FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 29, 2005

This January, Lantern Theater Company will present the American Premiere of Novecento, a jazz fable by Italy's beloved writer, Alessandro Baricco (translated by Michael Golding). Philadelphia favorite Frank X performs solo this comic, poignant and powerful story of jazz music and friendship. Dugald MacArthur, Resident Director at Lantern Theater Company, directs.

Born on the ocean liner Virginian and spending his entire life at sea, Danny Boodmann T.D. Lemon Novecento was the world's greatest jazz pianist who never walked the earth. Set in the 1930s, Novecento's story is told in a series of evocative flashbacks by his great friend and fellow musician, the trumpet player in the jazz band on board (played by Frank X).

Artistic Director Charles McMahon originally discovered Novecento at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2001. "Ever since Frank X and I saw Novecento in Scotland, we've been looking for an opportunity to bring this play to the Lantern stage," comments McMahon. "The innate power of Barrico's language and style of expression is what makes the story of Novecento so mesmerizing."

Alessandro Baricco (Author), Italy's most famous contemporary writer, is known for his unusual characterizations and lyrical, poetic style. Born in Turin in 1958, he is the author of three previous novels, has won the Prix Médicis étranger in France and the Selezione Campiello, Viareggio, and Palazzo del Bosco prizes in Italy. His third novel, Silk, became an immediate best-seller in Italy and has been translated into twenty-seven languages. It is the basis of a forthcoming opera by André Previn and a film to be produced by Miramax.

Michael Golding (Translator) was born and raised in Philadelphia, educated at Duke and Oxford, then moved to New York in the eighties to pursue a career in the theatre. He worked for several years Off-Broadway, including a season with the Lion Theatre Company on Theatre Row and playing Romeo in the Joseph Papp/Riverside Shakespeare Company production of Romeo and Juliet. He received his Masters Degree at the writing program at the University of California at Irvine, where he completed Simple Prayers and was the recipient of the Gellman Founders' Award. Simple Prayers was published by Warner Books in 1994, and has since been translated into Italian, German, Swedish, Danish, Japanese, Polish, Dutch, and Bulgarian. It is currently being developed as a film for Columbia Pictures, for which Michael has just finished writing the screenplay.

Frank X is a regular at Lantern Theater Company. Last season, he appeared in Much Ado About Nothing and Un-American. Other Lantern productions include The Tempest, King Lear, A Doll's House, The Bacchae, Beyond Therapy and Ghosts. Originally trained as a dancer and playwright, he has performed widely throughout the area with such institutions as Act II Playhouse (Louis' Lottery), InterAct (Permanent Collection and Black Russian), Mum Puppettheatre (The Visit), Azuka Theatre Collective (Four) and Theatre Exile (Rhinoceros). He received the Barrymore Award for Best Actor for his performance in Lonely Planet (InterAct) and received Barrymore Nominations for three Lantern performances (Lear, King Lear; Lyngstrand, Ghosts; Bob, Beyond Therapy).

Novecento will be directed by Dugald MacArthur, who has previously directed for A.R.T., The Guthrie Theater, A.C.T., StageWest, The Kennedy Center and Dartmouth Rep, Philadelphia Festival Theatre for New Plays, People's Light and Theatre Company, Novel Stages, Venture Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Co., and the Villanova Shakespeare Festival. He was nominated for a Barrymore Award for his direction of The Steward of Christendom at Lantern Theater Company. Additional directing credits at the Lantern include: Through the Looking Glass, The Bacchae, Lovers and Executioners, Copenhagen, and Speed the Plow.

The creative team also includes: Janet Embree (Scenic Design), KC Nocero (Costume Design), David O'Connor (Lighting Design) and Nick Rye (Sound Design; previous Barrymore nomination for his work on The Tempest at Lantern Theater Company).

Performances of Novecento begin on Friday, January 27, 2006 and run through Sunday, February 26, 2006 at St. Stephen's Theater, located at 10th and Ludlow Streets in Philadelphia. Tickets range in price from $14-$28 and are available now by visiting or calling the box office at 215.829.9002, or online at www.lanterntheater.org.

Novecento Performance Schedule
Previews:
1/27, 1/28 and 1/29 at 8pm, 1/31 at 2pm
Opening:
2/1 at 7pm
Regular Run:
Wednesdays at 8 pm
Thursdays at 7 pm
Fridays at 8 pm
Saturdays at 8 pm (also 2 pm on 2/25)
Sundays at 2 pm (also 7 pm on 2/12, 2/19)

Ticket Prices
Previews:
$14 (all levels)
Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturday matinees, Sunday evenings:
$22 regular
$19 senior (65 and over)
$17 student (with ID)
Fridays, Saturday evenings, Sunday matinees:
$28 regular
$23 senior (65 and over)
$20 student (with ID)
Special group rates are available.

Novecento will be performed at St. Stephen's Theater, located at 10th and Ludlow Streets in Philadelphia. Tickets are available now by visiting or calling the box office at 215.829.9002, or online at www.lanterntheater.org.

Closing the season will be the politically charged Shakespearean history, Richard II (March 24 - April 30, 2006). Two play subscriptions for the Lantern's 2005/06 season are now available, beginning as low as $22 for students and seniors. For more information, please call 215.829.9002 or visit www.lanterntheater.org.