Boston Theatre Works continues its season of award-winning plays with the New England premiere of "A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant" by "Gorilla Man" author Kyle Jarrow. Performance dates are November 24 - December 16, at the Boston Center for the Arts. BTW Artistic Director Jason Southerland helms a cast of eight children in this Obie Award-winning holiday comedy.
 
Avant-garde performance art and children's theater meet in a musical that The New York Times called "...A spooky, sharp-toothed smile of a show." They went on to say that, "'Pageant' has acquired a halo of hipness and daring," while The Los Angeles Times called it, "An instant cult classic."

In "Pageant," a jubilant cast of children celebrate the life of L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the controversial religion, in uplifting pageantry and song. The actual teachings of The Church of Scientology are explained and dissected against the candy-colored backdrop of a traditional nativity play.

Author Kyle Jarrow also wrote last season's campy "Gorilla Man," which BTW presented as a late-night cabaret. His earlier works have been workshopped at BTW Unbound, an annual festival of new plays, and he is the recipient of a commission from BTW for his latest musical "Love Kills," which BTW will present in workshop form during the run of "Scientology Pageant."
 
Kyle is a Brooklyn-based writer and musician. He won an OBIE Award at age 24 for "Scientology Pageant," which also had a successful run in Los Angeles and is being remounted at New York Theatre Workshop in December.

His follow-up pla,y "Armless," won the Overall Excellence Award at the New York International Fringe Festival. His work, "Hypochondria," (BTW Unbound 2003) was a finalist for the Princess Grace Award, and "Gorilla Man" was recently published by Samuel French. Kyle's work has been presented at Performance Space 122, The John Houseman Theatre, HERE Arts Center, New Dramatists, The Flea, The Hangar Theatre and Dad's Garage in Atlanta. In addition to writing for film and television, he also plays in the glam rock band The Fabulous Entourage, which released its debut album "Play Nice Now" in April of 2006.

The Boston Theatre Works season will continue in February with a new production of Shakespeare's “A Midsummer Night's Dream," followed by the Boston premiere of “Confessions of a Mormon Boy,” Stephen Fales' funny, sexy and touching story of his fall from the Mormon Church and rise to grace as an out and proud gay man.
 
In addition to the mainstage season, BTW continues its mission of developing new work with the 9th installment of its weeklong summer festival of new plays, BTW Unbound 2007. Several new plays have workshopped through Unbound and later debuted on BTW's main stage as well as with other companies around the country, including “Conspiracy of Memory,” “Veronika Vavoom Volcanologist” and the 2002 Jefferson Award-winner, “Waving Goodbye.” The festival will be presented at the Boston Center for the Arts in July of 2007.

For tickets to "A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant," stop by the box office at the Calderwood Pavilion (527 Tremont Street in Boston), call 617-933-8600 or visit www.BostonTheatreScene.com.

-- OnStage Boston

10/19/06

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