Alfred Uhry's Apples & Oranges Makes Word Premiere at Alliance Theatre
Oct 4, 2012

Atlanta's nationally acclaimed ALLIANCE THEATRE will begin its Hertz Stage series with the world premiere of APPLES & ORANGES, a play by Tony Award, Academy Award, and Pulitzer Prize winning author Alfred Uhry. APPLES & ORANGES is based on the memoir of the same name by Vanity Fair writer-at-large Marie Brenner and was originally commissioned by the Manhattan Theatre Club. Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director of Manhattan Theatre Club, will direct the world premiere.

Marie and her brother Carl are vastly different and have been somewhat estranged for most of their adult lives. Carl, an apple farmer in Washington state, and Marie, a New Yorker and world class journalist, have never shared the same views on politics, religion or acceptable social behavior. However, when Carl unexpectedly comes to her for help, Marie puts her life on hold to support her brother. APPLES & ORANGES is a funny and moving story on the extremes of family love.

In a recent interview, Uhry talked about what initially drew him to the memoir. Aside from being extremely well written, Brenner's memoir captured the special and sometimes complicated bonds of a brother and sister. As a brother to only one sister himself, Uhry had not seen that relationship captured in a play, and was eager to write it.

"What appealed to me about APPLES & ORANGES is the relationship between an adult brother and an adult sister, who share a history that no one else shares, as well as a closeness and a kind of awkwardness," said Uhry about his adaptation. "The whole idea just fascinated me."

APPLES & ORANGES is a two-person play and will star Patricia Richardson and David Rasche. Richardson is best known for her role as Jill Taylor on the popular television comedy "Home Improvement," and has appeared on Broadway in Gypsy, Loose Ends, and The Wake of Jamey Foster. Rasche is also best known for his film and television career, including roles in Men in Black 3 and Ugly Betty, and has appeared on Broadway in To Be Or Not To Be, Getting and Spending, and Speed-the-Plow. APPLES & ORANGES will be directed by Lynne Meadow whose recent Broadway directing credits include the Tony nominated Broadway productions of Margaret Edson's Wit; Donald Margulies' Collected Stories and Charles Busch's The Tale of the Allergist's Wife. This spring Lynne will be directing the Broadway world premiere of Richard Greenberg's The Assembled Parties.

Previous plays by Alfred Uhry include Parade, winner of the 1999 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical; The Last Night of Ballyhoo, which had its world premiere at the ALLIANCE THEATRE and went on to win the Tony Award for Best Play in 1997; and his beloved classic Driving Miss Daisy, winner of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.