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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS CONTACT:
Lauren Lovell, PR Manager
llovell@zachtheatre.org
CAST ANNOUNCED FOR MOTHERS AND SONS
AT ZACH THEATRE
Austin, TX - ZACH Theatre announces that Emmy Award-winning actress MICHAEL LEARNED, best known
for playing the mother on The Waltons TV show, will join MARTIN BURKE, NICHOLAS RODRIGUEZ, and
WILLIAM MAY in the upcoming production of Mothers And Sons the touching new family drama by fourtime Tony Award-winner and native Texan Terrence McNally. Mothers and Sons will play at ZACH’s Topfer
Theatre from May 27, 2015 - June 21, 2015 under the direction of ZACH’s Producing Artistic Director DAVE
STEAKLEY.
Mothers and Sons is a provocative, beautiful new play about a mother who pays a surprise visit to the New
York apartment of her late son’s ex-partner, who is now married to another man and has a young son.
Challenged to face how society has changed around her and without her, she is finally able to see the rich life
her son might have led.
“Terrence McNally’s writing has played a significant role in the life of ZACH Theatre – Ragtime, Master Class,
Love! Valour! Compassion!, Frankie and Johnnie in the Clair de Lune, to name just a few of his plays that we
have produced,” says Steakley. “Mothers and Sons is a beautiful play of this moment in time as our country,
and our state, struggles to define what constitutes a family, and who has the right to marry. This Spring at
ZACH we are focused on equality, from the Civil Rights legislation at the heart of All The Way, to the dialogue
around marriage equality today. As we have witnessed societal change occurs slowly and then there are
certain junctions in our history where progress toward equality moves swiftly. We are poised at one of those
moments in American history, and I’m delighted we are one of the first to produce McNally’s thoughtful,
human, compassionate play.”
MICHAEL LEARNED recently portrayed the mother, Katharine Gerard, at Philadelphia Theatre Company to
critical acclaim. Learned is a four-time Emmy Award-Winning Actress, three for her work as Olivia Walton on
the acclaimed TV series, The Waltons, and one for her role as Mary Benjamin in her own series Nurse. She is
also a Peoples’ Choice Award Winner and four-time Golden Globe Nominee. MARTIN BURKE (This Wonderful
Life, Peter and the Starcatcher, and the The Santaland Diaries at ZACH Theatre) will play the role of Cal Porter.
NICHOLAS RODRIGUEZ (Les Misérables, Master Class and Love! Valour! Compassion! at ZACH Theatre) will
play the role of Will Ogden. Nicholas is perhaps best known for the role of Nick Chavez on ABC’s One Life to
Live, and for his Broadway role as Tarzan in the Disney production of Tarzan. Bud Ogden-Porter will be
portrayed by young actor, WILLIAM MAY (A Christmas Story, and Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol at ZACH
Theatre).
Special events in celebration of Mothers and Sons include:
 Press Night: Saturday, May 30 Please RSVP to llovell@zachtheatre.org
 GLBT Wilde Party Night: Thursday, May 28
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Champagne Opening Night: Thursday, June 4
Nicholas Rodriguez Concert and CD release party: June 16 at 7:30pm, $25 tickets
Z Lounge: Pre-show musical entertainment in the Topfer Theatre’s Main Lounge
Tickets start at $25 and are available online at www.zachtheatre.org, by phone at 512-476-0541 x1, or in
person at the ZACH Theatre Box Office, in the Topfer Theatre, 202 South Lamar Blvd. (corner of Riverside
Drive and South Lamar Blvd.) Monday through Saturday, 12 noon – 7 p.m. ZACH Theatre is wheelchair
accessible. Discounts are available for groups of 8 or more. Student Rush Tickets are $18 one hour before
show time (with valid ID).
The National Endowment for the Arts is the Presenting Sponsor of Mothers and Sons. The Alice Kleberg
Reynolds Foundation is the Title Sponsor. Kathleen and Harvey Guion are Executive Producer Sponsors with
Lee Manford and Casey Blass. Pamela and Scott Reichardt are Producer Sponsors. Mercedes Benz of Austin is
the Official Car of ZACH Theatre.
CAST (in alphabetical order)
Martin Burke - Cal Porter
Michael Learned - Katharine Gerard
William May - Bud Ogden-Porter
Nicholas Rodriguez - Will Ogden
PRODUCTION
Dave Steakley - Director
J. Robert Moore - Assistant Director
Michelle Ney - Scenic Designer
Gabrielle Garcia- Scenic Design Assistant
Michael McDonald - Costume Designer
Jason Amato - Lighting Designer
Craig Brock - Sound Designer
Scott Groh - Properties Designer
Shannon Richey - Stage Manager
About Terrence McNally
Terrence McNally has won four Tony Awards for his plays Love! Valour! Compassion! (as well as the New York Drama Critics' Circle
Award for Best American Play and the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards for Best Play) and Master Class and his musical
books for Kiss of the Spiderwoman and Ragtime. Recent Broadway credits include the revivals of his plays The Ritz and Frankie and
Johnny in the Clair de Lune. His other plays include A Perfect Ganesh; Corpus Christi,;Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams; The Stendal
Syndrome,; Lips Together, Teeth Apart (Drama Desk Award Best New Play); and Its Only a Play. Earlier stage works include Bad
Habits (Obie Award Best Play), Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone?, …And Things That Go Bump In the Night and Next. He also wrote
the books for the musicals The Full Monty, The Rink, and A Man of No Importance. The San Francisco Opera presented Dead Man
Walking with McNally's libretto and music by Jake Heggie. McNally has written a number of TV scripts, including "Andre's Mother"
for which he won an Emmy Award. He has received two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, a Lucille Lortel Award, and a
citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has been a member of the Dramatists Guild since 1970 and is a threetime recipient of the Hull-Warriner Award for Best Play.
About ZACH Theatre
A non-profit organization, ZACH creates intimate theatre experiences that ignite the imagination, inspire the spirit, and engage the
community. As Austin’s leading professional producing theatre, ZACH employs more than 300 actors, musicians, and designers
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annually to create its own diverse array of nationally recognized plays and musicals under the leadership of Producing Artistic
Director Dave Steakley and Managing Director Elisbeth Challener. Each year, ZACH serves nearly 115,000 Central Texans – 50,000
of which are children and youth who participate in our education and outreach programs, as well as inspiring camps and
classes. ZACH Theatre is honored to host private and community events across the beautiful rental-ready spaces on our threestage campus located in the heart of Austin. Founded in 1932 and in its 82nd season, ZACH is the longest continuously running
theatre company in the state of Texas, and one of the ten oldest in the country. Visit www.zachtheatre.org for more information.
ZACH Theatre’s 2014-2015 Season is sponsored in part, by Applied Materials, Austin Catering, Baylor Scott & White Health, Holiday
Inn-Lady Bird Lake, Kirk Tuck Photography, Marquee Event Group, OnRamp Access, Schlotzsky’s, and KXAN TV 36; and by grants
from The Shubert Foundation, the Junior League of Austin, The National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts,
and the Cultural Arts Division of The City of Austin Economic Development Department.
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