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Coming this June, Rita Rudner and husband Martin Bergman will debut their new play Room 776 at The Little Theatre in Las Vegas.
Room 776 is a comedy based on two strangers who are double-booked in a Las Vegas hotel room over a sold-out weekend. Neither will relinquish the room and are forced to share it.
One of the country's top comedians and a New York Times best-selling author, Vegas resident Rudner is excited about working off the Strip and with the local arts community.
"Martin and I have written screenplays, novels, TV shows, letters and grocery lists, but we have never written a play, so we thought we'd give it a go," said Rudner.
Bergman, who will direct the play, began his career in theatre in England before directing films in America and producing live shows around the world ranging from an ice show starring Olympic champions Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean to a stadium tour by the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. He produces Rudner's show in Las Vegas which has sold almost one million tickets since its launch in 2001.
Bergman has already cast Room 776.
"I was excited to see how much local talent there was here in Las Vegas," he said. The play will be performed by Nancy Denton, Scott Ast, Dean Munro, Lisa Illia, Todd Simmonds and Brian Scott.
Bergman and Rudner have experience with ensemble casts. In 1992, the couple wrote the film Peter's Friends which was directed by Kenneth Branagh and co-produced by Bergman. As well as Rudner and Branagh, the film also starred Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry and Imelda Staunton. Three years later, Bergman made A Weekend In The Country starring Rudner, Jack Lemmon, Dudley Moore, Faith Ford, Richard Lewis and Christine Lahti.
The Little Theatre is by the community, for the community. Founded in 1978 by Jack Bell and Jack Nickolson, The Little Theatre has presented many critically acclaimed and award-winning plays such as "Master Harold…and the Boys," "Purple Hearts," "The Woolgatherer," and "Master Class," among others. The mission of The Little Theatre is to increase the awareness of theatre arts in Southern Nevada, provide quality productions, and to offer educational, hands-on opportunities in all facets of theatre production.
The world premiere of Room 776 will be performed exclusively at The Little Theatre June 13-29. The play will run Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $22 and $19 and can currently be purchased at www.lvlt.org or by calling the theatre box office at (702) 362-7996. The Little Theatre is located at 3920 Schiff Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89103.
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