Broadway World.com - 07/Sep/2011

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Luke Macfarlane Joins City Theater's SAM BENDRIX AT THE BON SOIR 11/12-12/18
Wednesday, September 7, 2011; Posted: 11:09 AM - by BWW News Desk

City Theatre has announced that Luke MacFarlane, star of ABC's hit series Brothers & Sisters, will perform the title role in the world premiere of Keith Bunin's Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir. Mark Rucker will direct the play, also featuring music by legendary songwriters like Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein and the Gershwins. Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir plays on City Theatre's intimate Hamburg Studio Stage November 12 - December 18, 2011. The Opening Night performance is Friday, November 18 at 8 pm.

Mr. Macfarlane recently playEd Scotty Wendell on ABC's Brothers & Sisters and appeared in the 2011 Broadway production of The Normal Heart. Audiences will also recognize him from FX's Over There and the feature film Kinsey.

"Sam Bendrix requires an actor loaded with charisma and charm," states City Theatre Artistic Director Tracy Brigden, "someone who can tell an emotional story, and - most importantly - someone who can perform these wonderful songs. Luke's magnetic star power on the very intimate Hamburg stage is going to make for an unforgettable evening of theatre."

City Theatre will announce the entire production team, including musicians and designers, shortly.

The drinks and the music flow at the legendary Bon Soir. In 1958 Greenwich Village, a young singer and his band take the stage for a final performance before he quits New York City forever. While a chair he's holding for a special someone sits empty all night, Sam Bendrix tells a classic tale of an era not yet ready for the revolutionary changes on the horizon.

CITY THEATRE PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir
When: November 12 - December 18, 2011

Preview Schedule
Saturday, November 12 at 5:30 pm; Sunday, November 13 at 7pm;
Tuesday, November 15 and Wednesday, November 16 at 7pm;
Thursday, November 18 at 8 pm

PRESS / OPENING NIGHT
Friday, November 18 at 8 pm

Regular Run Schedule
Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 pm; Wednesday at 1 pm;
Thurs. and Fri. at 8 pm; Sat. at 5:30 & 9 pm; Sun. at 2 pm

Where: City Theatre, 1300 Bingham Street on Pittsburgh's South Side

Single tickets start at $30.

Students and age 26 and younger may reserve $15 tickets, subject to availability.

Seniors (age 60 and older) may purchase $22 rush tickets at the Box Office beginning two hours before show time, subject to availability.

Groups of 10 or more are eligible for discounts.
Call Kari Shaffer at 412.431-4400 x286.

Tickets are available at 412.431.CITY (2489) or CityTheatreCompany.org.

City Theatre is Pittsburgh's largest producing company located outside of downtown's Cultural District. Now in its 37th year and settled on Pittsburgh's historic South Side, City Theatre specializes in contemporary and new plays and has brought to Pittsburgh playwrights such as Adam Rapp, Christopher Durang, Eric Simonson, and Jeffrey Hatcher. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Tracy Brigden, Managing Director Mark R. Power, and a 45-member Board of Directors, City Theatre's mission is to provide an artistic home for the development and production of contemporary plays of substance and ideas that engage and challenge a diverse audience. www.citytheatrecompany.org

Pittsburgh Tribune - 06/Sep/2011

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City Theatre casts 'Brothers and Sisters' star for 'Bon Soir' role
By Alice T. Carter, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Luke Macfarlane, who appeared regularly as Scotty Wendell on ABC's "Brothers and Sisters," will perform the title role in City Theatre's "Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir."
Macfarlane made his Broadway debut in the 2011 Broadway revival of "The Normal Heart" and also has had roles in FX's "Over There" and the feature film "Kinsey."
The play, which features music by legendary songwriters like Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein and the Gershwins, will have its world premiere Nov. 12 through Dec. 18 in City Theatre's intimate Hamburg Studio on the South Side.
At the legendary Bon Soir in 1958 Greenwich Village, Sam Bendix and his band take the stage for a final performance in this tale of an era not yet ready for the revolutionary changes on the horizon.
Tickets are on sale now. Admission is $30 to $60; some discounts are available for seniors and those 26 and younger.
Details: 412-431-2489 or CityTheatreCompany.org.

Broadway World.com - 01/Sep/2011

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Plan B Signs on to Produce NORMAL HEART Film
Thursday, September 1, 2011; Posted: 10:09 AM - by BWW News Desk

According to DarkHorizonscom, Brad Pitt's Plan B has signed on to produce Ryan Murphy's upcoming big screen adaptation of "The Normal Heart". No word yet on when production may begin.

The Normal Heart, which closed on Broadway on July 10, won three 2011 Tony® Awards, including Best Revival of a Play, Best Featured Actress in a Play (Ellen Barkin) and Best Featured Actor in a Play (John Benjamin Hickey). The play was also honored as this season's Best Revival of a Play by the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Awards and has received Drama Desk Awards for Best Ensemble and Best Direction of a Play, along with a Special Citation from the New York Drama Critics Circle.

The award-winning cast of The Normal Heart included Ellen Barkin, Patrick Breen, Mark Harelik, John Benjamin Hickey, Luke MacFarlane, Joe Mantello, Lee Pace, Jim Parsons, Richard Topol, and Wayne Alan Wilcox.

The story of a city in denial, The Normal Heart unfolds like a real-life political thriller -- as a tight-knit group of friends refuses to let doctors, politicians and the press bury the truth of an unspoken epidemic behind a wall of silence. First produced by Joseph Papp at New York's Public Theater, the play was a critical sensation and a seminal moment in theater history. So ahead of its time was this play that many of the core issues it addresses - including gay marriage, the healthcare system and, of course, AIDS - are just as relevant today as they were when it first premiered.

GREGINHOLLYWOOD - 07/Jun/2011

[Source]

Luke Macfarlane and the cast of Broadway’s “The Normal Heart” speak out for marriage equality
By Greg Hernandez on Jun 7, 2011 11:59 am

Playbill.com - 26/May/2011

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The Normal Heart Holds Special Talkback

The Broadway revival of Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart held a special performance May 26, offering a discounted price for young people. The evening included a post-show discussion with cast members, hosted by NY1 theatre producer and reporter Frank DiLella and Playbill magazine editor Blake Ross. Read the Playbill.com story.

 

Jim Parsons, Luke Macfarlane, Lee Pace and Wayne Alan Wilcox

Photo by Joseph Marzullo/WENN

 

On Top - 15/May/2011

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Matthew Rhys, Luke Macfarlane Marriage Ends With 'Brothers & Sisters' Cancellation

On Top Magazine Staff
Published: May 15, 2011

ABC split apart Matthew Rhys and Luke Macfarlane on Friday with the announcement that it has canceled Brothers & Sisters.

According to Michael Ausiello's TV Line, the show won't return next year.

“Though, as Deadline [Hollywood] reported, the network was trying to find a way to bring back B&S for an abridged final season, in the end, the suits elected to free up their post-Desperate Housewives time slot for a new show. As a result, last Sunday's B&S season finale is now, retroactively, the series' finale.”

Rhy's Kevin Walker and Macfarlane's Scotty Wandell married on the season 2 finale of the family drama and remained the show's most durable couple.

During the show's fifth and final season, producers capped off Kevin's evolution from a down-with-love closeted corporate lawyer to a family man by giving the couple two children: daughter Olivia and son Daniel.

The men adopted Olivia after their surrogate claimed she had miscarried their baby. But in the show's final episodes, its revealed that Daniel wasn't lost and he joins his fathers.

Broadway.com - 02/May/2011

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Anthony Rapp, Matthew Bomer and More Show Some Love for The Normal Heart