When Elvis Knocks, Will You Be Ready?

Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati Presents Regional Premiere of End Days,

a “Divinely” Inspired Comedy by Deborah Zoe Laufer

When Elvis knocks, will you be ready? Meet the Steins who are having an identity crisis in End Days, an outrageously quirky new comedy that is also a thoughtful examination of faith, renewal, and the needs of ordinary people. The divinely inspired comedy by Deborah Zoe Laufer enjoys its regional premiere at Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati March 16-April 2, 2011. Directed by guest director Michael Evan Haney, Associate Artistic Director at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

2003 is a bad year for sixteen-year-old Rachel Stein. Her family has moved from New York after the events of 9/11. Mom, a lapsed Jew, has become a devout born-again Christian and taken Jesus into her life…literally—he’s in the kitchen making coffee. Dad hasn’t changed out of his pajamas in ages and high-school daughter Rachel is coping the best way she knows how: by going Goth. And, oh yeah, the Apocalypse is coming on Wednedsay. Who will save this family? Jesus? Stephen Hawking? Enter new neighbor Nelson, a teen science genius with a crush on Rachel and a penchant for dressing like Elvis. To everyone’s surprise, the invasion of his big heart and blind optimism might be their best hope for a new beginning.

“I love this play,” explains guest director Michael Evan Haney. “It examines how we turn and look for things to heal ourselves and each other in our hour of need: religion, science, cults. And, while this play is decidedly a comedy and depicts iconic figures, ultimately it is also about how we can offer each other the best salvation.”

End Days was awarded the 2008 American Theatre Critics Association Steinberg Citation. It received its NYC premiere at Ensemble Studio Theatre through an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Grant. End Days is listed in the Burns Mantle Yearbook as one of the best regional plays of 2008, and is published in The Best Plays of 2008.

About the Playwright

Deborah Zoe Laufer is a 2009 recipient of the Helen Merrill Playwriting Award and a 2010 recipient of a Lilly Award. Ms. Laufer is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where she was also a Playwright-in-Residence. Her play, Sirens premiered at The Actor’s Theatre of Louisville Humana Festival in February 2010. Her newest play, Leveling Up, was workshopped at The Missoula Colony in July 2010. Three of her plays premiered at Florida Stage: The Last Schwartz (Carbonell nomination for Best New Work), The Gulf of Westchester (Florida Stage/NNPN commission), and End Days (NNPN Rolling World Premiere). End Days was awarded The American Theatre Critics Association Steinberg citation in March 2008. It received its NYC premiere at Ensemble Studio Theatre in March 2009 through an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Grant and has received over twenty productions. It has been translated to German and will be performed in Halberstadt, Germany in March 2011. End Days is listed in the Burns Mantle Yearbook as one of the best regional plays of 2008, and published by Smith and Kraus in The Best Plays of 2008. Ms. Laufer is a two-time recipient of the LeCompte du Nouy grant from The Lincoln Center Foundation. Her plays have been developed at The Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference, Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Ojai Playwrights Conference, The Missoula Colony, The Cherry Lane Alternative, The Dramatists Guild Fellowship Program, New Georges, The Lark Play Development Center and Geva Theatre Center. She is a member of The Dramatists Guild and is currently in her first year of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop as a lyricist.

About the Cast

Michael G. Bath (Jesus/Stephen Hawking) returns to ETC’s stage, having most recently appeared in ETC’s productions of Next Fall, Cinderella, Becky’s New Car and My Name is Asher Lev. His other recent credits include Angels in America at Know Theatre. Other ETC credits include Mauritius, Alice in Wonderland, The Frog Princess, More Fun Than Bowling, Opus, The Exonerated, and Sleeping Beauty. Mr. Bath has also performed with the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati Children’s Theatre, the Performance Gallery, Theatre IV/Artreach, Showboat Majestic, and Stage First Cincinnati.

Amy Warner (Sylvia Stein) returns to ETC, having performed this year’s Collected Stories and in last season’s hit 33 Variations. Her other ETC credits include Fiction, The Guys, The Women of Lockerbie, and Permanent Collection. Other regional credits include Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, for which she won a CEA award for Best Actress. Off-Broadway credits include: Wild Oats, Danton’s Death, Big and Little, and The Underpants. TV credits include appearances on Ally McBeal, Boston Public, The Guardian, The Practice, and E.R.

Barry Mulholland (Arthur Stein) makes his Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati debut with End Days. He has appeared Off Broadway in Ghost Sonata, Balloon, Wild Oats, Faust, and Danton’s Death for Classic Stage Company; at the Center Theater in Los Angeles, with Jon Voight and Gena Rowlands in Love Streams. He has worked in regional theatres throughout the country, including Long Wharf, Cincinnati Playhouse, Capital Rep, Merrimack Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Clarence Brown Theatre, the Folger, and Seattle‘s A.C.T. and Intiman Theatre companies. His plays Existential Therapy and Barnes and Noble Conquer the World were seen in New York as part of Love Creek Theatre’s annual One-Act Festival.

Lily Hidalgo (Rachel Stein) makes her Ensemble Theatre debut in this production. Her previous credits includea  number of plays and student films, among them The Great Quillow for Centerville Town Hall Players, and Leer and Little Gypsy for Wright State University. Most recently, she appeared in Check Please at St. Ursula Academy, where she is a freshman.

Richard Lowenburg (Nelson Steinberg) also makes his Ensemble Theatre debut with End Days. His regional credits include last season’s History of Invulnerability, and A Christmas Carol (2008 and 2009) at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Other select credits include: The Mousetrap, and Wizard of Oz, School for Creative and Performing Arts; Children of Eden, Xavier University; Suessical, Into the Woods, Jr., and Charlotte’s Web, CCM Prep; Secret Garden, Carnegie Center; and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Cincinnati Music Theatre. Mr. Lowenburg is a student at the School for Creative and Performing Arts. He is also a skilled magician.

Production team includes Brian c. Mehring (Resident Scenic & Lighting Designer), Aaron Clements (Technical Operations Director), Matthew Hollstegge (Production Coordinator & Master Electrician), Shannon Rae Lutz (Properties Master & Design Assistant), and Reba Senske (Costume Designer). Stage Manager is Brittanie Sicker.