Four students from the Cleveland Play House/Case Western Reserve University Master's of Fine Arts Professional Acting Program will have major roles in the regional premiere of Nicholas Wright's "Vincent in Brixton"-the 2003 Tony Award Nominee for Best Play.

They will appear in performances February 10 through March 7 on the Baxter Stage at the Cleveland Play House.

Director of New Play Development Seth Gordon will stage the love story and historic drama that was one of the most celebrated plays of the past season.

Set in the London suburb in 1873, 20-year-old Vincent Van Gogh leaves Holland to learn more about art and ends up having a scandalous relationship with the widow from whom Van Gogh rents a room. The badly ending relationship forces Van Gogh to struggle with psychological demons that eventually lead to his demise and later to his artistic genius.

Appearing with Beth Dixon (Ursula), who has been seen in such films and television shows as "Law and Order," "Home Improvement," "One Life to Live," "The City" and "The Storm of the Century," will be third-year master of fine arts candidates:

• Virginia Donohose, who takes the role of Eugenie, has performed in "Twelfth Night," "Hay Fever," "An Ideal Husband" and was the female understudy for "The Blue Room." She has appeared in roles for the Hope Summer Repertory Theatre and the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival.
• Patrick Jones will play Sam. Jones appeared in "Twelfth Night," "Hay Fever," The Next Stage Festival of New Plays and was the understudy for Robert in "Proof." He has had roles in the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, the Great Lakes Theater Festival and in San Francisco the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, the Exit Theater and the Angst Ensemble.
• Simon Kendall is Vincent. His theater experiences include roles in "Proof," "Katzman and the Mayor" and "Betrayal" at the Cleveland Play House; "The Importance of Being Earnest" (Porthouse Theatre); "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (Fulton Opera House Studio Theater); and "Hamlet" and "Endgame" (the Old Fire Station Theatre in Oxford, England).
• Emily Frazier Klingensmith has the role of Anna. Her theater credits include "Twelfth Night," "Hay Fever" and an understudy role in "Proof." She also has performed at the Boarshead Theater in Michigan, Diamond Circle (Durango, Colo.) and locally at Dobama Theater and the Berea Summer Theater.

For ticket information and prices, call 216-795-7000, ext. 4, or visit http://www.clevelandplayhouse.com.

Return to the online edition of the 2-5-04 Campus News.