UNL's Nebraska Repertory Theatre to Produce THE GUYS and LEND ME A TENOR

(Lincoln, Nebraska) -- UNL Theatre's Nebraska Repertory Theatre presents its 37th season of entertainment June 2 through 19, 2004. Presented in rotating repertory are Anne Nelson's heartwarming story surrounding the World Trade Center tragedy, THE GUYS, and Ken Ludwig's riotous comedy, LEND ME A TENOR. Both productions are staged in Howell Theatre, first floor of the Temple Building at 12th and R Streets in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Anne Nelson, who spent a portion of her youth in Lincoln, Nebraska, is a well-known international journalist and director of the International Program at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism in New York. Immediately following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, Ms. Nelson assisted a New York fire captain write eulogies for the men from his company that were lost. Shortly thereafter, Ms. Nelson met Jim Simpson, artistic director of The Flea Theater, a small theatre in the shadow of Ground Zero. Simpson, who just so happens to be married to Sigourney Weaver, spoke to Ms. Nelson about the need for the theatre to voice the emotions of the event. She began work on the script the following day. THE GUYS opened in December 2001, starring Sigourney Weaver and Bill Murray.

The Nebraska Repertory Theatre presents Equity actors Carrie Lee Patterson (Joan) and Leigh Selting (Nick) in the roles of the writer and the fire captain. Not only does the script concern the dilemma the two characters face as they eulogize the men who fell trying to save others, but it delves into the reactions of two individuals representing all citizens who believed their nation was invincible.

On the flip side of the theatrical spectrum, Ken Ludwig's LEND ME A TENOR is an old-fashioned comedy in the same vein as commedia dell'arte and the 1950s television situation comedies. Saunders, general manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera, played by Lincoln favorite David Landis, is anxiously awaiting the arrival of world-famous opera tenor Tito Merelli. Merelli (played by Ron Vigil), sweeps into the hotel suite, well after the rehearsal of Otello has begun claiming that he is unable to rehearse because he has eaten too much rich food and needs to take a nap. Max, an aspiring singer, played by Benjamin Beck, is charged with looking after him while Saunders tries to appease the Opera Guild Chairwoman, played by Equity actor Tammy Meneghini. Irritated by his flirting and extravagant lifestyle, Merelli's wife Maria (played by Equity actor Carrie Lee Patterson) leaves him. Merelli, aided by Max, takes some medication to lull him into a restorative nap. Several hours later, Max tries to arouse Merelli, but to no avail. Believing he is dead, Saunders lures Max into the Otello costume to try to fool the audience into accepting him as Merelli. After a series of slamming doors, mistaken identities, snappy dialogue, chases around furniture and heightened emotion, there are two Otellos in costume zooming towards a laugh-filled ending. Other characters include Saunders' daughter Maggie (played by Megan Thomas) who is enamored of Merelli, Diana, (played by Kriste Belt), a soprano who just needs one word from Merelli to advance her career, and the Bellhop (played by Equity actor Leigh Selting) who, of course, also has aspirations as a singer.

Performances of THE GUYS, directed by Rep Executive Director Jeffery Scott Elwell (JAKE'S WOMEN, DINNER WITH FRIENDS, PROOF) are June 2, 3, 4, 12, 16, 17 at 7:30 PM and June 15 at 9:00 PM following that evening's Jazz in June offering.

Performances of LEND ME A TENOR, directed by Brant Pope (SYLVIA, ART) are June 8 at 9:00 PM following that evening's Jazz in June offering, and June 9, 10, 11, 18, 19 at 7:30 PM.

Individual tickets are $22 regular, $19 faculty/staff and senior citizen, $12 student. Season tickets are available for $34 regular and $29 faculty/staff and senior citizen. The UNL University Program Council is sponsoring a $5.00 Student Rush Balcony Ticket available one-half hour prior to each performance at the Howell Theatre Lobby Box Office.

Advanced, reserved tickets may be purchased at the Lied Center Box Office, 301 North 12th Street, Monday through Friday, 11:00 AM to 5:30 PM. Phone numbers are 402-472-4747 or 800-432-3231.

Meet the Company Fun Facts:

SECOND-GENERATION REP ACTOR:
Benjamin Beck (Max in LEND ME A TENOR) is a second-generation Rep actor. His parents, Carl Beck and Susan Baer Collins of the Omaha Community Playhouse, have acted and directed at the Rep. Benjamin, at the age of thirteen, starred with Harley Jane Kozak, in the 1996 Rep production of LOST IN YONKERS.

