Anne Gee Byrd Stars in THE SAVANNAH DISPUTATION Colony Theatre LA Premiere, 6/16-7/8

The Colony Theatre presents the first production of its "Season of Premieres" with the Los Angeles Premiere of THE SAVANNAH DISPUTATION, written by EVan Smith and directed by award-winning Cameron Watson and will star three-time Los Angeles Drama Critics Award-winning actress Anne Gee Byrd. THE SAVANNAH DISPUTATION will preview on Wednesday, June 13; Thursday, June 14; and Friday, June 15 at 8:00pm and will open on Saturday, June 16 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, July 8 at The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street (at Cypress) adjacent to the Burbank Town Center.

When susceptible Catholic spinster Margaret politely admits perky Pentecostal evangelical Melissa into her home, her seemingly solid faith starts to waver – much to the chagrin of her feisty sister Mary. But who's the blasphemer and who's the believer? Before long, the God-fearing sisters have ambushed their steadfast "guest" with the aid of an unsuspecting, mild-mannered local priest, setting the scene for a hilarious smackdown of truly biblical proportions, as all of them discover the perils of using religion to bend others to your will.

Creative Team:

EVan Smith (Playwright) was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, where he is Writer in Residence at City Lights Theatre. His plays The Uneasy Chair and Psych were produced by Playwrights Horizons in New York City. The Uneasy Chair was revived by the Writers' Theatre in Chicago and also by 1812 Productions in Philadelphia, which produced the World Premiere of his Daughters of Genius. Servicemen was produced by The New Group in New York City and at New York Stage and Film at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie. The Savannah Disputation had its World Premiere at the Writers' Theatre in the Fall of 2007, followed by productions at Playwrights Horizons and numerous regional theatres. His TV pilot Debs was produced onstage in Los Angeles by Naked TV, a joint venture of Fox TV and Naked Angels. His plays have been published by the Grove Press, Dramatists Play Service, Inc., Smith & Kraus, Dell Books, and Playscripts.com. The recipient of a 2002 Whiting Award, he has a BA in English from Vassar College and an MFA in playwriting from the Yale School of Drama.

CAMERON WATSON (Director) most recently directed the critically-acclaimed revival of All My Sons at The Matrix Theatre Company for producer Joseph Stern (LA Drama Critics' Circle Award winner - Anne Gee Byrd - Best Actress, LA Weekly Award nomination - Best Revival) and I Never Sang for My Father starring Philip Baker Hall and Anne Gee Byrd (LA Drama Critics' Circle Award winner – Best Supporting Actress) at The New American Theatre. Other Colony Theatre shows include On Golden Pond starring Hal Linden and Christina Pickles, Grace & Glorie (four Ovation Award nominations including Best Production and winner Beth Grant - Best Actress), Educating Rita, and Trying starring Alan Mandell and Rebecca Mozo (eight Ovation nominations and winner Alan Mandell - Best Actor, LA Drama Critics' Circle Award winner – Best Actor, Garland Award for Best Director). He directed A Midsummer Night's Dream and the east coast premiere of Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, and the American premiere of I Capture the Castle at the El Portal (six Ovation Award nominations.) Other directing credits include Horton Foote's TheHabitation of Dragons at the Actor's Co-Op and the unique one-woman show, Rolling with Laughter,which played Los Angeles, the Edinburgh Festival, and Her Majesty's Theatre in London's West End. Cameron wrote and directed the Miramax feature film Our Very Own, which stars Jason Ritter, Keith Carradine, Cheryl Hines, Faith Prince, Beth Grant, Autumn Reeser, Mary Badham and Allison Janney in an Independent Spirit Award-nominated performance.

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