Media Release #11

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, May 5, 2008 … Previews began on Saturday in the Royal George Theatre for the Shaw Festival’s production of Lillian Hellman’s most celebrated play The Little Foxes, a timeless story of family, money, treachery and greed.

When the Hubbard siblings decide to invest in a cotton mill, the struggle for the biggest slice of the pie begins. Brothers Ben (Ric Reid) and Oscar (Peter Krantz) connive and scheme, but it is their powerful sister Regina (Laurie Paton) who will seemingly stop at nothing to get what she wants.

The deliciously treacherous Regina Giddens has been played by some of theatre and film’s most commanding women. New York Times reviewer Ben Brantley wrote of the role, “Few heroines of American theatre are half as much fun as Regina Giddens, an abiding testament to what's so good about being bad in the world of fiction.”

American playwright Lillian Hellman was a leading voice in the American theatre and was active in the political arena, linked throughout her life with left-wing causes. The Little Foxes was one of Hellman’s most successful plays. The title of the play comes from the Bible, “Take us the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.” After producing Hellman’s The Autumn Garden in 2005, The Shaw’s Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell was eager to explore the equally complex but more gothic world of The Little Foxes.

The cast of The Little Foxes also includes Sharry Flett as Birdie Hubbard, Lisa Codrington as Addie, Krista Colosimo as Alexandra Giddens, David Jansen as Horace Giddens, and Gray Powell as Leo Hubbard, as well as Norman Browning and Richard Stewart.

The Little Foxes is directed by Eda Holmes, with design by Cameron Porteous, lighting design by Kevin Lamotte, and original music and sound design by John Gzowski. The stage management team includes Stage Manager Allan Teichman and Assistant Stage Manager Dora Tomassi.

The Little Foxes begins preview performances Saturday, May 3; opens Saturday, May 24; and plays in repertory until Saturday, November 1.

The 2008 season is proudly presented by HSBC Bank Canada/HSBC Bank USA, N.A.

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Please visit our website at www.shawfest.com for other Shaw Festival media releases.

For more information, or to download images from our image bank to accompany this release, members of the media may contact:

Odette Yazbeck
Public Relations Director
905-468-2153 or
1-800-657-1106 ext. 222
odette@shawfest.com

Patti Broughton
Public Relations Co-ordinator
905-468-2153 or
1-800-657-1106 ext. 224
pbroughton@shawfest.com

Press Contact Information

Shaw Festival
odette@shawfest.com
1-800-657-1106 ext 222
Shaw Festival Box 774 Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON L0S 1J0 CANADA

Source URL: http://www.shawfest.com

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