Photo Flash: The Blank Presents Farrell & Parrack in TERRE HAUTE

Mike Farrell and Jim Parrack have been set to star in the first production of The Blank Theatre Company's 20th anniversary season, the Los Angeles premiere of Terre Haute by Edmund White. Directed by Kirsten Sanderson, Terre Haute will begin preview performances on Saturday, October 2, 2010 and is set to open on Saturday, October 9 at 8pm. The engagement will run through Sunday, November 14.

Did you know that Timothy McVeigh and Gore Vidal were pen pals? What would their conversations have been like if they had ever met in person? Famed fiction writer Edmund White has imagined just that: four prison house conversations between the nation's deadliest domestic terrorist and one of the world's most famous and opinionated gadflies. The names have been changed, the ideas have not. This intimate and fascinating portrait of two men, both firebrands who say and do as they believe, delves deeply into the idea of what it means to be American and what one believes they must do for their country. Said Charles Isherwood in The New York Times, "White has captured the amusingly constricted voices of the patrician novelist and the plebian terrorist cannily and cogently."

Mike Farrell is perhaps best known for playing Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on television's M*A*S*H. During his eight years on the show, he also wrote and directed several episodes, earning him nominations for Director's Guild and Emmy Awards. More recently on television, Mike played veterinarian Jim Hansen on NBC's Providence with Melina Kanakaredes. Jim Parrack currently appears in HBO's True Blood as Hoyt Fortenberry, a role he originated when the series made its debut in 2008. He has also made guest appearances on Monk, ER, CSI, Grey's Anatomy, Close to Home, NCIS, and Criminal Minds, among others.

The set design for Terre Haute is by Matt Turner, costume design is by Bethany Jane Bohatila, the lighting design is by Cameron Zetty, and sound design is by Warren Davis. The production stage manager is Christopher Harrison, and the producers are Noah Wyle, Daniel Henning, and Stacy Reed Payton.

Preview performances of Terre Haute are Saturday, October 2 at 8pm, Sunday, October 3 at 2pm, and Tuesday, October 5 - Friday, October 8 at 8pm. Opening night is set for Saturday, October 9 at 8:00. The regular performance schedule is Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm through November 14. All preview seats are $26; regular performance prices are $26 on Thursday and Sunday, $30 on Friday and Saturday. Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased by calling (323) 661-9827 or online at www.TheBlank.com.

The Blank's 2nd Stage Theatre is located at 6500 Santa Monica Boulevard (at Wilcox), in Hollywood. Secured valet parking is available.

 Photo Credit: Rick Baumgartner