WHO KILLED SYLVIA PLATH Transfers to The Marsh Berkeley

Following a successful World Premiere run at The Marsh San Francisco, Who Killed Sylvia Plath, written by award-winning playwright Lynne Kaufman and starring Lorri Holt, will transfer to The Marsh Berkeley this Fall. Poet Sylvia Plath returns to her burial place in West Yorkshire, England to view the fourth replacement of her tombstone. The previous ones have been defaced by feminists who chiseled off her married name, claiming it was Ted Hughes who caused Sylvia Plath's death. Did Hughes kill Plath? Was her suicide at age 30 a "good career move"? Would she do it again? And what does it say to us today? Who Killed Sylvia Plath, directed by Warren David Keith, will be presentedSeptember 14 - October 20, 2019 (press opening: September 21) with performances at 5:00pm Saturdays and 5:30pm Sundays at The Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. For tickets ($25-$35 sliding scale; $55 and $100 reserved) or more information, the public may visit www.themarsh.org or call The Marsh Box office at 415-282-3055 (open Monday through Friday, 1:00pm-4:00pm).

Who Killed Sylvia Plath was welcomed by critics, who called it "poignant," (San Francisco Examiner), "captivating," (Theatrius) and "a powerfully conceived piece of work by Lynne Kaufman" (TheatreEddys). Local treasure Lorri Holt was also praised, with critics applauding her ability to bring "a fiery poise to Sylvia Plath" (Theatrius) and "inhabit the lightly fictionalized characters with grace and depth" (San Francisco Examiner).

Lynne Kaufman (Playwright) is the author of 20 full-length plays that have been produced in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Louisville at such theatres as Magic Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, and many more. Two of Kaufman's works, Acid Test and Two Minds, have premiered at The Marsh. Her plays have won many awards including the Glickman Award for Best New Play (The Couch), the Kennedy Center's Fund for New American Plays Award (Speaking in Tongues), and the Neil Simon Festival New Play Award (William Blake in Hollywood). Kaufman has published three novels and her short stories have appeared in Cosmopolitan, Redbook, and McCall's.

Lorri Holt (Performer) has been a leading actress in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than three decades, working with Berkeley Rep, ACT, Aurora Theatre, Magic Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, SF Playhouse, and more. For ten years she was a leading actress with San Francisco's acclaimed Eureka Theatre. She originated the role of Harper Pitt in Tony Kushner's Angels in America. Regional and international credits include work at Birmingham Rep in England, London's Barbican Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and the Wilma in Philadelphia. Most recently, Lorri co-wrote (with Zack Rogow) and starred in her first solo show, Colette Uncensored, which premiered at The Marsh in San Francisco, was extended, and then moved to The Marsh Berkeley, and in May of 2018 premiered in London at the Canal Café Theatre. Colette Uncensoredreceived stellar reviews and was nominated for a TBA Best Solo Production. Lorri was also nominated for Best Solo Performance at the 2017 Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards.

Warren David Keith (Director) is an actor, director, and acting teacher. While he has worked in large and small theaters throughout the Bay Area, one of his most rewarding experiences has been impersonating Richard Alpert/Ram Dass in Lynne Kaufman's Acid Test: The Many Incarnations of Ram Dass. His film credits include Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski, Fargo,A Serious Man, and the soon to be released The Last Black Man in San Francisco. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and The Yale School of Drama.

The Marsh is known as "a breeding ground for new performance." It was launched in 1989 by Founder and Artistic Director Stephanie Weisman, and now annually hosts more than 600 performances of 175 shows across the company's two venues in San Francisco and Berkeley. A leading outlet for solo performers, The Marsh's specialty has been hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as "solo performances that celebrate the power of storytelling at its simplest and purest." The East Bay Times named The Marsh one of Bay Area's best intimate theaters, calling it "one of the most thriving solo theaters in the nation. The live theatrical energy is simply irresistible."

Photo credit: David Allen

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