LOS ANGELES, January 4, 2012 — Acclaimed stage and screen actress Jane Kaczmarek (Broadway’s Lost in Yonkers and television’s Malcom in the Middle) takes on the role of Margie Walsh in the Geffen Playhouse production of David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People. Helmed by prominent local director Matt Shakman, the artistic director of LA’s Black Dahlia theater, the West Coast premiere of Good People, presented by One West Bank, begins in previews on April 3, 2012 and officially opens in the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse on April 11, 2012.
Margie Walsh can’t catch a break. Laid off from her job at the dollar store, Margie is faced with the reality that South Boston is providing her the same level of opportunity it always has: none. Wry, rough around the edges and ready to make a change, she goes to seek out the one who got away – both from “Southie” and from her. Instead, she finds herself in the burbs and out of her element, facing the question – is opportunity granted or earned? Nominated for a 2010 Tony Award for Best Play, Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire's Good People takes an affectionate look at the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ through the eyes of characters who won't be ignored.
Good People, a recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award, was commissioned by Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) in New York where it had its world premiere in the spring of 2011. In addition to being nominated for a Tony Award, Good People was named Best Play of 2010-11 by the New York Drama Critics Circle, as well as featured on the 2011 “Top Ten” theater lists of New York Magazine, Newsday, Time Out New York and the Associated Press.
Special events during the run of Good People include the theater’s special Signature Series performances for no additional cost. These evenings include an intellectual, thought-provoking post show Q&A at Talk Back Tuesdays; a scintillating, one-of-a kind after-party at Girls Night Out; a cultural happy hour with Lounge Fridays and complimentary wine tastings during Wine Down Sundays. For more information, please view www.geffenplayhouse.com/goodevents.
GOOD PEOPLE
Written by David Lindsay-Abaire
Directed by Matt Shakman
Preview Performances: Tuesday, April 3 – Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Opening Night: Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Closing Night: Sunday, May 13, 2012
Cast
Jane Kaczmarek Margie Walsh
(Additional actors to be announced)
Production Credits
Set Designer Craig Siebels
Costume Designer E.B. Brooks
Lighting Designer Elizabeth Harper
Sound Designer Jonathan Snipes
Production Stage Manager Jill Gold
Performance Schedule
Monday No performances
Tuesday – Friday 8:00pm
Saturday 3:00pm; 8:00pm
Sunday 2:00pm; 7:00pm
Ticket Info
Ticket prices currently range from $37 - $57 for preview performances and from $47 - $77 for the regular run. Contact the Geffen Playhouse box office in-person, via phone at 310-208-5454 or online at www.geffenplayhouse.com for updated pricing and seating availability.
Biographies
JANE KACZMAREK (Margie Walsh)
Jane Kaczmarek has appeared on Broadway in Lost in Yonkers and in plays at the Manhattan Theatre Club, The Public, Second Stage, Long Wharf, New York Stage and Film, and the Berkshire and Williamstown Theatre Festivals. In Los Angeles, she has appeared in Awake and Sing and Death of a Salesman at LA Theatre Works; Kindertransport (Ovation Award – Best Actress), Dinner With Friends and Raised in Captivity (LA Drama Critics Award – Featured Performance) at South Coast Repertory; and In Mother Words at the Geffen Playhouse. Kaczmarek starred for seven years in the Emmy Award winning TV series Malcolm in the Middle (Emmy Award nominations, Golden Globe Award nominations, SAG Award nominations, American Comedy Award – Funniest Female Performer – TV Series, TCA Award – Individual Achievement in Comedy, AFI Actor of the Year Award – Female – Series). Other TV credits include: Raising the Bar, The Simpsons, Felicity, Party of Five, Frasier and Whitney and Wilfred. Kaczmarek is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and Yale School of Drama.
DAVID LINDSAY-ABAIRE (Playwright)
David Lindsay-Abaire premiered his play Good People on Broadway last season, and was awarded the 2011 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play of the Year, as well as two Tony Award nominations. His previous play, Rabbit Hole received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, as well as five Tony Award nominations, and the Spirit of America Award. David, along with composer Jeanine Tesori, was nominated for a Grammy and two Tony Awards for their work on Shrek The Musical: Best Score, and Best Book of a Musical. Prior to that David was awarded the Kleban Award as America’s most promising musical theatre lyricist. His other shows include Fuddy Meers, Kimberly Akimbo, Wonder of the World and A Devil Inside, among others. In addition to his work in theatre, David's screen credits include his film adaptation of Rabbit Hole (starring Nicole Kidman – Oscar Nomination), as well as the upcoming features Rise of the Guardians (Dreamworks), and Oz: The Great and Powerful (Disney.) David is a proud New Dramatists alum, a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and the Juilliard School, as well as a member of the WGA and the Dramatists Guild Council.
MATT SHAKMAN (Director)
Matt Shakman is the founder and artistic director of the Black Dahlia Theatre in Los Angeles, which was named “one of a dozen young American companies you need to know” by American Theatre Magazine and “Best Small Theatre” by Los Angeles Magazine. His work at the Dahlia includes the hit world premiere musical Hey, Morgan! (now in its fourth month); David Schulner’s Forgiveness (LA Drama Critics Circle nomination, Direction); Jonathan Tolins’ Secrets of the Trade starring John Glover (Ovation and Garland Award, Direction; GLAAD Award, LA Production); Austin Pendleton’s Orson’s Shadow (LADCC nomination and Garland Award, Direction), Richard Kramer’s Theater District (LADCC and Garland Award, Direction); and Adam Rapp’s Nocturne (Ovation Award nomination, Direction). He has directed several plays by Stephen Adly Guirgis, including the premiere of Den of Thieves and the West Coast Premiere of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. Matt recently directed the Off-Broadway production of Secrets of the Trade at Primary Stages. Other credits include the NY premiere of Jamie Pachino’s Splitting Infinity (SPF), Better Angels by Wayne Liebman (inaugural production at the Broad Performing Arts Center) with Dustin Hoffman, James Cromwell, and Amy Ryan, and the Live Nation tour of The Nightman Cometh featuring the cast of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Beacon, NYC; Palladium, Troubadour, & Universal Amphitheater, Los Angeles, etc). Matt’s television directing credits include Mad Men, Six Feet Under, The Riches, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, House, Hung and Weeds.