TONY-NOMINATED DIRECTOR DEBUTS DRAMA AT HOLLYWOOD FRINGE

WHO ARE YOU ANYWAY?

Broadway veteran Tony Tanner explores the harsh realities of Alzheimer’s disease in the World Premiere of “Who Are You Anyway?” at Studio/Stage.

LOS ANGELES – Stage veteran Tony Tanner saw a friend of his suffer as she lost her husband slowly and painfully to the tragic disease of Alzheimer’s and from that experience comes the powerful but darkly funny Who Are You Anyway?, making its World Premiere at Studio/Stage as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

Set in a sanatorium, the play centers around a man suffering from a form of Alzheimer’s disease. Though he is often vital and combative, he does not remember his past life, or the people in it, though they visit him daily. He is also subject to “cabbage patch” episodes when no communication is possible. In the course of the play, his wife and daughter resign themselves to an inevitable withdrawal from him and a move towards creating new lives for themselves with other men. Then, seismic events occur that demand new decisions from everyone concerned.

“It’s a straightforward drama but it has plenty of dark humor to lighten its message,” Tanner said. “I’m hoping that it will stand out at because, weirdly enough, there are few if any such offerings like this at Fringe this year.”

Not only did he write Who Are You Anyway?, Tanner is also directing and starring in some of the performances, sharing the role with veteran actor Jan Johnson, whom Tanner recently worked with in a production of King Lear at USC. Other actors in the cast: Elyse Ashton, Suzanne Hunt, Kent Minault, and Andrew Thacher.

Who Are You Anyway is the latest offering from Tanner, who has a long and storied stage career. Tanner built his reputation in England, working with notables such as Harold Pinter, Benny Hill, Sir John Mills, Dame Judi Dench and more. His English career culminated in the role of Littlechap in London’s West End production of Stop the World – I Want to Get Off, which he also played the role for in the film version. He then went on to Broadway, starring in Half a Sixpence, No Sex Please We’re British and Sherlock Holmes. As a director and choreographer, he was nominated twice for Tony Awards for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and the revival of A Taste of Honey. He has also directed and performed Off Broadway and in L.A.

Next up for Tanner is a production of Lady with the Little Dog, a musical adaptation of a short Chekhov story he wrote that will be presented by the City of West Hollywood for a short run in the fall.

DATES AND TIMES:
*Saturday, June 4 – 2:0 p.m. (preview show)
Tuesday, June 7 – 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 11 – 2 p.m.
*Sunday, June 12 – 5 p.m.
Saturday, June 18 – 2 p.m.
*Sunday, June 19 – 5 p.m.
Saturday, June 25 – 2 p.m.
*Features Jan Johnson in the lead role instead of Tony Tanner.

LOCATION:
Studio/Stage
520 Western Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90004
*Plenty of street parking

TICKET PRICES:
General Admission: $12
*For preview performance, two tickets for the price of one
Paypal and cash at the door

GENERAL INFORMATION:
Call (323) 461-5570 to reserve tickets
Or visit: http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/3629