The Leopard and The Fox: Press Release
PRESS RELEASE
September 14, 2007
For Immediate Release
ALTER EGO PRODUCTIONS BRINGS TO THE STAGE THE WORLD PREMIERE OF THE LEOPARD AND THE FOX — A NEW PLAY BY RAJIV JOSEPH INSPIRED BY TARIQ ALI'S BBC TELEPLAY OF THE SAME NAME THAT TELLS THE GRIPPING STORY OF THE LAST DAYS OF ZULFIQAR ALI BHUTTO, THE FIRST POPULARLY ELECTED PRIME MINISTER OF PAKISTAN AND BENAZIR BHUTTO’S FATHER
Alter Ego Productions brings together people from many different professional backgrounds sharing a common passion for theater. The company was founded in April 2002 by a group of individuals whose professional focus is not theater but who have a strong interest in theater and significant past experience in directing, acting, or set design.
Alter Ego’s current production — The Leopard and the Fox a play written by Rajiv Joseph is a Machiavellian political drama inspired by the events in a 1985 BBC teleplay written by Tariq Ali on the last days of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan’s first popularly elected Prime Minister, deposed in a coup, and then executed by his closest confidante, his army chief General Zia ul Haq, in 1979, who installed himself as the President. The merry go round that is Pakistani politics is being played out today with the reported comeback of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s daughter Benazir Bhutto as Prime Minister at the behest of the US, the 800 lb gorilla in that region.
Alter Ego Productions is thrilled to present the world premiere of The Leopard and the Fox, their first collaboration with New York-based playwright Rajiv Joseph. Joseph’s previous works include the much-lauded South Asian American coming of age story Huck and Holden at the Cherry Lane, and the romantic comedy All That Intimacy at Second Stage. He has upcoming commissions for both Second Stage and South Coast Repertory, and his Iraq war dramatic comedy Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo will be produced by Center Theatre Group at the Los Angeles’ Kirk Douglass Theatre in the 2008-09 season. Director Giovanna Sardelli is a longtime collaborator of Joseph’s, directing both Huck and Holden and All That Intimacy, as well Bengal Tiger at the Lark theater earlier this year. The deeply talented cast of actors is led by the wondrously talented Ramiz Monsef who was last seen as Big Stone in Sarah Rule’s Eurydice (Second Stage).
Previously, Alter Ego produced A First Class Man, Who’s Afraid of Vijay Tendulkar?, Fatwa, Indian Ink, Chaos Theory, and Hayavadana. Our most successful productions to date — the world premiere of David Freeman’s A First Class Man and the NY premiere of Tom Stoppard’s Indian Ink — ran to full houses. Our 2006 production A First Class Man was a critical and popular success and garnered rave reviews as the NYT called it “a play that entertains quite efficiently” and Indian Ink was listed by TheaterMania as “Shows You Should Have Seen But Probably Didn’t” in 2003.
The Leopard and the Fox opens Wednesday, October 17th at TBG Theater, 312 W. 36th St between 8th and 9th Avenue with performances until Saturday, November 3rd.
Producer: Alter Ego Productions
Director: Giovanna Sardelli
Stage Adaptation: Rajiv Joseph
Casting: Gita Reddy
Stage Manager: Matthew Enhoffer
Set Design: David Newell, Lighting Design: Nick Francone, Costume Design: Leon Dobkowski, Music/ Sound Design: Mitun Sinha
Cast: Ramiz Monsef*, Andrew Guilarte, Gita Reddy, Sanjiv Jhaveri*, Rock Kohli*, Michael Crane*, David Sajadi*
(* appearing courtesy the Actors Equity Association. Equity approved Showcase)
Performances: October 17 to Novermber 3: Wednesday through Saturday at 8 pm (Saturday and Sunday matinees) at 2 pm.
Tickets: www.smarttix.com ; or call 212-868-4444
For additional information or to schedule an interview, please contact Alter Ego’s press representative: Shourin Roy at shourin@alteregoproductions.org or at 646-662-6057 or Amrita Rajagopal (amrita.rajagopal@gs.com) Photos available upon request. To download our press kit, please visit our website www.alteregoproductions.org or contact Amrita Rajagopal at 520-548-0402.