  
ABOUT THE PLAY
An African-American teenager is fatally shot on his front porch in a crime-ridden neighborhood of New York City. Hysterical and wrought with grief, the boy's mother accuses the police of murdering her son. A woman of Persian ancestry, whose job it is to investigate police misconduct, begins to find contradictions in the stories presented by both the mother and various eye-witnesses, including an African-American policeman on the scene. The "men in blue" close ranks around their beleaguered colleague. Accusations of racism and sexism poison the investigation and the audience is led down a Rashomon-like journey in which the truth appears to be less and less accessible, while the world hurries to form opinions based on uninformed assumptions.
AUDIENCE RESPONSE
InterAct encourages its audiences share their opinions and reactions to performances they recently attended. Here is an excerpt of one patron's response to THE RANT:
"... this was one of my outstanding theatrical experiences in philadelphia. ... full of dramatic tension, just the right touch of irony and humor, the opening monologue i am sure is one that any actor would die for ... the acting was perfection. ... they were engaged with one another as characters and actors and drew the audience completely into their anger, their passions, their cynicism, their lies and their truths. the staging, the excellent sets, the lighting, the costumes, and, of course, the direction were outstanding in every respect. i felt honored to have witnessed such a production being pioneered here in philadelphia. ...
well done and keep it up...
sincerely,
jim w."
Click to Read Jim W.'s Entire Review of THE RANT
Care to Share Your Opinion After Seeing THE RANT? Click Here to Find Out How!
PRODUCTION PHOTOS
David Ingram (as Alexander Stern) and Kimberly S. Fairbanks (as Denise Reeves)
David Ingram (as Alexander Stern) and Kimberly S. Fairbanks (as Denise Reeves)
Kimberly S. Fairbanks (as Denise Reeves) and Elena Araoz (as Lila Mahnaz)
Aldo Billingslea (as Charles Simmons) and Elena Araoz (as Lila Mahnaz)
Aldo Billingslea (as Charles Simmons) and Elena Araoz (as Lila Mahnaz)
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
’s plays have been produced across the country, at theatres including Steppenwolf, the 78th Street Theatre Lab, the Salon for the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, Theatre AUM, and the Fifth Night Series at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. His work has been developed at the Manhattan Theatre Club, the Atlantic Theatre, Primary Stages, and the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center. He is a member of the PEN America Center, the New American Writers Group at Primary Stages and a former Manhattan Theatre Club playwriting fellow, and was awarded the Samuel Goldwyn Award for screenwriting while he was an MFA student at UC San Diego. In addition, he served first as an investigator and later as the Director of Communications of the Civilian Complaint Review Board, which investigates allegations of misconduct lodged against NYPD officers. He has investigated death in custody cases and served as the chief spokesman of the board.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
co-founded InterAct Theatre Company in 1988, and has since served as Producing Artistic Director. He has directed over 40 productions for InterAct, including Israel Horovitz's LEBENSRAUM (1999 Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Direction of a Play, Outstanding Overall Production of a Play, and Outstanding Ensemble), IT'S ALL TRUE (2001 Barrymore nominations for Outstanding Director and Outstanding Overall Production), and PERMANENT COLLECTION (2004 Barrymore nomination for Outstanding Overall Production). He has twice been named "Best Director" by the Philadelphia Inquirer for the world premiere of Thomas Gibbons' 6221 in 1993 and for LEBENSRAUM. Other notable productions with InterAct include the world premieres of Thomas Gibbons' BEE-LUTHER-HATCHEE, BLACK RUSSIAN and A HOUSE WITH NO WALLS and the Philadelphia premieres of SKIN IN FLAMES, BLUE/ORANGE, NIXON'S NIXON, AUNT DAN AND LEMON, LONELY PLANET, SEASCAPE, and GOD'S COUNTRY. Seth has also directed for the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles, Blue Heron Theatre and the 45th Street Theatre in New York, as well as regionally with Act II Playhouse, Venture Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia Young Playwrights Festival, and the University of Pennsylvania. As a playwright, Seth is the recipient of two fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, as well as The Smith Prize for his play BLACK GOLD. MEN OF STONE and MISSING LINK garnered Barrymore Award nominations for Outstanding New Play in 2001 and 2002, respectively. Seth has served on funding and/or award panels for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Philadelphia Theatre Initiative, Philadelphia Cultural Fund, Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Theatre Communications Group, and the F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Philadelphia Theatre Artist. He has served on the Boards of the Women's Theatre Festival, Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, New Paradise Laboratories, Fresh Visions Youth Theatre, and the National New Play Network (for which he served as Chair from 2002-2006).
