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March 1, 2008
Contact: Linda Jacobs, 612.702.0757,
ljacobsok@aol.com
Exit Strategy
You’re never too old. Never.
WHO: Cricket Productions presents the world premiere of Exit Strategy, a new play about old people, co-written by Bill Semans and Roy M. Close, with direction by Howard Dallin, set design by James Bakkom, costume design by Gail Bakkom, lighting design by Dick Borgen, sound design by Lynn Musgrave, and stage management by Christine Nelson. It will be performed by Charles Nolte, Shirley Venard and Bill Semans, the actors for whom it was written.
The birth and life of this play is entirely in the hands of the population it depicts – seniors. Cricket Productions is a unique collaboration of veteran Twin Cities’ theater artists who have come together for the sole purpose of creating and staging this new play about the importance of taking chances, even in old age.
The playwrights, actors, director, and designers have a combined age of over 500. Together they have logged more than 300 years in theater and been involved in nearly 1,000 productions in over 75 theaters in 90 cities throughout the United States.
WHAT: Exit Strategy is a two-act drama about three people in the seventh and eighth decades of their lives. It is set in the Penley Hotel, an old hotel that caters to elderly people on fixed incomes. In the first scene, the hotel's two long-time occupants, James (a gay former actor and college professor) and Mae (the thrice-divorced resident manager) learn that the Penley is going to be torn down and that they will have to move. Their quiet, dreadfully routine lives are further disrupted by the arrival of Alex, a younger man (age 70), who is driven by the desire to reclaim something that was stolen from his family years ago. It is his challenge to Mae and James that causes them to realize it’s never too late to make choices and take chances.
The play contains a good deal of frank conversation about death, aging, sex, health, bodily functions, and other topics that older people talk (or at least think) about. It is not suitable for children or the easily offended.
WHEN: Exit Strategy previews Tuesday, April 8 – 10, opens April 11 and runs through May 4. Performances Wednesday through Saturday are at 7:30PM, Sunday at 2:00PM
WHERE: Mixed Blood Theater, 1501 South 4th Street, Mpls, MN 55454. 612.338.6131.
TICKET INFORMATION: $30 Fri/Sat; $28 Wed, Thur, Sun; $25 for Seniors and Groups of 20+; $20 for Students; $3 off any performance with Fringe Festival button and Prime Timers Membership. Discounts are based on availability and cannot be combined. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Mixed Blood Theater at 612.338.6131 or online at www.mixedblood.com.
To download large versions of photos, right click on the thumbnail and select "save link as."
Mae (Shirley Venard) and James (Charles Nolte) face the prospect of being homeless in the world premiere production Exit Strategy at Mixed Blood Theatre through May 4.
Photo: Ann Marsden
Alex (Bill Semans, left) and Mae (Shirley Venard, left) try to console James (Charles Nolte, seated) as he returns from a bender in which he was humiliated in the world premiere production Exit Strategy at Mixed Blood Theatre through May 4.
Photo: Ann Marsden
James (Charles Nolte) celebrates his return to the boards while Mae (Shirley Venard) contemplates their deed in the world premiere production Exit Strategy at Mixed Blood Theatre through May 4.
Photo: Ann Marsden
Alex (Bill Semans, left) and James (Charles Nolte, right) discuss bodily functions in the world premiere production Exit Strategy at Mixed Blood Theatre through May 4.
Photo: Ann Marsden
James (Charles Nolte) and Mae (Shirley Venard) discuss their future over cake and candlelight in the world premiere production Exit Strategy at Mixed Blood Theatre through May 4.
Photo: Ann Marsden
James (Charles Nolte) and Mae (Shirley Venard) return from a reconnaissance mission in the world premiere production Exit Strategy at Mixed Blood Theatre through May 4.
Photo: Ann Marsden
Charles Nolte, Shirley Venard and Bill Semans take a curtain call in the world premiere production Exit Strategy at Mixed Blood Theatre through May 4.
Photo: Ann Marsden
Shirley Venard, Bill Semans and Charles Nolte
Photo: Ann Marsden
Shirley Venard, Charles Nolte and Bill Semans
Photo: Ann Marsden
Bill Semans, Shirley Venard and Charles Nolte
Photo: Ann Marsden
Bill Semans
Photo: Ann Marsden
Bill Semans
Photo: Ann Marsden
Charles Nolte
Photo: Ann Marsden
Shirley Venard
Photo: Ann Marsden
Roy M. Close and Bill Semans
Photo: Ann Marsden
Howard Dallin
Photo: Ann Marsden
Front (left to right): Bill Semans, Shirley Venard, Charles Nolte; Middle: Roy Close, Howard Dallin; Back: Dick Borgen, Gail Bakkom, James Bakkom, Christine Nelson
Photo: Rob Levine
Front (left to right): Bill Semans, Shirley Venard, Charles Nolte; Middle: Roy Close, Howard Dallin; Back: Dick Borgen, Gail Bakkom, James Bakkom, Christine Nelson
Photo: Rob Levine
Front (left to right): Bill Semans, Shirley Venard, Charles Nolte; Middle: Roy Close, Howard Dallin; Back: Dick Borgen, Gail Bakkom, James Bakkom, Christine Nelson
Photo: Rob Levine
Shirley Venard, Charles Nolte and Bill Semans.
Photo: Rob Levine
Shirley Venard, Charles Nolte and Bill Semans
Photo: Rob Levine
Charles Nolte, Bill Semans and Shirley Venard
Photo: Rob Levine