Office Life is Serious Fun in The Water Coolers at Actors’ Playhouse July 7–September 5

NEWS RELEASE June 11, 2004

CORAL GABLES—Everyone who works in an office knows them: the hottie that women stare at as he saunters by their cubicle, the “morning person” who’s smiling when everyone else wants to rip their hair out, the co-worker who doesn’t want anyone to know he’s not doing anything, the fence-sitter who doesn’t want the rest to find out he doesn’t know anything, and, of course, the focused, pep-talking team-leader, cell phone attached to her face.
Sounds like the typical office setting, but it’s actually the cast of the musical comedy The Water Coolers, onstage in the intimate 300-seat balcony theatre July 9-September 5 at Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre.
With songs like “Panic Monday,” “In Windows 2525,” “Chat Room,” and “PC (Politically Correct), ” The Water Coolers brings out the simple things in the everyday life of corporate America through parodies of old songs, original new music, and comedy sketches. This brand new musical revue will have audiences laughing hysterically and feeling that someone took their average workday and life and put it on stage.
“The Water Coolers is corporate America meets I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” said Barbara Stein, executive producing director. “It’s a wonderfully entertaining way to poke fun at ourselves and our day to day workplace life.” 
David Arisco, artistic director, leads a stellar cast of actors, most of whom also were in the popular Actors’ Playhouse production of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, which won the Carbonell Award for Best Musical in 1998-99. The cast includes award-winning actors Margot Moreland, Wayne LeGette, Stacy Schwartz, Terrell Hardcastle and Heath Kelts. Musical staging is by Barbara Flaten, and musical direction is by David Nagy. 
Originally created by Thomas Michael Allen (also creator of the longtime Off-Broadway musical hit Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding), along with coauthors Joe Allen, Marya Grandy, David Nehls, and E. Andrew Sensenig, The Water Coolers got its start as a presentation at corporate meetings, seminars, and company retreats and events. New York producer Richard Frankel (who also was a producer of Little Shop of Horrors) attended one of the showings, was impressed and decided to take The Water Coolers off-Broadway. The show’s success led to a successful national tour.
This hilarious production will have businesspeople pointing and laughing upon the recognition of themselves and their co-workers in the five-person cast. From the strange attachment that develops between a man and his Palm Pilot, to the frustration of a blank computer screen and the useless help line, to the struggle of balancing overtime with family time, The Water Coolers is as true to life as it is insightful. It’s a tribute to the stress, spontaneity, humor, struggle, and outright craziness that can be part of the average workday, answering the question “Does this happen in every office?” with a bluntly put “Yup. You’re not alone.” 
The Water Coolers will have Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday night shows at 8 p.m. and a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. July 7 through August 1, and then through September 5 there will be no Wednesday performances.
Tickets are $35 for weeknight shows and matinees and $40 for Friday and Saturday 8 p.m. performances. The theatre offers a 10% senior discount rate the day of performance and $10 student rush tickets 15 minutes prior to curtain, with identification. All discounts are based on availability and exclude Saturday performances and Sunday matinees. Group rates are available for 15 or more.
For more information about tickets, group rates and season subscriptions, contact Actors’ Playhouse at 305-444-9293, or go to the website at <http://www.actorsplayhouse.org>www.actorsplayhouse.org. Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster.
Actors’ Playhouse recently announced a blockbuster 2004-05 season, including the nationally-noted, interactive comedy Shear Madness in October, followed by rare regional productions of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Jason Robert Brown’s Songs for a New World, Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida, and Alan Ayckbourn’s new, innovative interlocking House and Garden plays. The summer 2005 production will be the Carbonell Award winning musical comedy The Big Bang, returning by popular demand.   
The Children’s Theatre for Young Audiences will present the classic Hansel and Gretel, opening June 29. Performances are Saturdays at 2 p.m., with weekday performances available to prearranged school groups and the general public. Tickets are $9.
Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, a not-for-profit regional theatre, is located in Coral Gables and is one of 20 Major Miami-Dade County Cultural Institutions. Co-founded by Chairman Dr. Lawrence E. Stein, Actors’ Playhouse is an award-winning professional company with an agreement with Actors’ Equity Association, New York. Executive producing director is Barbara S. Stein and artistic director is David Arisco. Actors’ Playhouse has produced more than 90 Mainstage productions since 1988 and has been awarded Carbonell Awards (the South Florida equivalent of the Tony Award) for artistic excellence as “Best Production of a Musical” for The Mystery of Edwin Drood, West Side Story, Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Violet and Floyd Collins. Next season, Actors’ Playhouse will celebrate its 10th anniversary in the historic Miracle Theatre. Over the last nine years, Actors’ Playhouse has raised more than $7 million to renovate the Miracle Theatre, leased from the owner, the City of Coral Gables.