Jessica Lefkow to Direct "Red Herring" at 1st Stage

March 19, 2009 - PRLog -- McLean, Va. – Jessica Lefkow, who won critical praise for her direction of the world premiere of Stefanie Zadravec's “Honey Brown Eyes” at Theatre J, will direct "Red Herring", the next production at 1st Stage in Tysons Corner.

“Jessica brings a special sensibility to directing this show,” said Mark Krikstan, Artistic Director of 1st Stage, who made the announcement.  “We’re delighted to have her as the first guest director here.”

Red Herring, a romantic comedy done in the style of film noir, will be the fourth presentation in the inaugural season of 1st Stage, Fairfax County's first professional theatre studio.  The show will open April 3 and run through April 26.  Tickets are available at www.1stStageSpringHill.org/red.

Lefkow’s production of Honey Brown Eyes premiered in November 2008, and was nominated for The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical  at the 2009 Helen Hayes Awards.  The Washington Post cited Lefkow’s “sensitive direction” in calling that production “compelling”.  The Washington Times said Lefkow “directed with taut intensity”, while the D.C. Examiner said “director Jessica Lefkow has maximized the threat and tension levels throughout.”

Red Herring, in contrast, is a comedy -- part love story, part murder mystery, part spy story -- set in 1952.  A homicide detective tries  to figure out who dumped a body in Boston Harbor as she deals with a Soviet spy, nuclear secrets, and her impending marriage.

“While it’s essential -- and uniquely humbling -- to tell stories such as Honey Brown Eyes, with its brutal and complex dilemmas, it’s equally important that we come together in the theater to be delighted and intrigued by such tales as Red Herring,” Lefkow said. “If there's a common thread that runs through these works, it is that both provide actors, designers and directors with rich fare for their very best efforts, so that audiences coming to such plays are totally engaged, completely transported.”

Written by Michael Hollinger and winner of the 2000 Barrymore Award for Outstanding New Play, Red Herring was first produced by the Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia.

                1st Stage, located near Leesburg Pike and the Dulles Toll Road, is home to a non-profit theatre school and 100-seat performance space.  Its primary mission is to build a bridge between educational and professional theatre for developing professional artists.

The theatre’s last production, “Pig Farm”, featured a cast of four young local actors, including two making their professional debut.  The Washington Post called Pig Farm “high-energy fun” and said “each actor is splendid”.

1st Stage opened in September with "The Suicide", a Russian comedy which won strong reviews, and followed in November with "The Violet Hour", a tragicomic mind-bender, which also won praise from critics.

The theatre chose to locate in Tyson's Corner because of the area's expected emergence as an urban center.  Its mission statement says 1st Stage "will work to create a strong cultural institution that complements the economic strengths of the community".  One of the 1st Stage's key goals is to become a resource that "connects the county and community to fresh, imaginative interpretations of classic and contemporary theatre work."

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This non-profit theatre and school is the home to emerging professional talent. It's located in Tysons Corner, Virginia, a fast-growing part of Northern Virginia, immediately adjacent to the Washington Beltway and Dulles Toll Road. Come visit us at www.1stStageSpringHill.org.