“Hate Mail” by Bill Corbett and Kira Oblensky is the second play of the 2007-08 season at Act II Playhouse. The run begins with previews on November 13 and continues until December 9.

This hilarious play tells the story of Preston, a spoiled rich kid who meets his match in Dahlia, an angst-filled artist. Their worlds collide when Preston sends a complaint letter that gets Dahlia fired from her job. From that point on there is no turning back and the play follows their increasingly crazed correspondence as the move from hate to love and then right back again. The play has been called “sardonic and clever” by critics and is at the other end of the spectrum from “Love Letters”.

The play stars recent Barrymore Award winning actress Charlotte Northeast and Damon Bonetti. Directing is David Stradley, Artistic Associate, Delaware Theatre Company.

Prior to the previews, there will be a dress rehearsal on Sunday, November 11 at 5 PM open to the community and benefiting The Artman Center of Liberty Lutheran Services. Opening night is November 16, followed by a reception nearby at Agavé Grille in Ambler. Tickets are on sale at the box office, 56 East Butler Avenue, Ambler, PA, online at www.act2.org, or by calling 215-654-0200.

Tickets are priced at $30-to-$40 depending on the performances ($25 for the three preview nights). Group discounts are available for parties as small as 10 people. For more information about group sales and season tickets, call the Act II Playhouse Box Office at 215-654-0200.

PRESS CREDENTIALS FOR OPENING NIGHT PERFORMANCES SHOULD ALWAYS BE REQUESTED DIRECTLY THROUGH THE BOX OFFICE - 215-654-0200.

The stars & director

DAMON BONETTI (Preston) is a native of Philadelphia and he has been seen most recently in Dealer’s Choice (Pros from Dover/Theatre Catalyst), Gold! (Victoria, BC, Canada), The Taming of the Shrew and Othello (Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival), The Last Night of Ballyhoo (Surflight Theatre) and Fat Pig (2006 Philadelphia Fringe Festival). TV: The Spanish American War – First Intervention (Richmond Hobson), History Channel; Film: Bittercress (James Malick), Cannes Film Festival Short Film Program. Later this season, he will be seen in Romeo & Juliet and the title role in Pericles at Philly Shakes. MFA – Florida State University /Asolo Conservatory.

CHARLOTTE NORTHEAST (Dahlia) is a native of Victoria BC and a graduate of Circle in the Square Theatre School. Favorite roles: Juliet (American Stage), Catherine (u/s) in Proof (FST), Lady Macbeth (Shakespeare on the Hudson), and Alais in Banyan Theatre’s Lion in Winter. Philadelphia theatre: Skin in Flames (InterAct Theatre Company) for which she won the Barrymore Award, The Game of Love & Chance (CCTC), Love’s Labor’s Lost (CCTC), Fat Pig (GreenLight), Tape (TOW Theatre), and The Street of Useful Things (Act II Playhouse). She was also part of this year’s PlayPenn Festival.

DAVID STRADLEY (Director) is in his first production with Act II Playhouse. David is the Artistic Associate at Delaware Theatre Company (Wilmington, DE) where he has directed The Drawer Boy, Underneath the Lintel, and The Retreat from Moscow. He will direct Art for DTC in January 2008. Also for DTC, David serves as producer of the Delaware Young Playwrights Festival (DYPF), a playwriting competition for middle school and high school students that annually sees the submission of over 500 plays. He thanks his colleagues at DTC for allowing him to pursue this opportunity. David holds a BFA from the University of Evansville and an MFA from the Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory.