Bexley, OH(!), or, Two Tales of One City

Written and performed by Prudence Wright Holmes
Directed by Lisa Peterson

Facility:
New York Theatre Workshop

Facility Address:
79 East 4th Street. Located between Bowery and Second Avenue in the East Village

Prices: all tickets, $40.00

Description: Bexley, OH(!), or, Two Tales of One City, are the first two stories in an unfolding collection that NYTW Usual Suspect Prudence Wright Holmes is writing about her hometown of Bexley, Ohio. Bexley, OH(!) is the first production in NYTW’s upcoming series with a common theme: the American family. Prudence lived in Bexley during the buttoned-down, repressed 1950s and the Nehru jacket, sideburn-wearing 1960s; seen through Prudence’s brutally honest eyes and pierced with exquisite detail, Bexley, OH(!) chronicles this American community responding and changing to the march of time. The first story, Dr. Sam is Under Your Bed, focuses on Prudence’s father, and his obsession with the infamous Dr. Sam Sheppard, a man questionably convicted of the 1954 murder of his wife, Marilyn. (You may recall that the Dr. Sam case was the inspiration for the television series, THE FUGITIVE.) In the second story, The African Violet Society, Prudence’s mother immerses herself into the internecine workings of the most exclusive ladies club in town, the African Violet Society.

Dates: first preview, Thursday, February 20, 2003; opening night, Monday, March 10, 2003;
final performance, Sunday, March 30, 2003

Performance schedule: Tuesday – Friday, 8:00pm; Saturday, 3:00pm and 8:00pm; Sunday, 3:00pm and 7:00pm

Exceptions: Saturday, February 22, no 3:00pm performance
Sunday, February 23, no 3:00pm performance
Saturday, March 8, no 3:00pm performance
Sunday, March 9, no 7:00pm performance
Monday, March 10, special 7:00pm performance (opening night)
Tuesday, March 11, no performance

Running time: approximately two hours with one intermission

Prudence Wright Holmes appeared in featured roles in the films Sister Act I and II with Whoopi Goldberg, Kingpin with Woody Harrelson, and In Dreams with Annette Bening. She has also appeared on Broadway in INHERIT THE WIND with George C. Scott, LETTICE AND LOVAGE with Maggie Smith and HAPPY END with Meryl Streep. Off-Broadway, she was in the original casts of GODSPELL and SISTER MARY IGNATIUS EXPLAINS IT ALL FOR YOU. She has appeared at many regional theatres, including the Guthrie, Long Wharf and Syracuse Stage. She played Annie on “Another World” and has done over 100 tv commercials. She recently appeared in WMKS: WHERE MUSIC KILLS SORROW at The Fulton Opera House.

NYTW Usual Suspect Lisa Peterson has directed several shows at NYTW including THE TRESTLE AT POPE LICK CREEK, Tony Kushner’s SLAVS!, and Caryl Churchill’s LIGHT SHINING IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE for which she won an Obie Award. Her recent credits include THE FOURTH SISTER at the Vineyard Theatre, THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA at the Mark Taper Forum, and A WINTER’S TALE at the California Shakespeare Festival. Prior to Bexley, OH(!), she directed MRS. WARREN’S PROFESSION at the Guthrie Theatre.