People’s Light & Theatre Company presents HUMBLE BOY, running June 20 – July 15, 2007 on the Main Stage. HUMBLE BOY is directed by Ken Marini and was written by Charlotte Jones. People’s Light & Theatre is located at 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern. For tickets call 610-644-3500 or visit www.peopleslight.org.

HUMBLE BOY tells the story of thirty-five year-old astrophysicist Felix Humble, who returns home following the death of his father, still in search of a unified field theory. But as he collides with his demanding mother, her boorish boyfriend, his former lover, and the mysterious gardener who keeps turning up, he realizes his search for unity must somehow include the chaos of family. Love, physics, and the joys of beekeeping swirl together with a touch of Hamlet in a comedy as intimate as a garden party and as large as the universe itself.

HUMBLE BOY previews on Wednesday, June 20th and Thursday, June 21st, 2007. Opening night is at 8pm on Friday, June 22, 2007. The show runs through July 15, 2007. Tickets are now on sale and range in price from $28-$48, with discounts available for groups of 10 or more.

KEY BIOS

Ken Marini (Director), a co-founder of PLTC, he has directed over 30 productions, including The Man from Nebraska, The Problem and How We Talk in South Boston for 30FEST, Around the World in 80 Days, Born Yesterday, A Delicate Balance, Dimly Perceived Threats to the System, Sacco and Vanzetti: A Vaudeville, and Sign of the Lizard. Other PLTC credits include The Life of Galileo and an internationally acclaimed production of Louis Lippa’s adaptation of Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie. He was the Artistic Director of the Cheltenham Center for the Arts for six seasons, directing Kindertransport, The Glass Menagerie and many others. Other credits include How His Bride Came To Abraham at Playwrights’ Theatre of New Jersey, When Real Life Begins at Chain Lightning Theatre, Richard III for the National Shakespeare Company, Amadeus, Sleuth and Romeo & Juliet for Hedgerow Theatre, Pete ‘n Keely at Act II Playhouse and All’s Well That Ends Well for the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. He has directed A View from the Bridge in Russia and Psycho Drama in Edinburgh.

Alda Cortese (Mercy Lott) has been with People’s Light since 1976, first appearing in Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage at the Yellow Springs Center for the Performing Arts in Chester Springs. She has since appeared in nearly 100 productions with this theatre—including The Foreigner, Jack & the Beanstalk, The O’Connor Girls, The Miser (for which she received a Barrymore nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actress), String of Pearls, and Arthur’s Stone, Merlin’s Fire. Other recent roles include Doll Common in Playhouse Creatures, June in He Held Me Grand, Agnes in A Delicate Balance and the Grandmother in The Little Red Riding Hood Show. Alda also serves as the Literary Manager.

Peter DeLaurier (Jim) is an Artistic Associate at People’s Light and has been with the Theatre since 1981. He wrote the adaptation for our recent production of Anne of Green Gables. He also played Matthew Cuthbert in that production, and his wife, Resident Ensemble member Ceal Phelan, played his sister, Marilla. Other PLTC family series productions include: Jason and the Golden Fleece, Around the World in 80 Days, The Forgiving Harvest, Holes, The Secret Garden, The Dreaming of Aloysius..., and Afternoon of the Elves. He was nominated for the Barrymore Award for his performance in PLTC's Man From Nebraska and won that award for the one-man show Underneath the Lintel at the Lantern Theater Company. He has directed at PLTC and at theatres around the country, serving as Artistic Director of New Stage Theatre in Jackson, MS. With Ceal and other friends, he co-founded two of Delaware's professional theatres: The Delaware Theatre Company (1978) and First Stage (1987).

Stephen Novelli (George Pye), seen recently in The Giver, The Imaginary Invalid, The Crucible, Jack & the Beanstalk and The Member of the Wedding, is an Associate Artistic Director at PLTC. He has directed Tuesdays with Morrie, POPS and The Mourning Show for 30FEST, Camping with Henry and Tom, The Hope Zone, As You Like It, Measure for Measure and Glengarry Glen Ross, among others. A member of the resident company since 1974, he has performed in many productions, including roles in 30FEST, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Around the World in 80 Days, Born Yesterday, Julius Caesar and Arthur’s Stone, Merlin’s Fire, Midons – or The Object of Desire, The Little Foxes, The Little Prince, all 3 versions of A Christmas Carol, The Merchant of Venice, Sacco and Vanzetti: A Vaudeville, Sign of the Lizard, The Playboy of the Western World, Sister Carrie, Hamlet, Tartuffe, The Tempest, and Have It Your Way.

Karen Peakes (Rosie Pye) was previously seen at People’s Light in Secret Garden, Once in a Lifetime, Born Yesterday (Barrymore Award Nomination for Best Actress), and Man From Nebraska. She lives and works primarily in the Philly area and has been seen at The Arden, InterAct, Act II Playhouse, The Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival, Mum Puppettheatre, The Lantern, The Philadelphia Theatre Company, and most recently at The Walnut Street Theatre in Of Mice and Men. She has worked regionally at The Boarshead Theatre in Michigan, The Peterborough Players in New Hampshire, and Folger Theatre in D.C.

Pete Pryor (Felix Humble) was previously seen at People’s Light in The Foreigner, Sleeping Beauty, The Miser, Holes, Book of Days, Misalliance and a Short Stuff festival. He is an actor/teacher/director and the cofounder of 1812 Productions in Philadelphia. He has worked for the Arden Theatre, Act II Playhouse, Azuka Theatre Collective, The Philadelphia Theatre Company, Theatre Exile and the Wilma, among others. Recently, Pete appeared in the title role of the Lantern Theatre’s production of Richard III. He is a Barrymore Award-winner and a recipient of the Independence Foundation’s Individual Fellowship Award. Up next he will be appearing in the Wilma Theatre’s production of Pillowman.

Susan Wilder (Flora Humble) has appeared at Lincoln Center Theater in King Lear (with Christopher Plummer), Ivanov (with Kevin Kline), and Far East. Other recent stage credits include: Vivien Leigh in Orson's Shadow at The Philadelphia Theatre Company; Annie in The Real Thing (Theatre South Carolina); Anna Petrovna in Ivanov at the Studio Theatre in Washington, DC; Since Africa at InterAct; and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing at the Marin Shakespeare Company. Numerous film and television credits include: The Silence at Bethany (American Playhouse), Perry Mason, Spencer: For Hire, Equal Justice, The Petrified Forest (CBS Live Broadcast), Hack, Big, Unbreakable, and Universal Signs. She received her MFA from The Shakespeare Theatre's Academy for Classical Acting at the George Washington University, and is a proud longtime member of Actors Equity.

For information or to purchase tickets, visit www.peopleslight.org or contact the Box Office, open daily from noon until 6pm, at 610-644-3500. Group discounts for regular matinee and evening performances are available for parties of 10 or more. For more information on student performances or group tickets, call 610.647.1900, ext 134 or group@peopleslight.org. Audiences are encouraged to join the artists after each Thursday night performance to discuss the production.