Deep Dish Theater Company presents

"The Good Person of Setzuan"

CHAPEL HILL — The Deep Dish Theater Company concludes its fifth season with Bertolt Brecht's fable play, "The Good Person of Setzuan." Adapted by Tony Kushner from a translation by Wendy Arons, the play is directed by Deep Dish Artistic Director Paul Frellick and will run from Thursday, May 4, through Saturday, May 27.

Deep Dish is located in Chapel Hill's University Mall, located on Estes Drive and US 15-501. Thursday through Saturday performances begin at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. There will also be a special early show at 7:30 on Wednesday, May 24. For reservations and information, call 968-1515. Tickets for all performances are $15, $13 for seniors, and $10 for students. Thursday, May 11 is "Cheap Dish Night," when all tickets will be $6; no advance reservations will be taken for that performance.

Audience discussions will follow the Sunday performances on May 7 (featuring a conversation with the production's design team) and May 14. The Deep Dish Book Selection for this production is "Never Let Me Go," by Kazuo Ishiguro, and a discussion of the book, free and open to the public, will be led by David Carr and Evelyn Daniel prior to the performance on Thursday, May 25.

Known to many as "The Good Woman of Setzuan," owing to the original, 1956 English translation by Eric Bentley, Brecht's play examines the tribulations of Shen Te (Merrybelle Park), whose efforts to do good keep landing her in trouble. Finding herself in debt and struggling with the attentions of both an unemployed pilot (Roman Pearah) and an affluent barber (Thomas King), each of whom may well be harboring a hidden agenda, she disguises herself as her supposed cousin, Shui Ta. A ruthless businessman, Shui Ta quickly alleviates Shen Te's immediate problems -- but when her generosity again gets her into trouble, she must struggle with the cost of invoking her heartless alter-ego once more. The large cast, all of whom play multiple roles, includes Jason Lord, Barbara Lang, Jackie Marriott, Gregory Travlos, Sharlene Thomas, Holmes Morrison, Laura Jenkins, K. Sridhar, Eric Swenson, Jennifer Terrenoire, Dane Simon and Antonia Reina-Salas.

Kit Wienert is composing original music for the production, and Deborah Coclanis is the Musical Director. Jan Chambers is designing the sets, Annika Pfaender is the costumer, Scott Marlow is the lighting designer, and Devra Thomas will create the properties. Ramona Traynor is the stage manager, assisted by Jonah Garson.

Director Frellick comments that "the play is a wonderfully rich concoction -- emotional, intellectual, comic, political, poetic, musical -- and bringing all of those ingredients together into a satisfying and effective whole is a real challenge. We have a talented ensemble of actors from a variety of backgrounds, as well as a dynamic team of designers, all of whom are bringing an exciting array of resources to the project. We'll be squeezing everything we can out of our little space in order to give this story its due."

For more information on Deep Dish Theater Company, call 968-1515 or visit the Deep Dish website at www.deepdishtheater.org.