COULD I HAVE THIS DANCE, DOUG HAVERTY�S multi-award-winning deeply romantic play about love and difficult choices and ultimately about cherishing what life we are given, starts off the year 2010 at THEATRE 40, opening on February 3rd in their Reuben Cordova Theatre on the Beverly Hills High School Campus.
COULD I HAVE THIS DANCE? is about two sisters in their 30�s. Their mother, who lives with them, has Huntington�s disease, an incurable and possibly genetically transferable disease that causes a complete degeneration of the muscular system. Both daughters have shunned long-term romantic relationships because of their unknown fate, yet the girls and their father never lose their sense of humor. �Haverty has tackled a very serious subject and delivered it in a play that also entertains.� Daily Breeze. �Doug Haverty�s excellent play deals with a good deal more than illness … Could I Have This Dance? sparkles like fine champagne, but never intoxicates�though most people who see it will feel happy for hours after they leave the theatre�for in addition to its humanity, it is a damn funny play … The ultimate power of Could I Have This Dance?, � rests in Doug Haverty�s considerable skill as a playwright … Extraordinary from first moment to last.� � DRAMA-LOGUE
DOUG HAVERTY is a native Californian. His first play was a college comedy called, HELLO, THIS IS THE BOTTOM DRAWER, opening in LA in 1980 and then becoming a surprise–award-winning–hit. The drama critic at the Herald Examiner dubbed Haverty, �� the Frank Capra of the �Me� Generation.�
Premiering at Los Angeles’ Group Repertory Theatre in 1984, Haverty’s IN MY MIND’S EYE was inspired by one of his teachers from middle school. MIND’S EYE won him a most promising playwright award as well as the DRAMA-LOGUE award for best playwriting in l985. In 1987 IN MY MIND’S EYE was published by SAMUEL FRENCH and continues to be produced throughout the U.S. and will soon be produced in Tokyo, Japan.
Doug was commissioned by Access Theatre of Santa Barbara to write the libretto for a musical fantasy that incorporates sign language into and throughout the story; making it accessible to all audiences including hearing impaired. This piece was also designed to accommodate a partial cast of hearing-impaired actors. THE LEGEND OF THE CRYSTAL WATERS began a southwestern U.S. tour in February l987 and continued through November of that same year. In 1991, Haverty was flown to the Dallas Theatre Centre to receive a playwriting award for CRYSTAL WATERS at the American Deaf Drama Festival.
Early in 1987, DEATH DEFYING ACTS, a new Haverty drama, debuted in New York at The Long Island Stage. In 1989, Haverty was invited back to Long Island Stage for the world premiere of his comedy-drama, AFTERSHOCKS, which won the coveted, International Margo Jones Playwriting Competition and has subsequently been produced across the country. A vastly re-written (4-character version of) AFTERSHOCKS was presented in August 1994 at the Colony in Los Angeles.
A new musical, ROLEPLAY, co-written by Adryan Russ, opened in April 1989 for a six-week run at the Group Repertory Theatre in Los Angeles. The critical and public response was so strong, that this innovative musical ran for five months becoming the Group’s longest-running, highest grossing show in their 16 year history. ROLEPLAY was subsequently produced at The Colony Studio Theatre in 1991 and opened Off-off Broadway in July of 1992 to enormous success. After out of town productions the musical finally opened Off Broadway at The Cherry Lane Theatre in 1994 under a new title, INSIDE OUT. The production in Spring of 1998 at The Laguna Playhouse garnered Doug and his collaborator, Adryan Russ, a Robby Award The European premiere of INSIDE OUT was presented in April 2005 by The English Theatre Group of Zug in Zurich, Switzerland. The production immediately sold-out and was brought back in January of 2006.
Opening in the Spring of 1991 at the Colony Theatre, COULD I HAVE THIS DANCE, was selected by the American Theatre Critics’ Association as the Best New Play of 1991 (produced outside of New York City) and was subsequently included in the Otis-Gurnsey Best Plays of 1991-92. DANCE had already won Seattle’s “New Plays Discovery Festival” and was a finalist for 1991 Humana Festival at Actor�s Theatre at Louisville. The Colony production garnered a total of 12 Drama-Logue Awards including one for playwriting. DANCE went on to be produced in New York City at the Off Off Broadway Village Theatre Company in September 1993 and premiered in Melbourne, Australia that November.
Doug also wrote the libretto for FLAVIA AND THE DREAM MAKER, a musical commissioned by Access Theatre that has just been published by The Dramatic Publishing Company. In 2000 Theatre West presented the world premiere of Doug�s contemporary tragedy COME BABY, CRADLE AND ALL. His newest full-length musical (also co-written with Adrayn Russ ) is entitled �jGhost� and is inspired by Oscar Wilde�s �The Canterville Ghost�. This large scale musical is contemporary spin on the classic tale and compares and contrasts the similarities between ghosts and Bluetooth, wireless wizardry. There was an elaborate workshop presentation of this musical this past summer at NO Ho Arts Center as part of the L.A. Festival of New Musicals.
Doug currently co-moderates Theatre West�s Writer�s Workshop. He has served as Dramaturge at Group Repertory Theatre and has moderated their playwright�s unit as well as their public reading series. He is a founding member of Playwrights Forum and a member of The Dramatists Guild, TCG, ASCAP and ALAP.
His love for words on the page has also translated into a successful career as a graphic artist. He has designed over 300 CD packages and has also supplied liner notes for albums most recently completing design work on the unusual coffee-table book, �Ukulele, A Visual History� for BackBeat Books.
Director ALEX CRAIG MANN last worked at Theatre 40 when he directed the critically-acclaimed World Premiere of ANOTHER VERMEER. Mann has spent a great deal of time studying in England and France. When he finally returned to the U.S. he came immediately to Los Angeles where he continued his training with Milton Katselas and Jeffrey Tambor at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. He has performed in over a dozen of L.A.�s most respected theatres and starred in the film Festival In Cannes. After Appearing in numerous popular television shows such as Friends, Seinfeld and Las Vegas (among many others), Alex turned his attention more towards his newest passion, directing. In addition to being nominated for Best Ensemble, Best Play, as well as numerous individual actor nominations, Mann won the 2004 Ticket Holder Award for Best Director of Suburbia by Eric Bogosian which he staged at the Skylight Theatre for Camelot Artists. Other directorial successes since 1992 include The Lesson (Eugene Ionesco), Autobahn (Neil Labute), Biloxi Blues (Neil Simon), Savage in Limbo (John Patrick Shanley) and his own properties Love & Marriage, Exodus of David Acker, and Benny.
COULD I HAVE THIS DANCE opens February 3, 2010 and closes February 28; Wednesday through Saturday at 8:00 PM and Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM. Ticket prices are $23.00 Wednesday through Friday. All Saturday and Sunday performances are $25.00. Students and members o the 4A�s are half-price on Stand-by at the door. THEATRE 40 is a professional Theatre Company performing in the Reuben Cordova Theatre on the Campus of Beverly Hills High School at 241 Moreno Drive – adjacent to Century City just off Little Santa Monica Blvd. The theatre is air-conditioned, there is disable access and ample FREE indoor parking. For RESERVATIONS: 310-364-0535.
www.theatre40.org. Credit Cards accepted.
