Mark Twain's IS HE DEAD? Comes To The Long Beach Performing Arts Center 5/1-5/24

The West Coast premiere of a newly discovered comedy by the master of American humor is next up at International City Theatre.  ICT artistic director Shashin Desai directs Is He Dead?, adapted by David Ives from a play by Mark Twain that remained unpublished and unproduced for over 100 years.  The four-week run takes place at ICT's home in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center,
May 1 through May 24.  Low-priced previews begin April 28.

Is He Dead? is a sly and hilarious critique of the art world.  Tired of struggling, French artist Jean Francois Millet stages his own death in order to drive up the price of his paintings.  As the riotous scheme unfolds and crazy complications ensue, Twain poses daring questions about fame, greed and the value of art, poking his signature, mischievous fun at everyone involved.

Celebrated Mark Twain scholar Shelley Fisher Fishkin discovered Is He Dead? in a file cabinet drawer while doing research at UC Berkeley.  She found herself laughing out loud right there in the
archives of the Bancroft Library as she pored over the manuscript Twain had written in 1898.  "The London Times reported that the high-spirited romp of a play would be produced simultaneously in
London and New York of that year," Fishkin writes in the foreword to the newly published edition. "But a combination of bad timing, bad luck, and, perhaps, the irreverence of putting one of France's greatest painters [real-life Millet] at the center of a zany, cross-dressing farce conspired to foil Twain's plans. The play was never produced."

Fishkin was determined to bring Twain's Is He Dead? to the stage.  A mutual friend urged her to contact veteran producer Bob Boyett, who led her to Ives.  "Over a hundred years later, Twain found the ideal collaborator in David Ives," she continues.  "In Ives' brilliant adaptation, Twain's words are still there - as are his trademark satirical wit, his unforgettable characters, and his ingenious plot."

Is He Dead? opened on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre on December 9, 2007, where it played for three months to rave reviews.  "A ripely enjoyable confection... an elaborate madcap comedy that registers high on the mirth meter and reaches especially giddy comic heights," wrote David Rooney in Daily Variety.

Heading the ICT cast as Jean Francois Millet is Broadway veteran Perry Ojeda (On the Town directed by George C. Wolfe; Blood Brothers with Carole King; Nora Ephron's Imaginary Friends directed by Jack  O'Brien; and Off Broadway's Die Mommie Die by Charles Busch).  Millet's pal Chicago, who masterminds the whole crazy scheme, is played by Brian Stanton (first seen at ICT in a dress in Charley's Aunt, then disheveled and surrounded by body parts in Tom, Dick and Harry).  In on the plot is Hans Von Bismarck "Dutchy," played by Chip Bent (world premieres of Easter by Will Scheffer; One by Jill Ephron; and Shadow Hour with David Ruprecht).  Playing sisters Cecile and Marie Leroux are Jules Hartley (Straight to Hell at Off Broadway's Abdington Theatre) and Suzanne Petrela (CTG's Post Office and Mask at the Pasadena Playhouse), and Papa Leroux is Jerry Hoffman (Richard III at the Colony; Fencerow to Fencerow at CTG; upcoming: The Cherry Orchard at Theatricum Botanicum).  Zoo District/Circle X/Sacred Fools/Orphean Circus veteran Joe Fria (Nosferatu;The Master and Margarita; Pathe X; The Shaggs; Gorey Stories; The 99 Cent Only Show; DROOD!; LA Weekly Award for Best Comedy Performance in Laura Comstock's Bag Punching Dog) takes on a variety of zany characters.  Also in the cast are Jeanine Anderson,
Steve Marvel, Suzanne Petrela, Terra Shelman and Blake Silver.

Set Design for Is He Dead? is by Stephen Gifford; Lighting and Sound Design are by Bill Georges ; Costume Design is by Kim DeShazo; Wigs and Hair are by Anthony Gagliardi; Property Designers are Patty and Gordon Briles; Casting is by Michael Donovan Casting; and Production Stage Manager is Patricia Loeb.

Mark Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910), published more than 30 books, hundreds of short stories and essays, and gave lecture tours around the world.  Often regarded as the "father of American literature" for his keen wit and incisive satire, Twain's works include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Life on the Mississippi, The Prince and the Pauper, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

David Ives is probably best known for his evenings of one-acts, collected as All in the Timing (Vintage Books) and Time Flies (Grove Press).  His full-length work to date has been collected in Polish Joke and Other Plays (Grove).  He is also the author of two young-adult novels, Monsieur Eek and Scrib.

A professor of English and director of American Studies at Stanford University, Shelley Fisher Fishkin is the award-winning author or editor of more than 30 books, including The Oxford Mark Twain; Was Huck Black? Mark Twain and African American Voices; Lighting Out for the Territory: Reflections on Mark Twain and American Culture; and  From Fact to Fiction: Journalism and Imaginative Writing in America.  She is past president of the American Studies Association
and the Mark Twain Circle of America.

Shashin Desai, founding artistic director of ICT, has directed more than 150 productions, including classic and contemporary dramas, comedies, and musicals.  Most recently he directed Calling Aphrodite (world premiere), To Kill A Mockingbird, Judgment at Nuremberg, My Boy Jack (American premiere), The Crucible, Black Comedy, A View from the Bridge, Lend Me a Tenor, Noises Off, Flyin' West, A... My Name is Alice, and The Price.

International City Theatre is the Resident Professional Theater at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center, and the recipient of the Margaret Harford Award from the Los Angeles Drama Critics' Circle for "Sustained Excellence in Theater."

Is He Dead? runs Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, May 1 through May 24. Shelley Fisher Fishkin will lead a talk back with the audience following the 2 pm matinee on Sunday, May 3.

Tickets are $32.00 and $37.00 on Thursdays, and $37.00 and $42.00 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, except opening night which is $50.00 and $60.00 and includes a reception with the actors following the performance.  Preview performances take place on Tuesday, April 28; Wednesday, April 29; and Thursday, April 30 at 8 pm.  Preview tickets are $29.00.  International City Theatre is located in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center at 300 E. Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach.  For reservations and information, call the ICT Box Office at (562) 436-4610 or go to www.ictlongbeach.org.