THE ISLAND REPERTORY THEATRE COMPANY

Richard LaFrance, Founding Artistic Director
Peter Downes, Administrative Director

e-mail: IslandRepCG@aol.com
website: www.IslandRep.org
Tel: 631 597-9439

MAY 15, 2006: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 OBIE AWARD WINNING ACTOR/PLAYWRIGHT DAVID DRAKE, INTERNATIONAL RECORDING STAR PAUL LEKAKIS, PLAYS BY CHRISTOPHER DURANG AND JAMES EDWIN PARKER HEADLINE THE ISLAND REPERTORY THEATRE COMPANY'S 2006 SUMMER THEATRE SEASON AT THE TIDES PLAYHOUSE IN CHERRY GROVE, FIRE ISLAND.

To celebrate its seventh summer theatre season, Island Rep will present the hilarious comedy "Beyond Therapy" by Christopher Durang, directed by Richard LaFrance and "Two Boys In A Bed On A Cold Winter's Night" by James Edwin Parker, directed by Obie Award winning actor/playwright David Drake and starring international recording artist Paul Lekakis at The Tides Playhouse, Ocean Walk, Cherry Grove, Fire Island, NY. "Beyond Therapy" performance dates: June 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, July 1, 2 at 8pm. Also, June 18, 25 at 7 pm.

"Two Boys In A Bed On A Cold Winter's Night" performance dates: September 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 15, 16 at 8 pm. Also September 10, 17 at 7 pm.

Tickets: $25. Early ticket buyers get the best seats! Subscribe Now! Charge your two-play subscriptions ($50) by credit card on the Internet via Pay Pal at www.IslandRep.org and by phone at 631 597-9439.

(l. to r.) Michelle Coffaro, Peter Scarpinato, Patrick Reilly, Lorelei, James Duus and Joseph Feerick.

"BEYOND THERAPY" is one of Christopher Durang's most frequently performed and sunniest comedies. The screwball farce, which has more bounces than a pinball game, revolves around a therapist who loves a girl, who loves a boy, who loves a boy who needs therapy.

 The cast, under the direction of Richard LaFrance, includes Island Rep acting company ensemble members Michelle Coffaro (The Food Chain, The Vagina Monologues), Peter Scarpinato (The Last Sunday in June, Slap & Tickle), Lorelei (Comedy Tonight, The Food Chain), Patrick Reilly (The Last Sunday in June,  Slap & Tickle), James Duus (The Boys In The Band,  Six For the Show, The Food Chain, Slap & Tickle) and Joseph Feerick (The End of the World Party, The Boys In The Band, Six For the Show, The Food Chain.

Christopher Durang's plays have been produced on and off- Broadway, around the country and abroad. Among his plays: Beyond Therapy, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You, The Marriage of Bette and Boo, Baby with the Bathwater, Laughing Wild, A History of the American Film, Betty's Summer Vacation, Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge. He one act plays include The Actor's Nightmare, For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls, Naomi in the Living Room, and 'dentity Crisis.

Richard LaFrance is founding artistic director of The Island Repertory Theatre Company. His Rep directing assignments include "Love Letters," "You Look For Me," "End of the World Party," "The Boys In The Band," "The Food Chain," "The Last Sunday In June," "Slap & Tickle," and "The Vagina Monologues."

"Beyond Therapy" offers hilarious surprises along with the best therapy of all: guaranteed laughter.

Obie-Award winning actor/playwright/director David Drake (left) international pop singer/film star Paul Lekakis (center) and stage/TV actor Scott Douglas Cunningham (right) rehearse a scene from The Island Repertory Theatre Company's production of James Edwin Parker's erotic play "Two Boys In A Bed On A Cold Winter's Night"," slated to play The Tides Playhouse in Cherry Grove, Fire Island, September 1 thru 17. For more information: www.IslandRep.org. (Photo credit: Holly McDade)

 

   

International pop singing star/film actor Paul Lekakis (right in upper photos) and Scott Douglas Cunningham (left in upper photos) in The Island Repertory Theatre Company's  production of "Two Boys In Bed On A Cold Winter's Night" by James Edwin Parker. Directed by Obie Award-winning actor/writer/director David Drake. Tides Playhouse, Ocean Walk, Cherry Grove, Fire Island, NY. Fridays thru Sundays. September 1 thru 17 at 8 pm.  (September 10 & 17 at 7 pm). Tickets: $25. 631 597-9439 and www.IslandRep.org.  (Photo credit: Holly McDade)

"TWO BOYS IN A BED ON A COLD WINTER'S NIGHT" by James Edwin Parker was the first production ever produced at The Rattlestick Theatre Company is New York City (1995). After Rattlestick, it went on to enjoy a five-month Off-Broadway run and has subsequently been produced at theatres around the world.

