February 1, 2013
Contact: Lori Raffel, Marketing and Media Relations Director
Phone: 317-435-0293 (cell) or 317-635-2381 (office)
Email: lraffel@phoenixtheatre.org
Web: www.phoenixtheatre.org
Indianapolis – The Phoenix Theatre of Indianapolis proudly announces the Indiana Premiere of Nicky Silver’s corrosive comedy, The Lyons in the Frank and Katrina Basile Theatre. Opening Thursday, February 28, and running through Sunday, March 31, 2013, The Lyons was chosen by Phoenix Producing Director Bryan Fonseca specifically for Diane Kondrat in the lead role of Rita Lyons, as her last role before moving to the West Coast.
The Lyons is the funny and stirring tale about a family grappling with the impending death of its patriarch, Ben
Lyons. As his wife Rita and their grown children gather to say goodbye, they learn that despite being a family, each of them is completely isolated. Afraid of closeness and afraid of solitude (and trapped in a hospital room for the entire first act) they are propelled into the foreign territory of human connection. At a distance these characters are hilarious as they kick the ego out of one another. But look at them closely and the audience will likely find an intimate mirror of their own frightened self.
The Lyons will be Diane Kondrat’s 20 th play at the Phoenix Theatre. “When you tally up all my days and nights of rehearsal and performance at the Phoenix Theatre, it adds up to about four years of my life. It seems it should be more,” says Bloomington resident Kondrat. “The first time I visited the theatre in 1988, with playwright Marcia Cebulska, I got onstage, down right, in the empty house. It felt right then and it continued to feel right for the next 25 years. I have been driving the 120 mile circuit from Bloomington for all that time, learning lines in the car, and it has been worth the trip.”
“It’s always exciting to work with Diane Kondrat. She is dedicated, passionate, smart and intuitive,” says
Phoenix Theatre Producing Director Bryan Fonseca. “She is fearless when approaching a role and challenges everyone on a project to bring their best work to the table. Her work is inspiring. Very few actors I’ve worked with have Diane’s range and depth of emotion. Some of my favorite roles that she’s done with us include: Miss
Witherspoon, August: Osage County and Frozen. Our loss is Portland’s gain.
Always a fan of the Phoenix mission, Kondrat states “The shows that are chosen for production (at the
Phoenix) more often than not coincide with my theatrical preferences: edgy, of-the-moment, meaningful scripts that aren't afraid to push the boundaries of society.” Those words are also a good description of

Kondrat’s career. She has graced the Phoenix stages as the besieged oldest daughter in August: Osage County, as the struggling caretaker Lee in Marvin’s Room, and a woman caught in a complicated relationship in Sight
Unseen.
The Cast and Production Team
In addition to Diane Kondrat in the leading role of Rita Lyons, the six-member cast of The Lyons includes longtime Phoenix actor Charles Goad as Curtis Lyon, the long-suffering husband and terminally ill patriarch of the family.
Angela Plank is daughter Lisa Lyons, Scot Greenwell is son Ben Lyons, Lincoln Slentz is the intriguing
Brian and Mercedes Martinez is the nurse.
In addition to Bryan Fonseca as producer, William Fisher, who also directed last season’s Freud’s Last Session, will be directing The Lyons. Rounding out the production team is Set Designer Bryan Fonseca and Nolan
Brokamp, Costume Designer Ashley Kiefer, Sound Designer Tim Brickley, and Stage Manager Chelsey Wood.
Critical Acclaim
“The Lyons, Nicky Silver's caustically funny and emotionally satisfying family comedy, is a gem.”
- The Hollywood Reporter
“The Lyons is a caustic and canny comedy about family dysfunction packed with surprises that are alternately hilarious, tragic and absurd.”
- New York Daily News
"The Lyons comes charging onto the Great White Way with a savage roar that is simultaneously a scream of pain and a shout of dark laughter.”
- Broadway Review
It is the goal of the Phoenix Theatre to be the best ticket value in town for live, professional theatre. The following are ticket prices for The Lyons in the Frank and Katrina Basile Stage at the Phoenix:
$18 – Katrina Basile Realtor CheapSeats Opening weekend; First Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday
$28 for all adults All remaining performances after opening weekend (Thursdays,
$18 for individuals
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays
Age 21 and under
Tickets may be purchased now by calling the box office at 317.635.7529 to charge by phone, and are available to purchase on-line at phoenixtheatre.org. All seating is general admission on a first-come, first-served basis.
Performances are Thursdays at 7:00 pm; Fridays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm, unless otherwise noted on our website. Doors open ½ hour prior to curtain for seating. The Phoenix Pub, located inside the theatre, offers beer, wine, soft drinks, coffee and bottled water, as well as treats, and all refreshments may be taken into either theatre and consumed during the performance.

ABOUT THE PHOENIX THEATRE
"The Phoenix Theatre has cornered the market on hip new works." — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
The Phoenix Theatre is Indiana's only professional contemporary theatre, and has presented productions to challenge and entertain the Indianapolis community for 30 years. An Equity house, the Theatre presents the
Midwest and Indiana premieres of many popular Broadway and Off-Broadway plays, and has presented more than 85 world premieres in its quarter century. The Phoenix operates the 130-seat proscenium Livia and Steve
Russell Theatre as well as the 65-seat cabaret-style black box Frank & Katrina Basile Stage. The Phoenix Pub, located in the Basile Stage, serves beer, wine, coffee, soft drinks, water, and treats, and patrons may take all refreshments into either theatre. Both venues are housed along with administrative offices in a renovated
1907 church in downtown Indianapolis' historic Chatham Arch neighborhood, part of the Mass Ave Arts &
Theatre District. The Phoenix Theatre is a member of the National New Play Network and the League of
Indianapolis Theatres, and is supported by the Indiana Arts Commission, the Arts Council of Indianapolis, and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as local corporate and foundation funders and more than 400 individual donors.