FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 1, 2007

Lantern Theater Company ignites the 2007/08 Season with red-hot Irish playwright Martin McDonagh's savagely funny comedy The Lonesome West. In the tiny Irish backwater of Leenane, warring brothers Valene and Coleman live to torment each other, baiting and brawling over every petty grievance, from would-be girlfriends to cheap potato chips. Only Father Welsh, the local parish priest, will try to save them before their sibling rivalry explodes into a hilarious and brutal finish.

"In great writing, characters always take what to them is the path of least resistance. To these brothers, violence is easier than forgiveness. I think this play is funny because the way out is at once obvious to us and impossible for Coleman and Valene." –David O'Connor, Director, The Lonesome West

Lantern Theater Company's ambitious 14th Season appropriately begins with the artistic and technical challenges of The Lonesome West. This production features the Lantern's first foray into pyrotechnics and has had the production staff working overtime to fashion hundreds of religious figurines, dozens of which will be destroyed onstage each night.

"The Lonesome West is a challenging play to produce, full of extreme characters and extravagant technical demands. This will be a great opportunity for David O'Connor, who did such fine work on last season's "Master Harold"...and the boys, and our resident design team to really flex their muscles." –Charles McMahon, Artistic Director, Lantern Theater Company

Audience members will have an opportunity to gain insight into The Lonesome West production process, context and themes through Lantern's variety of discussions, lectures and symposia throughout the run. (SEE BELOW FOR FULL LIST OF SPECIAL EVENTS.)

Playwright Martin McDonagh (The Pillowman, The Beauty Queen of Leenane), has written seven plays since 1996, as well as the Oscar-winning short film Six Shooter, and was the first dramatist since Shakespeare to have four plays produced in London in a single season. Part of McDonagh's Leenane Trilogy, The Lonesome West was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play in 1999. The Lonesome West offers up the best of McDonagh's signature dark comedic take on the Irish family complete with destructive dysfunction and vicious violence.

This all-Philadelphia cast and creative team strengthens Lantern Theater Company's relationship with Temple University, as all but one artist involved hold degrees from Temple's prestigious theater program. Anthony Lawton (multi-Barrymore nominee and Barrymore winner for Best Ensemble for Bat Boy) plays Coleman to Ross Beschler's Valene. Beschler is currently pursuing his MFA at Temple where Lawton earned his degree 15 years ago. Recent Temple graduate David O'Connor helms the cast, which also includes recent Temple grad Luigi Sottile as Father Welsh and emerging local actress Geneviève Perrier as Girleen. O'Connor directed the acclaimed production of "Master Harold"...and the boys last season at the Lantern, for which he received a 2007 Barrymore Nomination for Outstanding Direction of a Play and Philadelphia Weekly named him Best Director of the 2006/07 Philadelphia theater season. The artistic team also features acclaimed Philadelphia designers, all of which are Temple graduates: Lighting Designer Janet Embree, Costume Designer Millie Hiibel (multi-Barrymore nominee, including Lantern's La Ronde and the F. Otto Haas Award for Emerging Theatre Artist), Set Designer Meghan Jones, and Sound Designer Matthew Lorenz.

The Lonesome West was made possible in part by a grant from the Philadelphia Theatre Initiative, a program of the Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by The University of the Arts. Other major foundation support for the Lantern's 2007/08 season includes The William Penn Foundation, The Independence Foundation, and the Phoebe Haas Charitable Trust B.

The Lonesome West begins previews on Friday, September 14, with an opening on Wednesday, September 19. The closing performance is scheduled for Saturday, October 6. Tickets are $15-$35, with discounts for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased online at www.lanterntheater.org or by calling the box office at 215.829.0395.

THE LONESOME WEST SPECIAL EVENTS

LECTURE SERIES (September 10, 7pm) An intimate discussion and dialogue: McDonagh's Ireland: Then and Now with Jim Murphy, head of Villanova University's Irish Studies Department, introduces the audience to the context and themes of the play. $15 admission includes coffee and pastries from Whole Foods Market.

DIRECTOR'S DISCUSSION (September 21, 7pm) A pre-show conversation with The Lonesome West director, David O'Connor, moderated by the Lantern's Literary Manager, Kathryn MacMillan.

