For Immediate Release

Onstage at Theatre Three: The Royal Family

Theatre Three’s 2009-2010 "Pursuit of Happiness" Season begins with the landmark comedy, The Royal Family by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber. Everyone has a different idea of happiness and how to get it: living a full life onstage, winning a spelling bee, merging two very different lives for romantic success, surviving all of life’s changes with grace, creating something entertaining at the very last minute, treasuring America’s musical heritage, learning how to dance again, celebrating the holidays with wild abandon, paying tribute to a legendary talent, finding that one true love, and conquering personal demons. The Royal Family begins previews on Thursday, July 30, 2009 and will close on Sunday, August 30, 2009. The Cavendish family is a very dramatic family – on stage and off. Each generation of this royal family of theater is struggling to balance their exciting creative careers and professional appetites with their family life. Fanny Cavendish, the matriarch of her family, is determined to return to the stage despite her health issues. Her son, Tony, has become a star who seems to attract the wrong kind of attention and suddenly believes it is necessary to leave the country. Fanny's granddaughter, Gwen, is having doubts about joining the family business because of a marriage proposal from a suitor who is not in show business. Julie Cavendish, Gwen's mother and Fanny's daughter, is in her professional prime and is enjoying a thriving theatrical career. However, with the whirlwind antics of her mother, daughter, and her brother, Julie cannot manage to hold the household together and make time for a possible romance. With all of her royal family’s demands, Julie's biggest dilemma is getting to the theater on time! About The Playwrights: George S. Kaufman & Edna Ferber George S. Kaufman (playwright) was a playwright, director, producer, and drama critic most noted for his many collaborations with other writers. He wrote only one play alone, The Butter and Egg Man, in 1925. All his other plays were written in collaboration with other writers: with Marc Connelly he wrote Merton of the Movies and Beggar on Horseback; with Ring Lardner he wrote June Moon; with Edna Ferber he wrote The Royal Family, Dinner at Eight, and Stage Door; with John P. Marquand he wrote a stage adaptation of Marquand's novel The Late George Apley; and with Howard Teichmann he wrote The Solid Gold Cadillac. Possibly his most successful collaboration in non-musical theatre was with Moss Hart, with whom he wrote several popular plays, including Once in a Lifetime, You Can't Take It With You, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1936, and The Man Who Came to Dinner whose lead character was based on critic and wit Alexander Woollcott. Kaufman collaborated on several musicals as well, including The Cocoanuts, written with Irving Berlin for the Marx Brothers, Animal Crackers, also written for the Marx Brothers with Morrie Ryskind, Bert Kalmar, and Harry Ruby, and Of Thee I Sing (Pulitzer Prize, 1931) and Let 'Em Eat Cake; with Ryskind and George Gershwin. Kaufman was also a noted director who staged the original productions of The Front Page by Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, and the Frank Loesser musical Guys and Dolls. Kaufman produced many of his own plays as well as those of other writers, and his drama criticism was known for its wit. Of one comedy he wrote, "There was laughter at the back of the theatre, leading to the belief that someone was telling jokes back there." He was a member of the celebrated Algonquin Round Table, a circle of witty writers and show business people. Edna Ferber (playwright): Born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the celebrated novelist wrote for the stage, although most of her better plays were collaborations. In 1915, working with George V. Hobart, she gave Ethel Barrymore one of the actress's favorite roles as Our Mrs. Chesney. Following an unsuccessful solo effort, The Eldest, and a collaboration with Newman Levy, $1200 a Year (both in 1920), Ferber joined with George S. Kaufman to write the plays for which she is best remembered: Minick (1924), The Royal Family (1927), Dinner at Eight (1932), and Stage Door (1936). Less well received were two other collaborations with Kaufman: The Land Is Bright (1941) and Bravo! (1948). Two of her novels were made into musicals, Show Boat (1927) and Saratoga (1959), the latter from Saratoga Trunk. Biography: Ferber, Julie Goldsmith Gilbert, 1978. About Theatre Three: Theatre Three was founded in 1961 by Norma Young, Jac Alder, Esther Ragland, and Robert Dracup with a clear mission: Theatre Three seeks to illuminate the human experience with exemplary, intimate theatrical productions while nurturing authors, regional artists and audiences. About Theatre Three’s production of The Royal Family: Jac Alder will direct this production. The cast includes J.R. Bradford as Jo, Hilary Couch as Gwen Cavendish, Jerry Crow as Herbert Dean, Jack Foltyn as Tony Cavendish, Robert Grossman as Oscar Wolfe, Cameron Kirkpatrick as McDermott, Thiago Martins as Perry Stewart, Skyy Moore as Hallboy, Jenay Puckett as Della, Morgana Shaw as Julie Cavendish, Leslie Turner as Kitty Dean, John Venable as Gilbert Marshall, Carolyn Wickwire as Fanny Cavendish. Set design by Jac Alder. Lighting design by David Gibson. Costume Design by Michael Robinson. Sound design by Richard Frohlich. A Note about Production Photos: Photos from The Royal Family can be found online in Theatre Three's Press Room. The Official Openings: Official Opening Night is Monday, August 3, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. All press please R.S.V.P to Kimberly Richard at 214-871-3300, option #2 or kimberly@theatre3dallas.com. Performance Times: Preview Performances: Thursday, July 30 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, July 31 at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, August 1 at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, August 2 at 2:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. Regular Performances: Thursdays & Sundays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., Saturday & Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. (The final performance of The Royal Family will be Sunday, August 30 at 2:30 p.m. There will be no Sunday evening performance that day.) Additional special performances: Miser's Night Out: Sunday, August 23, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. All tickets $10 The Hooky Matinee: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. All tickets $10 Ticket Prices: Previews: $15 -- $40 (July 30 – August 3, 2009) Regular Run: $10 -- $40 (August 6 - 30, 2009) Tickets may be purchased by calling Theatre Three’s box office at 214-871-3300, option #1. Tickets may be requested online at www.theatre3dallas.com

For Further Information Contact: 2800 Routh Street, Suite 168, Dallas, Texas 75201 phone 214-871-3300 fax 214-871-3139 admin@theatre3dallas.com www.theatre3dallas.com