educates, invigorates, and entertains!

The Meatpackers Book Club
Written by Kathy Anderson
Directed by Bill Felty
Set Design by Stephen Hungerford
Lighting Design by Christiana Molldrem
Costume Design by Melissa Black
Dramaturgy by Debra-Leigh Scott
Stage Management by Melody Wong

Starring: Daniel DeRosier, Jerry Rudasill, Kristen Schier, and Nick Suders

Performance Dates and Times
Sat, May 30, at 8 p.m. --OPENING
Sun. May 31, at 2 p.m.
Wed. June 3, at 8 p.m.
Thu June 4, 8 p.m.
Fri. June 5, 8 p.m.
Sat. June 6, 8 p.m.
Sun. June 7, 2 p.m.
Wed. June 10, 8 p.m.
Thu. June 11, 8 p.m.
Fri. June 12, 8 p.m.
Sat. June 13, 8 p.m.
Sun. June 14, 2 p.m.