Executive Artistic Director Carson Kievman has announced that SoBe Institute of the Arts (SoBe Arts) will present staged readings of promising new plays, beginning with Acapulco by New York writer Jacquelyn Reingold (HBO's In Treatment, Law and Order, and produced off-Broadway) and featuring L.A.-based Evan Handler ("Sex and the City," "Californication," and films by Ron Howard and Oliver Stone) in addition to local artists. Both Handler and Reingold will participate in the project at SoBe Arts, directed by Tony- and Drama Desk-nominated Michael Leeds (Swinging on a Star).
"It's 1966, it's Brooklyn, it's Acapulco. Meet Doris, a soon to be divorced New Yorker, her frisky boyfriend who dyes his chest hair, a mysterious woman who's really a man, her penny-pinching liar of a husband, a scheming laundress mother-in-law, and the Whore of Brooklyn. A swinging 1960's kind of comedy with a 2011 point of view. " - Jacquelyn Reingold
"The introduction of new play staged readings at SoBe Arts supports the institute's goal as being an incubator-type venue for innovative new works and developing new audiences for the arts," explains Dr. Kievman, who is producing Acapulco, assisted by faculty member Glen Lawrence.
The premiere readings of Acapulco will take place on Sunday and Monday, January 30th and 31st at 7:30pm in the Little Stage Theater at SoBe Arts, 2100 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida. The events are free and open to the public (advance reservations are available to donors of "The Annual Giving Campaign for SoBe Arts:" for more information go to http://www.sobearts.org/SupportUs.html).
Patrons interested in gaining a more complete understanding of Acapulco, by Jacquelyn Reingold and script writing in general, are invited to attend a free pre-event prior to the Sunday night reading of Acapulco: "Art Speaks @ SoBe Arts - Writing for Stage and Commercial Television," featuring a open discussion between Ms. Reingold and Executive Artistic Director, Carson Kievman, January 30 at 6:30pm at the Little Stage Theater.
Playing Dick, the scheming penny-pinching, soon-to-be ex-husband of Doris, is Evan Handler, actor, author, screenwriter, and journalist probably best known as Harry Goldenblatt from the HBO television show (and films) Sex and the City, as well as Charlie Runkle (best friend to David Duchovny's Hank Moody) on Showtime's hit comedy Californication, currently airing its fourth season. Evan's past film and TV credits include leading and featured roles in Ron Howard's film Ransom, the early '80's box office smash Taps, Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers, Aaron Sorkin's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and The West Wing; the ABC TV movie The Three Stooges, and the sit-com It's Like, You Know..., as well as memorable guest appearances on Lost, Six Feet Under, Law and Order, and Friends.
Prior to his work in film and television Evan played leading roles in seven Broadway productions - all prior to his thirtieth birthday. Among them were "Six Degrees of Separation"; "I Hate Hamlet"; "Brighton Beach Memoirs"; "Broadway Bound"; and "Master Harold...and the boys". Off-Broadway, Evan appeared in two Donald Margulies world premieres, "Found a Peanut" (NYSF/Public Theater), and "What's Wrong with this Picture?" (Manhattan Theater Club), as well as Jacquelyn Reingold's "String Fever," at Ensemble Studio Theater.
Evan is the author of two books. Time on Fire: My Comedy of Terrors (Little, Brown '96; Henry Holt '97), is Handler's critically acclaimed debut memoir, detailing his unlikely recovery from acute myeloid leukemia in the mid-1980s. It's Only Temporary: The Good News and The Bad News of Being Alive (Riverhead '08), describes the years since the illness, and the surprisingly long and complex journey toward long-delayed gratitude. A regular featured contributor to the Huffington Post, Evan has published articles in O, the Oprah Magazine, Elle, and Mirabella. Evan was also chosen to be one of eight fellows for the 1998 Sundance Institute Screenwriter's Lab. More information about Evan is available at EvanHandler.com.
