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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2008
Media Contact: Michael Corby 904.632.3310

Florida Community College DramaWorks to present Tom Stoppard’s farce “On the Razzle” one weekend only!

What:	Florida Community College DramaWorks Tom Stoppard’s “On the Razzle”, play loosely based on source for “The Matchmaker” and “Hello, Dolly!”
When:	April 17 at 7:30 p.m. April 18, 19 at 8 p.m. April 19, 20 at 2 p.m.
Where:	Nathan H. Wilson Center for the Arts—Main Theatre Florida Community College South Campus 11901 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville
Cost:	$10 general admission/general seating; $8 for students seniors and military with ID; $5 for FCCJ students and employees.

Details: (Notes from Director Ken McCulough) While their boss is away, two store clerks throw caution to the winds and go “on a razzle” to the big city of Vienna. Their adventure is filled with mistaken identities, physical high jinks, and Stoppard’s trademark wordplay. “On the Razzle” is non-stop, high-energy fun.

“On the Razzle” is freely adapted from Austrian playwright Johann Nestroy’s 19th century farce Einen Jux will er sich machen (roughly translating into “he’s out to have a good time”). Nestroy’s farce is also the inspiration for Thornton Wilder’s “The Matchmaker” and subsequently the musical, “Hello Dolly!”

“On the Razzle” was first produced in 1981 at the National Theatre in London, and has received several notable American productions since then, including those at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and most recently at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. This is the play’s northeast Florida premiere.

The playwright, Sir Tom Stoppard, is an internationally known playwright and contemporary master of the English language. “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” opened in 1966 and soon established Stoppard as a brilliantly unique voice in the theatre. Stoppard is known for his wide range of styles and subject matter traversing between low farce and sophisticated philosophical debate. Many American audiences are familiar with his style through his co-authorship on the screenplays for “Brazil” and “Shakespeare in Love.” His trilogy of plays under the title “The Coast of Utopia,” won the Tony Award last year for Best Play.

The FCCJ DramaWorks production of “On the Razzle” features over 20 student cast members and 10 crew members from all areas of the First Coast, and is directed by Professor of Theatre Ken McCulough. The production also features set design by FCCJ’s Director of Technical Theatre Johnny Pettegrew.