IT'S OPENING NIGHT!!!

So it's finally opening night for Back of the Throat, and let me say that I couldn't be more proud of this production and this theatre. As the late Joel Hirschhorn said in Variety of director Dámaso Rodriguez's production of The Shape of Things, once again "every detail is firmly in place." Kudos to Dámaso for putting together another stellar production.

Ensemble member Shawn Lee has done an incredible job on the set. First timers to Furious, Dan Jenkins and Cricket Myers, have really highlighted the phenomenal acting and intensified the theatricality of the show with their light and sound designs respectively. As I mentioned, the acting in this production is top knotch. Ensemble members Vonessa Martin and Doug Newell knock it out of the park and make me proud to call myself a Furious ensemble member. Doug's younger agent Carl, is equally thorough, eager and scary, and he delivers his hilarious interjections with impeccable timing. Vonessa masters three separate female roles and goes from a nerdy librarian to a bitchy ex-girlfriend then into an ultra-sexy yet hilariously obnoxious stripper with ease. Our guest artists also deliver. Anthony Di Novi brings such depth, experience and humor to Bartlett. He makes me want to clean my apartment for fear that he may drop by to investigate my shelves. Ammar Mahmood is perfect as Khaled. His dry wit and cordial manner make Khaled sympathetic and humorous, yet he holds an ambiguity that allows the question of Khaled's guilt or innocence to gnaw at the audience. And Aly Mawji is powerful and chilling as the terrorist mastermind Asfoor. Also, I can't forget how perfectly Rachel Canning's costumes wrap these actors in their characters.

The support crew is also outstanding. Thanks to our master stage manager, Christie Wright, our on-top-of-it production manager, Nick Cernoch, the best production intern you could hope for, Jennie Inglis and master-of-the-soundboard Katie Davies. Thanks also to my fellow producers Sara Hennessy and Brad Price for all their incredible work. This production has been an absolute pleasure to work on.

Playwright Yussef El Guindi has given us a brilliant script and this cast and crew has truly delivered a production worthy of its words. I invite you all out to enjoy a funny, gripping and powerful night of theatre.

Be Brave. Be Different. Be Furious.

-Eric Pargac