Centenary's Marjorie Lyons Playhouse to Present Irish Comedy/Drama "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" Beginning Sept. 25

SHREVEPORT, LA —Marjorie Lyons Playhouse will open its season with Martin McDonagh’s award-winning play The Beauty Queen of Leenane. The production will open Sept. 25 and will be presented Sept. 26 and 27 as well as Oct. 2, 3, and 4, all at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 5 at 2 p.m..

The box office will open on Sept. 18, with hours from noon to 4 p.m. daily. Reservations can be made by calling 318-869-5242 during those hours. Tickets are $15 for adults, $13 for senior citizens and $10 for students. There will be a 7 p.m. preview performance Wednesday, Sept. 24, with tickets priced at $7.

Set in the mountains of Connemara, County Galway, The Beauty Queen of Leenane tells the darkly comic story of Maureen Folan, a plain and lonely woman, and Mag, her manipulative and self-centered mother. Maureen has encountered her first, and possibly final, chance at a loving relationship. However, her mother’s interference sets off a train of events which lead to tragic consequences and the eventual freedom of Maureen from her life of oppression.

Candace Higgenbotham plays Mag. She received a Times Drama Awards Best Supporting Actress Award for her performance in A Lovely Sunday for Creve Couer and received TDA nominations for her performances in Oliver!, On Golden Pond, Fiddler on the Roof, Dancing at Lughnasa and Steel Magnolias. She has recently appeared in productions of Pride's Crossing and Electra at Marjorie Lyons Playhouse.

Anysia Manthos, a junior theatre major at Centenary, plays Maureen. She has appeared at MLP in productions of The Bat, Winnie the Pooh, Keely & Du, Electra and Wit.. She has received two Rivertown Players Award nominations.

Phillip Jordan Brooks plays Pato Dooley, the possible suitor for Maureen. Jordan received a Memory Award nomination for his performance in The Shape of Things. He is a film studies major at Centenary and has appeared in productions of 1776, Noises Off, The Bat, The Wayside Motor Inn and Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon.

Joshua Porter plays Ray Dooley, Pato’s younger brother. Porter is a senior theatre major and will finish his studies at Centenary in December. He has been nominated for a Memory Award for his performance in The Shape of Things and has won three Rivertown Players Awards and a TDA nomination for his performance in Grand Hotel. He has also perfomed at MLP in 1776, Noises Off, The Bat, The Wayside Motor Inn, Electra, Cabaret and As Bees in Honey Bees in Honey Drown..

The Beauty Queen of Leenane is being directed by Robert Buseick. Set and light design is by Don Hooper and costume design by Patric McWilliams. Stage manager is Ashley Beckham, sound design is by Adam Boyd and properties by Laura Beth Sentell and Sarah Perkins.

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“…The Beauty Queen of Leenane…is clearly the product of a major writer. Indeed, on the basis of this play alone, I am willing to make the rash claim that McDonagh is destined to be one of the theatrical luminaries of the 21st century.” The New Republic

The Beauty Queen of Leenane
Winner of the Drama Desk, Drama League, and Outer Critic Circle Awards, and co-winner of the 1998 Lucille Lortel Award. The New York production was winner of four Tony Awards.

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