Parson’s Nose Concludes their 2014-15 Season with Our American Cousin
by Tom Taylor, adapted by Lance Davis
Saturday, March 28th to Sunday, April 19th
Parson’s Nose Theater (PNT), the acclaimed classical comedic theater company, closes its 15th Season with Our American Cousin, opening Saturday, March 28th. Famously known as the play President Lincoln went to see at Ford’s Theater, this 75-minute adaptation from Artistic Director, Lance Davis, is a celebration of Taylor’s humor and language.
“We are delighted to wrap up Parson’s Nose Theater’s 15th season with a smashing production of the British farce, Our American Cousin, by the wonderfully prolific Tom Taylor,” says Artistic Director, Lance Davis. “Taylor was born in England, received his degree from Cambridge’s Trinity College where he was very active in the drama society before becoming a contributing editor of the famous British humor magazine, Punch.
“Our American Cousin was a huge hit after its premiere in New York, produced by the actress/manager Laura Keene at her own Broadway Theater, where she also played Florence Trenchard, the female lead. The great American actor Joseph Jefferson played the title role, Asa Trenchard, supported by the comedian E.A. Southern as Lord Dundreary. The plot was a very popular one, the rube from the New World crashing into the ossified society of the English gentility (Downton Abbey fans can identify with a similar plot) and the play was warmly received as it toured America.
“There are many who will see our production as a link to that fateful event in Ford’s Theater 150 years ago,” says Davis, “and we certainly want to honor that. But we also want to honor Tom Taylor, the joyously accomplished farceur who is too often, I feel, pushed to the shadows. Our American Cousin is a boisterously comic melodrama with booing and cheering and a song or two. It’s a chance for the whole family to revel in live, professional theater and an enthusiastic ending to a very successful season.”
Parson’s Nose Theater’s 2014-15 Season continues with Our American Cousin by Tom Taylor, March 28th – April 19th, Saturdays at 7pm and Sundays at 3pm.
Parson’s Nose Theater performs at Lineage Performing Arts Center located at 89 South Fair Oaks, Pasadena, CA 91105
Parson’s Nose Theater presents Our American Cousin as part of their Full Production Series. All performances are “Pay What You Will” and reservations may be made online at www.parsonsnose.com or by calling 626-403-7667. Tickets may also be purchased at the door, but advanced phone reservations are encouraged. Ages 12+.
Calendar Listing: Tom Taylor’s Our American Cousin
OUR AMERICAN COUSIN by Tom Taylor
Adapted by Lance Davis
Performances at Lineage Performing Arts Center, 89 S. Fair Oaks, Pasadena, CA 91105
Parson’s Nose Theater Office, 1325 Monterey Rd., South Pasadena, CA 91030
Dates:
Saturday, March 28 at 7:00pm
Sunday, March 29 at 3:00pm
Saturday, April 4 at 7:00pm*
Sunday, April 5 at 3:00pm
Saturday, April 11 at 7:00pm*
Sunday, April 12 at 3:00pm
Saturday, April 18 at 7:00pm
Sunday, April 19 at 3:00pm
*denotes post-show Q&A
Tickets and Information:
Website: www.parsonsnose.com
Phone: 626-403-7667
Prices: Pay What You Will
Tickets may be purchased online, over the phone, or at the door. Reservations Encouraged. Ages 12+.
About Parson’s Nose Theater
Parson’s Nose Theater is a non-profit, 501(c)3 theater company located in Pasadena, CA dedicated to introducing classical theater to modern audiences. Through condensed adaptations of the works of Shakespeare, Molière, Shaw, Goldoni, Goldsmith and more, lives of the old, young, and in-between are enriched with this introduction to the works of some of the greatest writers who’ve ever lived. Productions are presented in a fun, commedia dell-arte style that makes them both engaging and easy to understand. Parson’s Nose believes the classics are stories that have endured because they speak illuminating truths to each generation. The joys and problems of 17th Century parents and children form a bridge to the 21st.
Parson’s Nose Theater was founded in 2000 by Lance Davis and Mary Chalon Davis. After previous relationships with InterACT Theater and The Geffen Playhouse, Parson’s Nose took up residency at Lineage Performing Arts Center in Pasadena, CA. Parson’s Nose takes pride in paying actors above the Actors Equity requirements because they believe artists should be paid appropriately for their talents. To date, Parson’s Nose has introduced approximately sixty-five fun, condensed, professional presentations of thirty-two comedies to over 60,000 kids and adults. Parson’s Nose takes pride that no one is ever turned away from attending a production because they could not afford a ticket. Parson’s Nose is the only company in America devoted to this new way of experiencing the classics.
Parson’s Nose Founder and Artistic Director, Lance Davis, is a classically and comically trained actor who spent over twenty years working in New York. A guest teaching opportunity brought Lance to Los Angeles where he quickly realized that many students had little, if any, experience with live theater, and none with live classical theater. Many of his own friends admitted that they too never experienced Shakespeare or other classical theater out of fear they wouldn’t understand it. With the help of his wife, Mary Chalon Davis, and the generosity of Terry Perl, they founded Parson’s Nose Theater in 2000 to inspire the young and reward the old, by developing in them an appetite that would lead to further exploration of the unique art form, ‘Theater’.
(Images attached. We will provide production photos when available.)
Image 1: E.A. Southern as Lord Dundreary
Image 2: E.A. Southern as Lord Dundreary
Image 3: Reproduction of Playbill from Ford’s Theatre
Image 4: Caricature of Tom Taylor by Spy Magazine for Vanity Fair, 1876
Image 5: Playwright Tom Taylor
