Hogan & Holgate Return to HEROES at Merrimack Repertory Theatre, 11/19 - 12/13

After a successful run this past winter with the Keen Company at the Clurman Theater / Theater Row, Jonathan Hogan and Ron Holgate will reprise their roles in Heroes, by Gerald Sibleyras with a translation by Tom Stoppard and directed by Carl Forsman with the Merrimack Repertory Theatre Company.  They will be joined by Ken Tigar, who will be playing the role previously performed by Broadway vet John Cullum in the Theater Row premiere. The production at the Merrick Theatre will run from November 19 through December 13.

Heroes is an evocative comedy about three World War I veterans living in a veterans' home who plot a new assault - a trip to a stand of poplar trees in the distance. But should they bring the stone dog with them? Author Gérald Sibleyras calls Heroes a play "about the universal desire to escape the confines of life."  Heroes was the winner of London's Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 2006 and Paris' Moliere Award for Outstanding Comedy in 2003.

Jonathan Hogan has appeared many times on Broadway including Fifth of July, As Is (Tony and Drama Desk Nominations) and Burn This. He was a member of the celebrated Circle Rep for twenty-five years and worked extensively there and elsewhere Off- and Off-Off-Broadway, including Keen's productions of The Conscientious Objector, In The Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer and Pullman Car Hiawatha. He has done films (In Country, The House on Carroll Street), television (all versions of "Law & Order" several Movies-of-the-Week) and is a graduate of The Goodman Theatre and School of Drama.

Ron Holgate is an actor and opera singer, perhaps best known for winning the Tony Award for Best Supporting Actor as Richard Henry Lee in the original Broadway production of 1776.  Additional Broadway credits include: Kiss Me Kate, Annie Get Your Gun, Guys and Dolls, Lend Me A Tenor, Musical Chairs, The Grand Tour (Tony nomination); Saturday, Sunday, Monday; Sondheim: A Musical Tribute, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Milk and Honey. As an opera singer, Holgate played leading roles in La Boheme, Don Giovanni, and the world premiere of Philip Marshall, among many others.

Ken Tigar has appeared on Broadway in Translations.  Additional stage credits include: Thunder Rock, Rashomon, Baba Goya/Nourishthe Beast, The Three Sisters, Mississippi Moonshine, The Primary English Class and Gallows Humor.  He has performed at Playwrights Horizons, The American Place Theater, Equity Library Theater, and the Los Angeles Actors Theatre among many others. His screen credits include Blessed Art Thou, Hollywood Safari, Little Bigfoot, Dynasty, and Growing Pains.

Gerald Sibleyras (Playwright) penned Le Vent des Peupliers (Heroes) which has been translated and produced in countries worldwide including the UK, Uruguay, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and others. It received the 2006 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. Other works include L'Inscription, La Danse de L'Albatros and Une Heure et Demie de Retard adapted by Mel Smith (2006 produced at the Theater Royal Windsor and then on tour all over Great-Britain). Sibleyras adapted William Nicholson's The Retreat from Moscow (produced in Paris in 2007), Daniel Keyes' Flowers for Algernon and Mauritius by Theresa. He wrote the book for the musical Rabbi Jacob, which has been running in Paris since last fall. Sibleyras' latest play Le Banc ran at the Theatre Montparnasse in Paris last year. He is adapting his play La Danse de L'Albatros for the screen and will direct it himself later this year.

Tom Stoppard (Translation) was born in Zlin, Czechoslovakia in 1937 and moved to England, via Singapore and India, with his family in 1946. He began his working life in 1954 as a junior reporter on the Western Daily Press. In 1967 Stoppard joined the ranks of the new playwrights with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. This play was followed by other award winning works, including Jumpers, Travesties, Night and Day, The Real Thing, Hapgood, Arcadia, Indian Ink, The Invention of Love, The Coast of Utopia (a trilogy) and, most recently, Rock'n'Roll. His many stage adaptations and translations include Undiscovered Country (Schnitzler), On the Razzle (Nestroy), Rough Crossing (Molnar), The Seagull (Chekhov), Henry IV (Pirandello), Heroes (Sibleyras), Ivanov (Chekhov) and currently Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard. Tom Stoppard has also written for radio, television and film. His screen credits, as writer and co-writer, include Brazil, Empire of the Sun, Enigma, and Shakespeare in Love, winner of an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He also directed his own screenplay of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1990), which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Stoppard received a knighthood in 1997 and in 2000 was awarded the Order of Merit by Her Majesty the Queen.

Carl Forsman (Director) is the Artistic Director of Keen Company and Vermont's Dorset Theatre Festival. His directions for Keen include the world premieres of The Conscientious Objector, Pyretown, Can't Let Go, The Journals of Mihail Sebastian and Beasley's Christmas Party, the American premiere of Conor McPherson's The Good Thief, the NY premiere of Theophilus North based on Thornton Wilder's novel, and revivals of In The Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer, The Breadwinner, The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden, Voice of the Turtle, Good Morning Bill and Museum. Other directing credits include SIN (A Cardinal Deposed) (OBIE Award, Production) and Everythings Turning Into Beautiful, both for The New Group; Tina Howe's translations of Ionesco's The Bald Soprano & The Lesson for the Atlantic Theater Company; and A Few Good Men (Asolo). At the Dorset Theatre Festival he oversees The Kaufman Collection, DTF's commitment to produce all the stage comedies of George S. Kaufman, begun in 2007 with his production of Dulcy.

The scenic design for Heroes is by Beowulf Boritt; costume design is by Theresa Squire; lighting design is by Josh Bradford; and sound design is by Will Pickens.

Heroes will play the Merrick Repertory Theatre from November 19 through December 13.  The performance schedule is Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30pm; Wednesday at 2:00pm and 7:30pm; Friday at 8:00pm; Saturday at 4:00pm and 8:00pm; and Sunday at 2:00pm and 7:00pm.  For additional performance schedule and tickets, visit www.merrimackrep.org.

Founded in 1979 by a group of committed civic leaders, Merrimack Repertory Theatre's mission is "to advance the cause of human understanding by creating theatrical productions at the highest level of artistic excellence and making them affordable to the broadest possible community." Merrimack Rep's unique artistic vision is shaped by a passion for excellence and a profound commitment to its community. It strives to enhance the community's life while contributing to its economic strength, measuring success by the depth of the company's artistic and social contribution to the region.