Local Playwright's The Boundary to Premiere at Pitt Repertory Theatre

PITTSBURGH—The American home front takes center stage in The Boundary, the work of Pittsburgh playwright Tammy Ryan, which premieres at the Pitt Repertory Theatre April 6 and runs through April 17, in the Henry Heymann Theatre in the Stephen Foster Memorial, at Forbes Avenue and Bigelow Boulevard, Oakland.

In The Boundary, the reality of the first Gulf War is brought painfully home to a dysfunctional family and its troubled patriarch, portrayed by veteran Pittsburgh actor E. Bruce Hill. He is joined by Pittsburgh actress Elena Alexandratos and Pitt Masters of Fine Arts-candidate Marc Epstein. Pitt undergraduate student Megan Stiles stars as Katie, an American daughter training with the Marines overseas and dutifully writing home about her Desert Shield experiences. Throughout Ryan's psychological drama, terrorists, angels, and incessant TV coverage disturb the boundaries of identity in this powerful and surreal exploration of the American family.

Ryan, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, also wrote The Music Lesson, which explores the challenges of a young Bosnian couple beginning a new life in America. Other plays by Ryan include In the Shape of a Woman, Baby's Blues, and Pig, which has been published by Dramatists Play Service.

Pitt Rep's production of The Boundary is directed by Melanie Dreyer, assistant professor and head of acting in Pitt's Department of Theatre Arts. According to Dreyer, "those attending will be highly entertained by a compelling story, delighted by the inventiveness of all involved, and will either learn something new or recognize something they already know about human nature and the difficulty of human relationships."

Ticket prices for The Boundary range from $10 to $19. Performances are at 8 p.m. weeknights and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. Sundays. The April 10 matinee will be followed by a Pitt Arts talk-back session, which is open to all. For more information or to order tickets, call 412-624-PLAY (7529) or visit www.pitt.edu/~play.

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3/23/05/tmw