HMG-CN Staff Report
March 4, 2016 (Ventura, CA) – Celebrities including musician Jim Messina (Loggins & Messina/Poco/Buffalo Springfield), Golden Globe nominated actor Ted Neeley, Emmy Award-winning actor Joe Spano and others will greet audience members and walk the red carpet in Western attire tomorrow evening at Rubicon Theatre in Ventura for the American premiere of the stage play THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE by Jethro Compton.
The play, adapted from the Dorothy M. Johnson that also inspired the legendary John Ford 1962 film, begins at 7:00 p.m., with arrivals and photos beginning at 4:30 p.m. on the Laurel Street side of the theatre. KHAY 100.7 FM will be on hand with a live remote for the festivities with morning DJ Rick Marino interviewing actors at the van every half-hour from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. giving out gift certificates and prizes from The Wharf Western Wear and Feed Store, Winchester’s Grill and Saloon, and Anacapa Brewing Company. Marino will be interviewing actors at the van every half-hour from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on the half-hour.
Non-alcoholic beverages and appetizers from It’s in the Sauce will be available to the public on the patio near the KHAY van starting at 5:30 p.m. Gourmet beer from Anacapa Brewery and Winchester’s will be served in the lobby of the theatre starting at 6:00 p.m.
The production of THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE is directed by Jenny Sullivan and features Gregory Harrison, a Broadway and television veteran best known for his recurring role on “Rizzoli & Isles” and as Dr. “Gonzo” Gates in “Trapper John, M.D.”; and Jeff Kober, oft-recognized for his roles as Dodger on “China Beach” and Jacob Hale, Jr. on “Sons of Anarchy.”
Director Sullivan, who has helmed more than 20 plays at Rubicon as Artistic Associate, has a close association with the genre, having grown up in the 60s and 70s on Western sets. In fact, while John Ford was shooting the THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE in black-and-white on the sound stages of Paramount with Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne and Lee Marvin, Sullivan’s father Barry Sullivan was playing frontier sheriff Pat Garrett in more than 75 episodes of “The Tall Man.” He went on to play the charming and likable villain in the Western “Seven Ways from Sundown,” and the role of John Chisum in Sam Peckinpah’s “Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.”
Harrison plays Bert Barricune, the mysterious cowboy who discovers the injured Foster on the prairie and brings him to the saloon, where he is nursed back to health by the attractive and spirited saloon-owner Hallie Jackson. Kober, who has made a career playing various “bad guy” roles, plays the venomous outlaw Liberty Valance, who represents the lawless side of the West.
Other cast members include New York based actor Jacques Roy (Trinity Rep and Guerrila Shakespeare Project), Nashville actors and husband-and-wife Sylvie Davidson and Trevor Wheetman (who also appeared in Rubicon’s Lonesome Traveler which transferred to New York for a successful Off-Broadway run and was nominated for Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards); Rubicon company member Joseph Fuqua, a Yale MFA whose credits include Broadway Off-Broadway, and Hamlet and My Fair Lady at Rubicon, Dorian Logan (roles with The Pasadena Playhouse and Cleveland Playhouse); Dillon Francis, whose Rubicon credits include Our Town and Defying Gravity and Dillon G. Artzer.
Following the opening night premiere, members of the press are also invited to join the cast and audience members at a post-show party at Watermark on Main hosted by Kathy and Mark Hartley.
Low-priced previews of THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE begin on Wed., March 2 at 7 p.m., continuing Thurs. Mar. 3 at 8 p.m. and Fri., Mar. 4 at 8 p.m. The Opening Night is Sat., Mar. 5 at 7:00 p.m. with a party following at Watermark on Main. Regular performances are Wed. at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Thurs. and Fri. at 8 p.m., Sat. at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., (except Sat., Mar. 5, which is at 7:00 p.m.) and Sun. at 2 p.m.
For additional information, a full press release on the production or artist bios, please go to Rubicon’s Press Page on the company website at http://www.rubicontheatre.org/press.