FATHER/DAUGHTER PROPS TEAM:
2004 marks the first year that the Nebraska Rep has employed a father/daughter Properties Master team. Art Kuhr, who was the props master for the Rep in the 2000, 2001 and 2002 seasons, will team with his daughter Gretchen, a former UNL Theatre major currently living in New York City. Art worked in the same capacity for Nebraska Educational Television for many years. He now has a freelance properties/set dressing business and owns an antique store in Hickman, Nebraska. Gretchen has been doing freelance theatre work around the country.

FORMER TEACHER/STUDENT:
Leigh Selting (Nick in THE GUYS and Bellhop in LEND ME A TENOR), Equity actor, director, stage manager, and Professor of Theatre and Dance at the University of Wyoming, was Rep General Manager Julie Hagemeier's high school theatre student at Pope John XXIII Central Catholic High School in Elgin, Nebraska.

THE PENN STATE CONNECTION:
Brant Pope (director-LEND ME A TENOR) directed the Rep's productions of ART with Ted Lange in 2001, and SYLVIA in 1999. Mr. Pope currently heads the MFA Acting and Directing Programs at Penn State University, where former UNL Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts Dean Richard Durst is now Dean and Graham Spanier, former UNL Chancellor, is now President. Mr. Pope brings with him from Penn State, Lino Toyos (scenic designer THE GUYS and LEND ME A TENOR), and Megan Thomas (Maggie in LEND ME A TENOR), a member of the MFA acting program. To further the Penn State connection, current Penn State faculty, staff, and students include Rep alums Jane Ridley, Jen D'Agosta, Karen Durst, Richard Nichols, Heath Lane, and Valerie Lane.

SET WITHIN A SET:
Lino Toyos has designed a set within a set for the two productions. THE GUYS, set in the writer's apartment living room, fits inside the spacious hotel suite for LEND ME A TENOR. Since the productions are in repertory, that makes the shift from one set to the next more efficient.

Equity Acting Company Biographies

TAMMY MENEGHINI (Julia-LEND ME A TENOR)
Tammy Meneghini joins the Nebraska Repertory Theatre for the first time this season. Before moving to Lincoln, she lived and worked in New York and Chicago (now her "second home") for several years. Most recent acting credits include, the Angels Theatre Company productions of Behind Their Eyes, and The Afghan Women (Malalai), an original cabaret piece, This Place Called Love. Some other credits include, (New York) Quake (Lucy), Goodnight, Irene (Andi), and in Chicago, Sweeney Todd, Company, Animal Farm to name a few. She currently teaches acting at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, and most recently has directed at Creighton University and Northern Illinois University. She also is a teaching artist for Arts Are Basic and is a member of the Hypothetical Theatre Company in New York. She wishes to thank and acknowledge the "word-builder" himself, best pal and love of her life, Tim and the guy who knows just about everything about Lincoln, her good friend, Jim.

CARRIE LEE PATTERSON (Joan-THE GUYS, Maria-LEND ME A TENOR)
Carrie Lee Patterson is delighted to return to Nebraska Repertory Theatre for her third season; audience members may remember her as Catherine in Proof, Meg in Crimes of the Heart, and Beth in Dinner With Friends. Carrie Lee lives in Chicago, where she has performed with Bailiwick Repertory Theatre, Pendulum Theatre Company, Borealis Theatre Company, and Famous Door Theatre Company, where she was honored to play the singer Hayyah in their award-winning production of Ghetto. Her favorite work includes playing Desdemona in Othello with the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Lizzie in 110 in the Shade for Canterbury Theatre, C in Three Tall Women at Bas Bleu Theatre Company, and Ophelia in Hamlet with the Washington Shakespeare Festival. Carrie Lee is a graduate of Willamette University, and holds a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Arizona.

LEIGH SELTING (Nick-THE GUYS, Bellhop-LEND ME A TENOR)
As an actor, director, and stage manager, Leigh Selting has worked in numerous theatres around the country over the past 24 years. Broadway credits include production assistant on the Tony-nominated Juan Darien: A Carnival Mass, directed by Julie Taymor (Lion King), and production assistant and assistant stage manager for the Broadway revival of The Little Foxes starring Stockard Channing, and directed by Tony Award winner Jack O'Brien (Hairspray, The Full Monty). Assistant to the director for the Toronto production of Shirley Valentine (starring Helen Reddy). Favorite Off-Broadway and regional credits as an actor: The Marriage of Bette and Boo, Orphans, Balm in Gilead (Alley Theatre, Houston) ANTA tour, Marshall W. Mason director, (Douglas Fairbanks Theatre in NYC, John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.), and over 20 years of summer stock. Leigh is also a Professor of Theatre at the University of Wyoming, where he teaches acting, directing, stage combat, and acting for the camera. He is married to Marsha Knight, professor of ballet at UW, and has two sons, one step-son, and is proud to have batted .750 in the Broadway Show League!