We recently got a press-release from Convergence-continuum in Cleveland Ohio about their upcoming show. Check it out!!

Convergence-continuum, continues its 2011 Season at the Liminis theatre with the Mid-West premiere of The Miracle at Naples by David Grimm– a saucy adult comedy set in Renaissance Italy.

The Miracle at Naples is an outrageously smart and bawdy commedia dell’arte-inspired sex farce about traveling players who land in Naples in the autumn of 1580 at the time of the annual miracle of San Gennaro, when social activity stops dead until the saint’s blood liquefies in the local church named for him. The lives of the small, rag-tag band of actors and the locals they encounter – a motherless young woman named Flaminia and her duenna, Francescina – also come to a standstill while the characters strive to disentangle themselves from a hilarious mire of erotic and sexual confusions. Francescina renews her acquaintance with the troupe’s leader, Don Bertolino, while her charge cavorts with his nephew Tristano and Tristano’s very good pal Matteo. But then Flaminia falls for the leading man, Giancarlo, who has been toying with Don Bertolino’s daughter La Piccola.

The Miracle at Naples is directed by convergence-continuum company member Geoffrey Hoffman, and features actors Lucy Bredeson-Smith, Ray Caspio, Robert Hawkes, Stuart Hoffman, Zac Hudak, Emily Pucell and Lauren B. Smith.

The Miracle at Naples opens Friday, July 1 and runs at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through July 23 at the Liminis, 2438 Scranton Rd., Cleveland, OH 44113 in the historic Tremont neighborhood. Tickets are $15 general admission, $12 for seniors (65+) and $10 for students. Reservations and information are available at 216-687-0074 and www.convergence-continuum.org.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Playwright: David Grimm

David Grimm was born in Oberlin, Ohio and raised in Israel. In Junior High,Grimm produced, directed, and starred in an 1890’s melodrama which was presented to the entire Oberlin Middle School. In High School he wrote and directed several one act plays, exploring a range of topics and styles from vampirism to the Theatre of the Absurd. Grimm attended Sarah Lawrence College (BA, ’87) and New York University (MFA, ’92). In college, Grimm concentrated in literature and pursued acting, studying in London. He wrote and directed an epic retelling of the life and death of King Edward II which starred a young Julianna Margulies and the soon-to-be writer-producer Scott King. For a few years after college, Grimm worked on creating theatre with writer/performance artist David Drake. After Graduate School at NYU, Grimm was literary manager at Williamstown Theatre Festival for one season where a short play of his, Enough Rope, was given a special presentation starring Elaine Stritch.

Simultaneously utilizing and subverting classical dramatic structures and various historical settings, Grimm’s plays speak to contemporary issues and audiences with "an authentically sharp wit" (The New York Times). Grimm’s plays have received premieres at theatres such as The Public Theater, Hartford Stage, The Huntington Theatre Company, and La Jolla Playhouse, among others. Grimm’s plays have been developed at the Sundance Institute’s Sundance Theatre Lab and the Sundance Writers Retreat at Ucross, the Old Vic New Voices series, New York Stage & Film, and through an NEA/TCG Residency Grant. He has taught playwriting and screenwriting at Columbia University, Brown University, and Yale School of Drama. He is a member of the Writers Guild, the Dramatists Guild, the PEN American Center, and is an alumnus of New Dramatist.

Grimm’s latest plays include The Miracle at Naples (2009), Steve & Idi (2008), Chick (2007), Measure for Pleasure (2006), The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue (2005), The Savages of Hartford , Kit Marlowe (2000) and Sheridan, or Schooled in Scandal (2000). Grimm’s work has received the Julie Harris Playwright Award, the Bug ‘n Bub Award, the Panowski Award, and has been nominated for GLAAD Media Awards (twice), as well as a Drama League Award nomination.

The Play: The Miracle at Naples

The Miracle at Naples received its world premiere at The Huntington Theatre Company in Boston, MA in April, 2009. The production was directed by Huntington artistic director Peter Dubois, starring Dick Latessa, Alma Cuervo, Lucy Devitto. Director Dubois described the play as:

"The Miracle at Naples is screamingly funny, and the play’s bawdiness and boisterousness is matched by its emotional depth and wit. Set in 16th century Naples where the sacred and the profane exist side by side, it is a true celebration of food, sex, love, passion, and language. It puts all of these exciting things into one pot and turns it up on high."

Critics said of the Boston premiere:

"SUBLIME! A MIRACLE IN ITSELF! A grand time — crude, rude, and deliciously lewd!" — Variety

"Fantastic! Raunchy potent comedy! The audience is having a blast!" — The Boston Herald

"Unbelievably clever! Exquisite comic timing! You’ll laugh so hard!" — "Greater Boston," WGBH

“If culture is a conversation, then the works of David Grimm are a roaring dinner party.” – American Theatre Magazine

The Miracle at Naples is presented by convergence-continuum by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

The Company: convergence-continuum

The Miracle at Naples is the company’s 42^nd production, and is the third of six productions in the 2011 Season (our tenth!). The company’s season runs March – December, with a hiatus over the Winter. Most of the cast and crew of The Miracle at Naples have been involved in previous convergence-continuum productions in many and various capacities. The company seeks to create a core ensemble that continues to work together over the long term in exploring and developing its artistic voice and performance and production practices to create up-close, environmentally-staged productions that challenge the status quo and extend the boundaries of theatre.