PITH!
Limited Engagement! April 6 - 23 at The Lion Theatre

"A nostalgic wordsmith's delight...Mr. Lemoine's limber script engages the ears, but [the actors], who are worth watching for their facial tics alone, make it a pleasure for the eyes as well." -- New York Times

Edmonton's acclaimed Teatro la Quindicina returns to NYC to present the Off-Broadway Premiere of Pith! by Stewart Lemoine at The Lion Theatre beginning April 6th. This limited Off-Broadway engagement, prior to appearances in Toronto and Ottawa, follows on the heels of their presentation of Pith! at the 2004 New York International Fringe Festival where it won an Excellence in Playwriting Award. Directed by Lemoine, Pith! premiered at the Edmonton Fringe in 1997 and won two Fringe Sterling awards as Outstanding Production and Outstanding New Play. It has been revived twice in Edmonton and was a sold out hit in Winnipeg. This "exquisite gem" (Winnipeg Free Press) is published by NeWest Press as part of A Teatro Trilogy: Selected Plays by Stewart Lemoine. The production is produced Off-Broadway under a special agreement with Canadian Actors Equity. Opening night is scheduled for Monday, April 11 at 7:00pm.

Set in 1931, Pith! is an epic tale of travel and adventure told with the most economical means. An itinerant sailor leads a grieving society widow and her stoic housekeeper on an exhilarating and treacherous journey into the heart of the South American jungle... without ever leaving the living room. With only four dining room chairs and a phonograph, Jack Vail propels Virginia Tilford and Nancy Kimble from Providence, Rhode Island to New Orleans, Panama, and Ecuador, where hilarious encounters with a succession of explorers, shysters, gigolos, natives, and all manner of tropical wildlife have life-altering consequences for the ladies. It's an innovative, hilarious, and ultimately moving tribute to the power of imagination.

The production features the original Canadian cast: Jeff Haslam stars as Jack Vail, with Davina Stewart as Virginia and Leona Brausen as Nancy. Also traveling with Pith! is producer and stage manager Ian Rowe. Costume design is by Leona Brausen.

For the past two decades Stewart Lemoine has been Artistic Director of Teatro La Quindicina, a company devoted to creating new work for a resident company of actors. He is a four-time winner of the Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award for Outstanding New Play, and winner of Toronto's Dora Mavor Moore Award for the play The Vile Governess and Other Psychodramas. In 2003, his contributions to the arts in Alberta earned him a Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal. This year he was nominated for the prestigious Lieutenant Governor's Arts Award.

Founded in 1982, Teatro La Quindicina produces live theatre all year round at Edmonton's Varscona Theatre. The company's repertoire consists almost exclusively of original works written by Stewart Lemoine and performed by a resident ensemble of actors. For more information visit www.varsconatheatre.com/teatro.

Pith! runs April 6-23, Wednesday-Sunday at 8pm and Mondays at 7pm. The Lion Theatre is located at 410 West 42nd between 9th & 10th Avenues (accessible from the A,C,E trains at 42nd Street). All tickets are $20. For information and reservations call 212-279-4200 or visit ticketcentral.com.