 The plot involves two gay men who cruise each other in a West Village bar and have a one-night stand that changes their lives

 "Two Boys In A Bed On A Cold Winter's Night" will be directed by Obie Award-winning actor/playwright David Drake and star famous international recording artist Paul LeKakis. Actor Scott Douglas Cunningham will co-star.

 "Two Boys In A Bed On A Cold Winter's Night" is rated adults only for nudity and sexual situations.

David Drake is probably best-known as the Obie Award-winning playwright/performer of The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me, which he performed for a year Off Broadway before touring it to LA, SF, Sydney, Melbourne, Edinburgh, Manchester and London. The Anchor Books publication of The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me received a Lambda Literary Award nomination. To date, the play has received nearly 100 independent productions worldwide, including translations into Greek, Spanish, Portuguese and French. In 2000 David starred in Tim Kirkman's feature film version of the play (available on TLA Video/DVD).

In New York, David was in the original Off Broadway companies of Pageant, End of the World Party, starred in the major New York revival of The Boys in the Band at the Lucille Lortel Theater and succeeded Charles Busch in Vampire Lesbians of Sodom.

 His most recent autobiographical stage show, Son of Drakula, was presented at NY's Dance Theater Workshop while David was a DTW artist-in-residence in 2002. Son of Drakula, which the New York Times praised as "a dazzling, inventive... terrific new one man show," toured to San Francisco, Baltimore and Anchorage before making its European debut in Croatia at the Queer Zagreb Festival. Other film credits include Longtime Companion, David Searching, The Trey Billings Show and Jonathan Demme's Academy Award-winning Philadelphia, as well as guest star appearances on FOX's NY Undercover and NBC's Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

 Paul LeKakis is an international recording artist who is best known for his top ten Dance/Pop hits "Boom, Boom, Boom Let's Go Back To My Room" and "Come On Over To My House" from the album Tattoo It.

 Paul's much-acclaimed acting career includes independent films Circuit and Just Can't Get Enough-The Chippendale Story, Hellbent, Sex, Politics and Cocktails and Don't Tell-Don't Ask, which he also wrote and directed.

Scott Cunningham, a native of Sayville, lives in New York City, where he has appeared in several off-Broadway plays, television shows, commercials and films.

Scott is a member of Island Rep's Acting Ensemble and has appeared in productions of The End of the World Party  and The Boys In The Band.

James Edwin Parker (Playwright) - Two Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter's Night (over 30 productions on 3 continents); All American Boy, The Boy Band Musical (book & lyrics); Virtual Closet; . and the Pursuit of Happiness; The White Bird Takes Wing; Drinking Games. Contributing author to "Mama's Boys: Gay Men Write About Their Mothers". Founding member of Rattlestick Productions, Inc. Member of The Dramatists' Guild, Inc. - the professional association of American playwrights, librettists, lyricists, and composers. Parker resides in Manhattan with his partner Kyle Shadix and their magical menagerie of multiple felines.

What the critics have said about "Two Boys In A Bed On A Cold Winter's Night":

"James Edwin Parker's comic tale, 2 Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter's
Night, is about how not to behave during a one-night stand, but it is
also a sharp-eyed exploration of emotional intimacy."
-The New Yorker

"Edgy.. touching.. risky... exuberant! James Edwin Parker's '2 Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter's Night' is by no means the first play to depict the driving force in New York gay life as the quest for an unattainable fantasy. But this two-character dialogue is one of the first plays to analyze the dynamics of the hunt in sexually explicit terms. In doing  so, it displays a nasty, critical acuity." - Stephen Holden, The New York Times

"2 Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter's Night has the ring of honesty, some  explosively funny incidents, and a lot of naked scrimmaging under the duvet." -Jeremy Kingston, The Times of London

"This guide to the sexual etiquette of one-night stands, irrespective of gender, is peppered with poignant, sly observation." -The Independent

"I'm happy to report that two of my favorite people are joining forces. For months, David Drake and Paul Lekakis have been working quietly on a theatre project, and it's just been announced that David will direct a revival of "Two Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter Night" at the Island Repertory Theatre Company on Fire Island. Yes, Mr. Lekakis will be one of the said "boys", while the other will be local actor Scott Cunningham (I guess I was out of their price range). Before you ask, yes, Paul will be naked a good amount of the time. The play runs September 1st through the 17th. More info can be gleaned at www.IslandRep.org." - Billy Masters, Syndicated Columnist

The Island Repertory Theatre Company is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit theatre company home-based in Cherry Grove, Fire Island. Its mission is "to encourage cultural and social interaction between Fire Island and mainland communities by presenting time-honored and new plays that chronicle the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience (GLBT)."

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Press Contact: Richard LaFrance, e-mail: IslandRepCG@aol.com, 631 597-9439.