WORLD PREMIER OF “LOST IN PARADISE” TO BE PRESENTED BY AXIAL THEATRE MAY 5TH THROUGH 21ST, 2006. OPENING WEEKEND GALA DINNER SATURDAY, MAY 6TH

Bedford Hills and Pleasantville, New York– Howard Meyer, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Westchester County’s acclaimed, professional Axial Theatre (www.axialtheatre.org) based in Pleasantville, has announced that the world premiere of his original play, “Lost in Paradise”, will be performed May 5 through the 21st. The historic Bedford Hills Community House Theatre will be the venue for performances of the play written and directed by Meyer to be presented Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 PM and Sunday afternoons at 4 PM. “This is the first time,” states Meyer, “that the spacious community center will house a professional theatre production. We are very excited about this opportunity to perform in such a beautiful and welcoming location.” The not-for-profit Axial Theatre has been creating provocative original, professional-level plays for the past seven years and received its first grant from the New York State Council on The Arts to help fund this production.

Meyer’s new “Lost in Paradise” original play is a comedic, edgy drama about two old friends -
Phillip Ratner, played by Jacob White of New York City, and Jeremy Weiss, played by Cobey Mandarino of Astoria, Queens who, through their relationships with two new women - Diane Lombardo played by Lisa Hertz of Pleasantville, and Dahlia Struthers played by Rachel Jones of South Salem - are forced to re-examine the foundation of their friendship. After Jeremy’s year of voluntary celibacy and a reformed relationship to sex, Phil’s obsession with pornography creates increasing tensions in the relationship. These tensions lead to growing disillusionments and eventually a betrayal that threatens the friendship.

“What is a particular thrill for me,” states Meyer, “is that the lead actor, Jacob White, was my very first student when I started teaching acting 17 years ago. He was just 12 years old, and today he is 29 and starring in one of my plays. It is very exciting to work at this level with one of my accomplished, professional acting students.”

The Saturday, May 6th Opening Weekend Gala performance of “Lost In Paradise” will feature a pre-show dinner at the theatre hosted by Axial’s Managing Director, Neil Mautone, former owner of the upscale restaurant, Dylan’s Roadhouse in Granite Springs, NY. Mautone is the highly respected restaurateur who transformed the award-winning Maxim’s Restaurant in Granite Springs into the fine dining and romantic atmosphere of Dylan’s Roadhouse, a suburban branch of the famed Dylan Prime restaurant in Manhattan. The May 6th Gala at 6:30 PM will feature the revered gourmet cooking talents of Mautone, and will be hosted at the Bedford Hills Community House followed by the world premiere performance of Meyer’s “Lost in Paradise”.

Axial Theatre’s innovative mission is to create relevant, original plays. While individual members of the Axial company principally author most of the plays, all of the plays are the result of long, collaborative processes that involve the entire company and their audiences. Productions during the past seven years have featured directors and company members from throughout northern Westchester and Fairfield Counties. During those years, theatre enthusiasts have periodically been invited in to observe various stages of the development process of creating Axial’s original plays. As pre-opening audience members, these individuals are invited in as a means for the playwrights and cast members to obtain productive feedback and collaborative assistance in the ongoing creation of each play.

Founded by Howard Meyer in 1999 in Yorktown, Axial Theatre was created as a gathering of professional actors, directors and writers to collaboratively create original theatre material. Meyer is a professional theatre director, teacher, playwright and actor whose work has appeared Off-Broadway and regionally in theatres that include New York Theatre Workshop, Manhattan Theatre Club, Rattlestick Productions, The Playwrights Center in Minneapolis, Fleetwood Stage, The Schoolhouse Theatre, and Barnspace.

Ticket prices are $20 per person for general admission, $15 for seniors and students. For reservations, call SmartTix at 212-868-4444 or log on at www.smarttix.com. For more information about the company or the production, visit Axial's website at www.axialtheatre.org