Press Release
MEDIA CONTACT:
Megan Mabry,
Publicity and Marketing Assistant
Triad Stage
232 South Elm Street
Greensboro, NC 27401
336.274.0067 ext. 201
megan@triadstage.org
A MUSICAL WARTIME MISADVENTURE COMES TO THE UPSTAGE CABARET, MARCH 3 – 19, 2011
John Gray and Eric Peterson’s Billy Bishop Goes to War brings the stories and songs of war to downtown Greensboro.
(Greensboro, NC) —The adventures and misadventures of wartime come to The UpStage Cabaret in Billy Bishop Goes to War. An unlikely hero and the worst student in the Royal Military College, Billy Bishop went on to become the most decorated officer of the Royal Canadian Flying Corps in World War I. John Gray and Eric Peterson’s hilarious and poignant play tells the story of high-flying escapes, and love and loss on the front lines of battle in this two-man show featuring a piano player who accompanies Billy as he regales the audience with tales of war and includes all the characters he met along the way. Billy Bishop Goes to War runs March 3 – 19, 2011. Opening Night is Thursday, March 3.
Billy Bishop Goes to War was written and composed by John Gray in collaboration with Eric Peterson in 1978. The show appeared on Broadway in 1980, in London’s West End and in over 150 independent productions in Canada and the U.S. Billy Bishop came to television in a BBC-Canadian Broadcasting Corporation co-production and in a German version, Billy Bishop Steig Auf. Billy Bishop Goes to War was the winner of the Governor Generals Literary Award for Drama in 1983, the Chalmers Canadian Play Award in 1982, and the Los Angeles Drama Critics’ Circle Award in 1981.
ABOUT THE CREATORS
John Gray is a Canadian writer-composer-performer for stage, TV, film, radio and print. He is best known for his stage musicals and for his two seasons as a satirist on CBC TV’s The Journal as well as an author, speaker and social critic on cultural-political issues. Born in Ottawa and raised in Nova Scotia, Gray obtained a B.A. at Mount Allison University and an M.A. at the University of British Columbia, where he founded Tamahnous Theatre and served as Director from 1971-74. He then joined Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto, where he began writing and composing for the stage.
Eric Peterson was born in Indian Head, Saskatchewan in 1946, and is well known to Canadian audiences for his film and television appearances, most notably the hit CBC series Street Legal and CTV’s Corner Gas. After attending University of Saskatchewan and University of British Columbia, Peterson was a founding member of Tamahnous Theatre in 1971 and later joined Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto. He will always be associated with his performance in the premiere and the international tour, including a Broadway run, of Billy Bishop Goes to War.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Triad Stage’s production is directed by UNC Greensboro MFA directing student Bryan Conger. Last seen as assistant director of A Christmas Carol on The MainStage and director of Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You in The UpStage Cabaret, Conger is “thrilled to be sharing this story with Triad Stage audiences.” He finds “the story of this man’s extraordinary journey through the Great War to be an inspiring tale of heroism and a tribute to those who fight on the front lines.” Scenic and lighting designer Nicholas Hussong gives Billy “the ability to explore the space and bring the audience close to the action. It feels as if you are flying in the fantastic aerial fights with him.”
Josh Foldy makes his UpStage Cabaret debut as Billy Bishop. Foldy, a professor at UNCG has been seen on The MainStage in A Christmas Carol and Doubt. Making his Triad Stage debut, Jason Kraack accompanies Billy as the piano player. Local audiences may recognize Kraack from his performance in King Mackerel and the Blues Are Running at Winston Salem Theatre Alliance.
The creative team includes scenic and lighting designer Nicholas Hussong, costume designer Andrew Cutler and sound designer Cari Kreidinger. The stage manager is Emily J. Mails.
Biographies for the cast and creative team are online at www.triadstage.org.
Tickets are $18 to all performances. Seating is general admission. The doors open thirty minutes prior to each performance for bar service inside The UpStage Cabaret space. Tickets are on sale now at the Triad Stage Box Office and online through Triad Stage’s website. MainStage Season Passholders receive $3 off tickets when purchased through the Box Office.
All performances are at Triad Stage’s UpStage Cabaret on the top floor of The Pyrle Theater, located at 232 South Elm Street in historic downtown Greensboro, North Carolina (between Market and Washington Streets).
Show times for Billy Bishop Goes to War are Tuesday – Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.About Triad Stage
Triad Stage is a professional not-for-profit regional theater company based in Greensboro’s downtown historic district. All Triad Stage productions are created in Greensboro using the best of local and national talent. Triad Stage gratefully acknowledges the support of its Season Sponsors: Mitre Agency, the North Carolina Arts Council and the United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro. The UpStage Cabaret media partner is YES! Weekly.
All Triad Stage productions feature the bold acting and breathtaking design that have been nationally recognized by The Wall Street Journal, and by the American Theatre Wing, founder of the Tony Awards®, which recently named Triad Stage one of the top ten most promising emerging theatres in the country as a recipient of the 2010 National Theatre Company Grant. Triad Stage has also earned accolades including “One of the Best Regional Theatres in America”, New York’s Drama League; “Best Live Theater”, GoTriad/News & Record and The Rhinoceros Times; and “Professional Theater of the Year”, North Carolina Theatre Conference.
About The UpStage Cabaret
In late 2007, Triad Stage began the conversion of The Pyrle Theater’s top floor storage area into a new rehearsal hall, WUNC Public Radio’s Greensboro satellite bureau and a second performance space known as The UpStage Cabaret. Created with flexibility and intimacy in mind, The UpStage Cabaret has seating with tables for 80 people, bar service and a relaxed, easy-going atmosphere that blends downtown flair with uptown chic. Not only home to theatrical productions by Triad Stage, The UpStage Cabaret plays host to Entertainment UpStage – a series of events that includes film screenings, live concerts, poetry readings and more.
# # #
