Intiman's 35th Anniversary

INTIMAN CONTINUES ITS 35th ANNIVERSARY SEASON WITH CHEKHOV’S UNCLE VANYA, NEWLY ADAPTED BY CRAIG LUCAS AND DIRECTED BY BARTLETT SHER

Chekhov’s most intimate play, Uncle Vanya will feature music by composer Adam Guettel and an ensemble led by Kristin Flanders, Tim Hopper, Samantha Mathis and Mark Nelson

Performances: June 12 – July 18 at Intiman Playhouse, Seattle Center

Opening Night: Saturday, June 16 at 8 pm

SEATTLE— Intiman Theatre, recipient of the 2006 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, continues its 35^th season with Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, newly adapted by Associate Artistic Director Craig Lucas and directed by Artistic Director Bartlett Sher. Uncle Vanya opens at the Intiman Playhouse, 201 Mercer Street at Seattle Center , on Saturday, June 16 at 8 pm and runs through Wednesday, July 18 at 7:30 pm. Low-price preview performances are June 12, 13, 14 (pay-what-you-can) and 15. For a complete schedule of performances and special events, please see the Fact Sheet at the end of this release.

Tickets range in price from $10 to $48, with discounts available for students and groups. Patrons aged 25 and under can purchase tickets to any performance for $10, pending availability. A limited number of $20 rush tickets may be available for purchase 15 minutes before curtain time, pending availability. Tickets are available for purchase from www.intiman.org or 206.269.1900. This production is sponsored by ArtsFund, 4Culture and the INTIMAN Theatre Foundation.

The most intimate of Chekhov’s plays, Uncle Vanya is set on a country estate outside of Moscow at the turn of the 20^th century. The play’s characters rebel against their own thwarted desires, and act on their passions in ways that are alternately heartbreaking and hilarious.

“There are people who say Uncle Vanya is about despair and frustration, and others who say it is about hope and courage. In fact, it’s about all of those things,” says director Bartlett Sher. “This might be my favorite play on earth, because its basic themes are the things I care most about: love and work.”

Uncle Vanya is the second Chekhov play adapted and directed by Lucas and Sher, following Intiman’s production of Three Sisters in the 2005 season, and their fifth collaboration since 2001. This production will feature music composed by Adam Guettel, a Tony winner and Grammy nominee for The Light in the Piazza.

The cast includes Allen Fitzpatrick (Professor Serebriakov), Kristin Flanders (Sonya), Tim Hopper (Astrov), Lori Larsen (Maria), Samantha Mathis (Elena), Todd Jefferson Moore (Telegin), Mark Nelson (Vanya) and Paula Nelson (Nanny).

Kristin Flanders was most recently seen as Sabina in The Skin of Our Teeth and Queen Elizabeth in Richard III at Intiman, and in The Lady from Dubuque at Seattle Rep. Her other Intiman credits include Three Sisters, Singing Forest and Homebody/Kabul, and she has been a company member at both The Guthrie Theater and the American Repertory Theatre.

Tim Hopper is an Ensemble member of Chicago ’s Steppenwolf Theatre. His New York credits include Bartlett Sher’s production of Pericles at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Dying Gaul by Craig Lucas, the title role of Steve Martin’s Picasso in the Lapin Agile, and More Stately Mansions, for which he won a 1998 Obie Award and the 1998 Edinburgh Festival Herald Angel Award.

Samantha Mathis appeared on Broadway in Arthur Miller’s The Man Who Had All the Luck. She played Lisa Morrison in Collected Stories by Donald Margulies at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles , and recreated her role for the “PBS Hollywood” film adaptation. Her film credits include The American President, Little Women, The Thing Called Love and Pump Up the Volume.

Mark Nelson has recently acted in two one-man plays, Underneath the Lintel at Long Wharf (Connecticut Critics Circle Award) and I Am My Own Wife at George Street Playhouse and Coconut Grove (2007 Carbonell Award). His Broadway credits include Stoppard’s The Invention of Love and Neil Simon’s trilogy Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues and Broadway Bound. He played Einstein in Picasso at the Lapin Agile in New York (Obie Award) and on the national tour, including Seattle ’s Moore Theatre.

The creative team for Uncle Vanya includes scenic designer John McDermott, costume designer Deb Trout, lighting designer Brian MacDevitt and sound designer Joseph Swartz. The stage manager is Claire E. Zawa.

For bios of the company and the creative team please visit www.intiman.org.

On Thursday, June 7 at 6 pm, patrons are invited to attend Spotlight Supper, a behind-the-scenes look at a technical rehearsal with director Bartlett Sher.

On Monday, June 11 at 7 pm, the Intiman Book Club will discuss Chekhov’s Ward No. 6 and Janet Malcolm’s Reading Chekhov; this discussion is free and open to the public.

On Sunday, June 17, Intiman will offer a Father’s Day Brunch before the 2 pm performance, beginning at 12 noon. Cost for the show and brunch is $54 per adult and $22 for youth 16 and under. For required advance reservations, patrons should call 206.269.1900.