Independence

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

LA Weekly says “GO!” — One of “Seven Shows to See” at the 2014 Hollywood Fringe Festival:

“This is a striking revival of Lee Blessing’s 1984 drama… These characters are complex, beckoning, and masterfully sketched by Blessing, and the performances are outstanding under Vernée Watson’s exacting direction.”

Los Angeles, CA. July 3, 2014 — After a successful seven show run at the 2014 Hollywood Fringe Festival, Vernée Watson’s acclaimed production of INDEPENDENCE has received the Festival’s Encore! Producers’ Award and will extend for a single additional performance on Sunday, July 13 at 7:00 PM at the Lounge Theatre in Hollywood.

Performer and co-producer Kat Muldoon calls the award “an honor and a wonderful opportunity. Thus far, the response to our show has been incredible; we never expected such an outpouring...

“Seven Shows to See at 2014 Hollywood Fringe Festival”

This year, L.A. Weekly has partnered with theater website Stage Raw to review shows at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, running through June 29. Here are some of our favorites. For tickets, go to hollywoodfringe.org.

Independence: This is a striking revival of Lee Blessing’s 1984 drama about a family caught in the swirls of crisis and change in a small Iowa town. At the heart of the play is Evelyn Briggs (Shelley Phillips), the mother of three daughters, who is emotionally unstable, manipulative and grasping.

The fuse is lit when the eldest, Kess (Kat Muldoon), a lesbian and college professor, returns home after four years to find her youngest sister, Jo (Jenny Simpson), pregnant and wearing a neck brace due to an attack by her mother. Middle sister Sherry (Lauren Benge), a wild child and loose-panty who is into “meaningless relationships,” and is an aspiring sculptor, is never sho...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

“A coming-of-age story… Fully realized characters who surprise, provoke, and trouble the mind long after the show is over.” – The Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles, CA. May 10, 2014—Veteran professional actor and acclaimed acting coach Vernée Watson makes her directorial debut at the 2014 Hollywood Fringe Festival with INDEPENDENCE, a wise, funny, and affecting family drama from Tony- and Pulitzer-nominated playwright Lee Blessing. The production features the talents of actors Lauren Benge, Kat Muldoon, Shelley Phillips, and Jenny Simpson and opens June 6 at The Lounge Theatre.

INDEPENDENCE premiered in 1984 to critical and popular acclaim at the Actors Theatre of Louisville. The dysfunctional Briggs family of small town Independence, Iowa is reunited when estranged eldest daughter Kess returns home at the bequest of...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

“A coming-of-age story… Fully realized characters who surprise, provoke, and trouble the mind long after the show is over.” – The Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles, CA. May 10, 2014 — Veteran professional actor and acclaimed acting coach Vernée Watson makes her directorial debut at the 2014 Hollywood Fringe Festival with INDEPENDENCE, a wise, funny, and affecting family drama from Tony- and Pulitzer-nominated playwright Lee Blessing. The production features the talents of actors Lauren Benge, Kat Muldoon, Shelley Phillips, and Jenny Simpson and opens June 6 at The Lounge Theatre.

INDEPENDENCE premiered in 1984 to critical and popular acclaim at the Actors Theatre of Louisville. The dysfunctional Briggs family of small town Independence, Iowa is reunited when estranged eldest daughter Kess returns home at the bequest...