Rubicon Theatre Company Presents the World Premiere of "The Baby Dance: Mixed"

VENTURA, Calif. - May 10, 2018 - PRLog -- Rubicon Theatre Company presents the World Premiere of THE BABY DANCE: MIXED, a new adaptation by two-time Emmy Award-winner JANE ANDERSON ("Olive Kitteridge") of her acclaimed 1989 play The Baby Dance. Directed by Rubicon Artistic Associate JENNY SULLIVAN, THE BABY DANCE: MIXED is a drama delicately laced with comic overtones -- a compelling and urgent play about race, class, and wanting the perfect child. In the story, Regina and Richard, an affluent mixed-race couple in Los Angeles, have everything except a baby. Wanda and Al, an African-American couple living in an overcrowded trailer in modern-day Louisiana, are too poor to keep their soon-to-be-born child. Through an adoption attorney, the two couples broker a deal. However, circumstances arise that affect their decision and the situation spins out of control. The Wall Street Journal describes the original The Baby Dance as "filled with emotional power and nimble humor." The L.A. Times calls it "a stunner…funny as well as perceptive."

Anderson has had a remarkable career as a playwright and screenwriter. Her newest play Mother of the Maid is in pre-production for a fall premiere at the New York Public Theatre starring Glenn Close. Her feature film "The Wife," which stars Close, Jonathan Pryce and Christian Slater, is slated for an August release by Sony Pictures Classics.

In addition to The Baby Dance, Anderson's plays Looking for Normal, The Quality of Life, and many others have received production Off-Broadway at the Geffen Playhouse, Arena Stage, Actors Theater of Louisville, and across the nation and world. Anderson's Defying Gravity originated at Williamstown and played Off-Broadway. A melded version of the two scripts was produced regionally by Rubicon under Sullivan's direction to rave reviews during the Centennial of Flight with a cast including Stephanie Zimbalist, Harold Gould, and John Bennett Perry.

Anderson wrote the screenplay for the miniseries "Olive Kitteridge," which starred Frances McDormand, for which she won an Emmy Award. She wrote and directed the feature film "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio." In 2015, Anderson wrote a documentary "Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson" about her great aunt who was a lesbian and painter who was institutionalized in the 1920s.

Anderson has also written and directed critically acclaimed television movies, among them "Normal" starring Jessica Lange and Tom Wilkinson "The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom" (Emmy Award) and "When Billie Beat Bobby," both starring Holly Hunter; and "If These Walls Could Talk 2" (segment "1961"), for which Vanessa Redgrave won an Emmy for her portrayal of a woman who was prevented from visiting her long-time companion in the hospital. She directed the television film "The Baby Dance" with Stockard Channing and Laura Dern, which was nominated for a Golden Globe and several Emmy Awards, including Best Screenplay.

Sullivan's numerous directing credits include the premiere of The Baby Dance at The Pasadena Playhouse, Williamstown Theatre Festival, the Long Wharf (CT Director's Award), and Off-Broadway; six seasons at Williamstown; and twenty seasons at Rubicon Theatre Company. Her production of Wiesenthal by Tom Dugan ran at the Acorn Theatre Off-Broadway before runs at The Wallis Theatre in Beverly Hills and the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. Other regional credits include work with Laguna Playhouse, Walnut Creek, San Jose Rep, Geffen Playhouse, the Canon and the Coronet. Film credits include "Access All Areas" and "The Next Best Thing" (in which she directed her father Barry). Sullivan is most proud of the World Premiere of her play J for J with Jeff Kober and the late, great John Ritter.

THE BABY DANCE: MIXED is generously sponsored by DIANE AND PETER GOLDENRING and BARBARA MEISTER; co-sponsored by SHELLY AND RICHARD BAYER.

The World Premiere of THE BABY DANCE: MIXED by Jane Anderson opens on Saturday, May 5 (Cinco de Mayo) at 7:00 p.m., with a red carpet and champagne event prior to the show downstairs at the theatre and a post-show party with the playwright, directors, designers and cast hosted by an area restaurant. Low-priced previews begin on Wednesday, May 2 at 7:00 p.m. Previews continue Thursday, May 3 at 7:00 p.m. and Friday, May 4 at 8:00 p.m. Regular performances are Wednesdays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. (a new time this year), Fridays at 8:00 p.m. Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Talkbacks take place after the show on all Wednesdays (except the previews).

Ticket prices for THE BABY DANCE: MIXED range from $30 to $55, with special discounts for military, students and groups. THE BABY DANCE: MIXED is a part of Rubicon Theatre Company's 20^th Anniversary Season, and may be purchased as a part of a 3- or 4-show mini-series package at a 15% savings. Remaining shows in the season include the World Premiere concert I Dig Rock-and-Roll Music, the encore run of Return to the Forbidden Planet, and a large-cast, two-piano version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific.

For tickets or more information, call the Rubicon Theatre Company Box Office at (805) 667-2900. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the theatre at 1006 E. Main Street (corner of Main and Laurel) in Ventura's Downtown Cultural District. To order online, visit www.rubicontheatre.org.