SYMPOSIUM (October 6, 4pm) Members of The Lonesome West creative team and Declan Kiely, Professor of Contemporary Irish Literature at New York University, discuss themes related to the play with Bad Boys of British Playwriting, immediately following the matinee performance.

MEET THE ARTISTS (September 20 & 26) New for the 2007/08 season, this post-show discussion features members of The Lonesome West cast and creative team.

REVIEWING PRESS are invited to attend Opening Night of The Lonesome West on Wednesday, September 19 at 7pm. Call 215.829.9002 x106 to reserve seats.

OTHER PRESS may arrange for tickets for the first week of production, September 14-21, 2007, by calling 215.829.9002 x106.

THE LONESOME WEST by Martin McDonagh
Directed by David O'Connor

THE CAST
Ross Beschler as Valene
Anthony Lawton as Coleman
Geneviève Perrier as Girleen
Luigi Sottile as Father Welsh

DESIGNERS
Meghan Jones - Set Designer
Millie Hiibel - Costume Designer
Janet Embree - Lighting Designer
Matthew Lorenz - Sound Designer

WHERE
Lantern Theater Company
At St. Stephen's Theater
10th and Ludlow Streets, Philadelphia

TICKETS
Single Tickets: $15-35; discounts available for students, seniors and groups of 12 or more

By Phone: 215.829.0395
Online: www.lanterntheater.org
In Person: St Stephen's Theater, 10th and Ludlow Streets
Box Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 10am-6pm. One hour prior before curtain on performance days.

WHEN
September 14 - October 6, 2007

About the 2007/08 Season
After The Lonesome West, Lantern Theater Company's 2007/08 season continues with The School for Wives by Molière (November 9-December 2, 2007), Skylight by David Hare (February 1-24, 2008), and Othello by William Shakespeare (March 28-April 27, 2008). The Lantern is also proud to welcome back by popular demand The Screwtape Letters, based on the novel by C.S. Lewis, for a limited engagement run (January 2-13, 2008).

Four-play subscriptions are available for the 2007/08 season at up to 25% off single ticket prices, with packages ranging in price from $48-$104. Lantern Theater Company is pleased to offer the flexible A La Carte Subscription – a package of four tickets to be used in any combination for any play – for a limited time only until September 1, 2007 at $100 for adults, $88 for seniors and $50 for students. Single tickets for the 2007/08 season are $15-$35, with student, senior and group rates available.

For tickets and information, please contact the Lantern Theater Company box office at 215.829.0395 or visit us online at www.lanterntheater.org.

About the Lantern
Founded in 1994 by Charles McMahon and Michael Brophy, Lantern Theater Company has emerged as one of the most successful professional theaters in the Philadelphia region. Lantern Theater Company is committed to an authentic and intimate exploration of the human spirit in its choice of classic, modern and original works.

The Lantern commits itself to being a vibrant, contributing member of its community. To that end, each season the Lantern produces four main stage productions, a variety of special events, and Illumination, the Barrymore-nominated education program designed to engage local students and adults alike in the world of theater and nurture their own artistic expression. This program reaches the Greater Philadelphia area in four vital ways: outreach in area schools, matinee performances for students, training teaching artists for after school programs, and our audience enrichment series of lectures, discussions, and symposia for each production of our season.

Lantern Theater Company has been in residence at St. Stephen's Theater at 10th & Ludlow Streets in Center City Philadelphia since 1996, managing the performance space and developing it into an affordable multi-purpose performing arts venue. Since the inception of Philadelphia's Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre in 1995, the Lantern has received 10 awards and 46 nominations, including nominations in 2006 and 2007 for the Excellence in Theatre Education and Community Service Award. Recent Barrymore wins include Outstanding Overall Production of a Play (for Richard III) and Outstanding Leading Actor in a Play (Peter Pryor in Richard III). Lantern was honored with six nominations at the 2007 Barrymore Award press conference on August 1, 2007.

The 2007/08 season at Lantern Theater Company marks the company's 14th year of creating high-quality professional theater in Philadelphia.