RED FROGS by Ruth Margraff

P.S. 122 and Hourglass Group
present the world premiere of
RED FROGS

written by Ruth Margraff
directed by Elyse Singer

February 28 - March 24, 2002

CAST:

BEATIFICA STRATA: Molly Powell

PENNY SHAW: Nina Hellman

MABIE MAIN: Stacey Karen Robinson

DOLLY DALLAS: Crystal Bock

SHIRLEY GOODNESS: Nicole Lowrance

SHAGGY OG: Steven Rattazzi

Part sci-fi, part farce and part political burlesque, Red Frogs is a fantastical response to Aristophanes' The Frogs. Set in Coney Island and Nantucket, it presents a futuristic uprising of Brooklyn shopgirls vying for the last maid job on earth. Highly theatrical and brazenly comic, Red Frogs is a kaleidescopic tribute to the powers of the imagination and a vibrant snapshot of the state of class and sexual consciousness in modern American culture.

An excerpt of the first act of Red Frogs was workshopped by Bottom's Dream at the 2000 Common Ground Festival by Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater Projects in Los Angeles directed by Ian Belton. Under the direction of Elyse Singer, the play was further developed during the Hourglass Group's Summer Retreat at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut, and was featured as part of Hourglass's Reading Series at the Gershwin Hotel in October 2000. Hourglass presented rehearsed readings of Red Frogs at New York Theatre Workshop in August 2000 and in the Monday at Three Series in January 2001. Elyse Singer directed a semistaged reading of the play in Providence, RI as part of Perishable Theatre's TEXTPlosion Series in January 2002.

The Performance Space 122 production is the world premiere of Red Frogs.

Set: Juman Malouf
Costumes: Kaye Voyce
Lights: Traci Klainer
Sound: Laura Grace Brown
Projections: Elaine J. McCarthy
Dramaturg: Erika Rundle

Physical Comedy Consultants: Mark Gindick & Matthew Morgan
PSM: Allison Aaron
Stage Manager: Elise Hanley
ASM: Tatiana Pavela
Video Editing: Carla Gannis, Josh Carter
Asst. Projections: Cory Gross

ABOUT RED FROGS * COMPANY BIOS * PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE * REVIEWS

RED FROGS has been commissioned by Performance Space 122 with funds provided by the Jerome Foundationand is made possible in part with public funds from the Fund for Creative Communities/New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program, administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

This production is dedicated to the memory of my grandparents, Rose and Henry Singer, both natives of Brooklyn, New York. They were the first to introduce me to the wonders of Coney Island. -- Elyse Singer For more information, or to add your name to Hourglass's mailing list, click here.