“OUR OWN” COMMUNITY PLAYREADING
“THREE TALL WOMEN&rdquo

STONINGTON – Opera House Arts at the Stonington Opera House (OHA) is pleased to announce auditions Monday, February 23 at 5:30 p.m. for its next community playreading, the Edward Albee classic "Three Tall Women." The playreading will be staged Wednesday, March 11 at 7 p.m., directed by Judith Jerome. Everyone, regardless of experience, is encouraged to participate in the "Our Own " playreadings, which require only 15 hours of rehearsal time and no memorization. The series presents an excellent opportunity to read new and classic plays; and to explore drama, direction, and performance through scripts while working with guest directors.

"This play, looking at the broad span of one woman’s life, is so well-suited to our community, both our audience members and potential play readers," said Jerome, OHA’s Artistic Director. "And Albee is one of our country’s best dramatists."

The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "Three Tall Women;" has four roles. It features a compelling woman of more than 90 years old, reflecting on her life with a mixture of shame, pleasure, regret, and satisfaction. She recalls the fun of her childhood and her marriage, when she had an overwhelming optimism for her future. Yet she also recalls with bitter regret her life’s negative events: her husband’s extramarital affairs, the death of her husband, and the estrangement of her gay son. The woman’s relationship with her son is the clearest indication that the play represents a "final coming to terms" of Albee with his vital but often domineering mother. Like the son in "Three Tall Women," Albee left home before he was 20. Albee admitted to the The Economist magazine that the play "was a kind of exorcism." And I didn’t end up any more fond of the woman after I finished it than when I started it."

Edward Albee, born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Larchmont, NY is often called "America’s greatest living playwright." His adoptive parents enjoyed wealth and social position from the Albee family’s interest in a national chain of theaters, exposing Albee at a young age to the world of theater and developing in him a passionate love for the arts. His artistic ambitions and homosexuality put him at odds with his adoptive family for the rest of his life. Albee completed his first major work, "The Zoo Story," at the age of 30 and emerged as the leading light of the new world of Off-Broadway. In 1962, he stormed Broadway with the huge commercial and critical success, "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Albee won his first Pulitzer Prize in 1967 for "A Delicate Balance," and a second for "Seascape" in 1975. "Three Tall Women," premiered in 1994, was another triumphant comeback for the playwright. The play, heralded as his best in 30 years, won multiple awards, including a third Pulitzer Prize for Albee. In 1996, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts; and, after premiering three more new works at the end of the 20th century, was awarded a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement.

The "Our Own" Community Playreading Series was launched by Opera House Arts in 2001 with a staged community reading of EveEnsler's "The Vagina Monologues." Over nine years, the series has presented community members in readings of dramatic works, lead by guest directors, ranging from "Our Town" to "The Exonerated." To participate in "Three Tall Women" or in future productions of the series, please contact Judith Jerome at jjerome@operahousearts.org.