Actor John Fredo and director Derek Campbell will reunite to bring to life the world-premiere production of Darryl Schneider’s Clean Break, beginning Friday, March 9th, 2012, at the Road Less Traveled Theater. The actor-director duo previously collaborated on Road Less Traveled Productions’ (RLTP’s) version of Edward Albee’s The Goat: Or, Who Is Sylvia?, which garnered the 2010 Artie Award for Outstanding Production of a Play.
Clean Break is the newest play by RLTP Resident Playwright Schneider. The storyline details the desperate efforts of an inveterate gambler (played by Fredo) to salvage a damaged relationship with his estranged daughter (played by actress Andrea Andolina).
Campbell will direct the play, remarking he is “delighted” to be working with Fredo again. “I was drawn to this project by the power of Darryl's script, but getting a chance to work with John again is icing on the cake,” said Campbell, adding that he considered Fredo to be “open and receptive, generous… and a true partner in the collaborative process.” Fredo has been attached to the play’s development since the fall of 2010, appearing in a public reading of Clean Break for RLTP’s Emanuel Fried New Play Workshop.
RLTP Literary Director Jon Elston, who guided Clean Break through the workshop and helped to attach Fredo to the project, stated he is ecstatic about the package RLTP has assembled for Clean Break. “We consider The Goat to be one of the high-water marks in our company’s history,” said Elston, “so we couldn’t be happier to have Derek and John back in our theater to collaborate on another outstanding piece of dramatic literature.” “And we’re especially excited,” Elston added, “that, in this instance, the effort involves a new play by one of Western New York’s finest writers.”
"I went back to my roots for this one,” reports playwright Schneider on the inspiration for his latest work. “The neighborhood of Lovejoy… my Italian friends, the BigTimers Club, the bocce ball courts, the stories of big wins and losses, the ‘If Onlys...’.” Ultimately, Schneider said, Clean Break is about “the desire for something that only the roll of the dice or the flip of a card can bring."
Clean Break will be the fourth world premiere of a Darryl Schneider play to be produced by RLTP, following Two To The Head, Twice Around, and the 2007 Artie Award winner for Best New Play, War Room.
Clean Break opens March 9th, at the Road Less Traveled Theater in the Market Arcade Film and Arts Center, and runs through Sunday, April 1st. Showtimes are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2:00 PM.
Tickets are available online at www.roadlesstraveledproductions.org or through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 745-3000.
About Road Less Traveled Productions
Road Less Traveled Productions (RLTP) is a professional, not-for-profit theatre company founded in 2002 by Scott Behrend with Jon Elston. RLTP is dedicated to the development and production of new theatrical works by Western New York playwrights as well as presentations of esteemed modern dramas of outstanding literary merit. The Road Less Traveled Theater is located at 639 Main Street, within the Market Arcade Film & Arts Centre, in the Downtown Buffalo, NY Theatre District. Secure parking is available in the M&T Bank parking lot on Washington Street. Valid parking stubs will be refunded at the concession stand. For subscription and ticketing information, please visit www.roadlesstraveledproductions.org or call to make a reservation with the RLTP Box Office at (716) 629-3069. RLTP’s work is made possible through public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.
