IN THE FUNNY AND HEARTFELT SOLO SHOW RESERVE CHAMPION, A PONY TRAINS A BOY TO BE A MAN

Reserve Champion

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

In the Funny and Heartfelt Solo Show RESERVE CHAMPION, a Pony Trains a Boy to Be a Man

Los Angeles, CA, May 6, 2015

RESERVE CHAMPION, a one-man show written and performed by playwright and stand-up comedian Christopher Piehler, will have its world premiere at the 2015 Hollywood Fringe Festival in June. The play tells the autobiographical story of 9-year-old Chris, a city kid who becomes terrified of his own mortality after the death of his beloved grandfather. Then he meets a skittish pony named Atom Ant. As outsiders competing in horse shows dominated by rich little girls on their pedigreed ponies, they find that the world is not so scary when you put yourself second.

Writer/performer Christopher Piehler grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, where he won hundreds of ribbons in pony hunter competitions and competed in the national Pony Finals. “The world of pony hunters may not be familiar to everyone,” he said, “but the show is really a universal story about a kid bonding with an animal. It’s like Lassie, if Lassie weighed 650 pounds and ate hay.”

RESERVE CHAMPION is directed by Thomas James O’Leary, who most recently directed the critically acclaimed world premiere production of FLIM FLAM: HOUDINI AND THE HEREAFTER by Gene Franklin Smith at Malibu Playhouse. As an actor, Thomas is best known for his three-year run as the Phantom in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA on Broadway.

Performances of RESERVE CHAMPION will be at the Elephant Studio at Theatre Asylum (1078 Lillian Way, Los Angeles, CA 90038).

The show is suitable for kids 12 and up.

Show times are the following:
June 6, 2015 @ 4:00 PM (preview)
June 13, 2015 @ 7:00 PM
June 14, 2015 @ 11:30 AM
June 18, 2015 @ 7:00 PM
June 20, 2015 @ 5:30 PM

The show’s running time is 1 hour. Tickets are available for $15 online or at the door. For more information, please visit hff15.org/2201.

RESERVE CHAMPION is the first production of Dessert Theater Inc., a company dedicated to pairing new plays with homemade cookies, cakes, and candies, so every audience member will get a free treat prepared by Piehler himself.

Press Contact:
Christopher Piehler: 323-708-6333; [email protected]