The "compassionate and timely new drama" — also called "a different kind of love story" — officially opens March 21 in Manalapan, FL, near West Palm Beach.
According to Florida Stage, "Ward 57 shines a light on the question of how we honor the sacrifices made by soldiers asked to fight in an unpopular war. Jessica Goldberg tells the story of a screenwriter who asks to conduct a series of interviews with injured veterans at Walter Reed Hospital for a new movie about their extraordinary sacrifices and discovers the personal secrets and political agendas of those on both sides of the Iraq war controversy. Ward 57 is a poignant and potent story that will touch audiences no matter what their feelings about the war."
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Goldberg's plays include Get What You Need; Sex Parasite; Good Thing; Refuge, which won the 1999 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize; The Hologram Theory; and Stuck. Ward 57 was first developed at The Colony in Missoula, MT.
Ward 57 is directed by Michael Bigelow Dixon, who staged Florida Stage's world premiere productions of Ice Glen by Joan Ackermann and Black Sheep by Lee Blessing. The cast includes Bonnie Rae Allen, Buddy Haardt, Aditi Kapil, Brandon Morris and Sid Solomon.
The creative team includes Victor Becker (scenic design), Jim Fulton (lighting design), Marcia Dixcy Jory (costume design) and Matt Kelly (sound design).
For more information visit www.floridastage.org.
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Florida Stage "develops and produces new plays in a passionate, intimate and caring environment, adhering to a standard of uncompromising excellence," according to its mission. "We provide a safe harbor for theatre artists and audiences to share in stories of our humanity, a place where the sheer joy of creation and the Florida Stage Experience is paramount. We choose to provoke dialogue in our community and inspire people of different ages and ethnic and social backgrounds through our productions and our innovative educational programs."