ABOUT THE CAST & CREW
makes her InterAct debut in THE RANT. Regionally, Kimberly has performed with the Theatre of the Seventh Sister, The Brooklyn Playwrights Reading Series, NJ Repertory Company, Walnut Street Theatre, Azuka Theatre Collective, First World Theatre Ensemble, City Theatre, and Theatre Exile. In addition to her theatre credits, Kimberly can be seen and heard in numerous voice overs, commercials, and independent films. Most notable on camera credits include the role of Gail in It’s a Miracle (PAX TV) and the role of Dr. Houseman in The Fall Before Paradise (Eden Productions) which received awards in the Directors View Film Festival and the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival.
returns to InterAct after having last appeared as Marc Blitzstein in IT’S ALL TRUE. David is a member at People’s Light and Theater, where he was last seen in I HAVE BEFORE ME A REMARKABLE DOCUMENT GIVEN TO ME BY A YOUNG LADY FROM RWANDA. Previous PLTCo credits include TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE, A FLEA IN HER EAR, and many others. He has also appeared at the Arden Theater, Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival and the Wilma Theater, and was most recently seen in THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR at the Lantern. He is on the theater faculty at Temple University.
The design team for THE RANT includes Set & Lighting Design by Marka Suber, Costume Design by Mary McCool, Sound Design by Kevin Francis. The production will be Stage Managed by Joshua Lieberman, with Kia-Solange Feindt serving as Assistant Director, Jessica Hurley as Assistant Stage Manager and Britt Plunkett as Technical Director.
EXPLORING THE ISSUES
During THE RANT, InterAct will host several post-performance talk-backs to encourage further discussion on the issues it raises. Speaker Sundays, a series featuring invited scholars, community leaders and artists, are scheduled to follow matinee performances on:
Featuring
Click to Learn More about Dr. Salman Akhtar
Featuring
Kelvyn Anderson is a former investigative reporter for newspapers & magazines, Kelvyn Anderson worked as a private investigator for attorneys & insurance companies before joining Philadelphia's Police Advisory Commission as a Special Investigator in 2000. He became Deputy Director of the Commission in 2004, and is a former member of the Board of Directors of NACOLE, the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement.
Featuring
A candidate for District Attorney for the City of Philadelphia, Seth Williams is a Philadelphia native that graduated from Central High School in 1985 and Georgetown University in 1992, and now serves as counsel at the Center City law firm of Stradley, Ronon, Stevens & Young. Previously, Mr. Williams spent 10 years as an Assistant District Attorney for the City of Philadelphia, during which time he was appointed as the Assistant Chief of the Municipal Court and also created and led the Repeat Offenders Unit. Until 2008, Mr. Williams served as Inspector General of the City of Philadelphia, where he was responsible for the investigation of all allegations of corruption, fraud, waste, abuse and employee misconduct among municipal workers and companies doing business with the city, for which he was praised by Mayor Michael Nutter for his groundbreaking work as the city’s municipal corruption watchdog. Currently a resident of West Philadelphia, Mr. Williams is an adjunct professor at Neumann College, an adjunct professor and Advisory Board member at Penn State Abington, and a Major in the Judge Advocate General Corps of the United States Army Reserve.
Featuring
Leon A. King II, Esq., is the former Commissioner of Philadelphia Prison System, a former Deputy City Solicitor for Civil Rights for the City of Philadelphia, and the former Director of Legislation for Councilman Frank Rizzo. Mr. King is currently employed as an adjunct Professor in the Department of Culture and Communication at Drexel University, and is a candidate for election as a judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Mr. King is known for the innovative changes he instituted at the Philadelphia Prison, and as an advocate of "Smart Justice." Mr. King is an expert on the Philadelphia Criminal Justice System.
Featuring
Click to Learn More about Andrew Case
Following the 2nd and 3rd Tuesday and Wednesday performances of every play, we invite patrons to grab a brownie and a cup of joe, then join us for Coffee Conversations, informal discussions with company artists. During THE RANT, Coffee Conversations are scheduled for Tuesday, February 3; Wednesday, February 4; Tuesday, February 10 and Wednesday, February 11.
THE RANT PERFORMANCE CALENDAR
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SUBSCRIPTIONS & TICKETS
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ SPECIAL DISCOUNT SUBSCRIPTION OFFER! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
SEE 2 THOUGHT-PROVOKING NEW PLAYS
FOR ONLY $25.00*
(Preview Performances Only)
Or Attend Anytime For $45.00*
For only $25.00* per person, attend your choice
of any preview performance
for each of the remaining 2 productions
in InterAct's 2008/2009 Season.
For $45.00*, you may select any performance of your choice.
*No other discounts apply. Price does not include service fee. After initial performance date selection, exchanges into higher priced performances will incur a per ticket upgrade fee. This offer is not applicable to previous purchases, is subject to availability and may be withdrawn at any time.
Individual Tickets:
Preview Performances - $15.00
Weekday (Tuesdays-Thursdays) Performances - $24.00
Weekend (Fridays-Sundays) Performances - $28.00
Students with proper I.D. may purchase Student Rush Tickets for $10.00
five minutes before curtain (based on availability).
Special Senior and Student (with a valid I.D.), as well as Group Rates are also available.
Purchasing Tickets or Subscriptions:
215.568.8079
InterAct's Box Office at The Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St., Phila
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Andrew Case (Playwright)
