Growing Pretty by Carey Crim

Lucy Keen is awkward. To make matters worse, her best friend is a boy, her father is a hopeless wannabe inventor, her body refuses to cooperate with her dream of becoming a supermodel ... and her first love has fallen for her mother. Luckily, Lucy learns that the tortures of twelve soon give way to the painful and wonderful freedom of adulthood as she navigates the twisted and humorous path of becoming an artist.

"I really think that our audience is going to respond to Lucy - her resilience, her quirks, her strengths and her shortcomings," says director and PRTC Resident Artist, Michelle Mountain. "For everyone, reviewing what's happened in life is to grow up, to grow into oneself. People will be able to see themselves in the relationships in this play and characters' journeys, their humor; there are quite a few `aha, I've been there' moments."

Playwright Carey Crim is returning to The Purple Rose Theatre Company with her first play. A PRTC associate artist, she was last seen as Dahlia in Annie Martin's Completing Dahlia and Ginger in Lanford Wilson's Book of Days. She was a member of The Second City Detroit Touring Company for two years and has acted in many roles at Meadow Brook Theatre and Jewish Ensemble Theatre. Carey moved to New York in 2003. Her work has received workshop and showcase productions through Writeclub NYC, a group in which she is a founding member. Her short plays have also been featured in ten-minute play festivals in Manhattan. She is a graduate of Northwestern University and has studied at the Royal Court Theater in London as well as The Ensemble Studio Theater under the late Curt Dempster.

The cast of Growing Pretty includes Matthew David, former PRTC apprentice Matt Gwynn, Stacie Hadgikosti, PRTC Resident Artist Grant R. Krause (Sea of Fools, The Poetry of Pizza), Hugh Macguire (The Poetry of Pizza), Michael Brian Ogden and Rhiannon R. Ragland (When The Lights Come On).

This production includes set design by Vincent Mountain, prop design by Danna Segrest, costume design by Meghann O'Malley-Powell, lighting design by Dana White and sound design by Quintessa Gallinat. Stephanie Buck stage manages with Michelle DiDomenico and Jessica Garrett as assistant stage managers.

Ticket reservations can be made by calling the PRTC Box Office at 734-433-ROSE (7673).

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Critics' Quotes: "Growing Pretty is in every way a triumph ... As many good new plays by Michigan playwrights as the Purple Rose has showcased over the years, Growing Pretty has to rank among the very best." Robert Delaney Detroit Monitor "... a modern-day take on an old genre, the coming-of-age tale, and her depiction of Lucy is both honest and refreshing ... What Crim offers, then, is a flawed character that the audience can easily identify with ..." Don Calamia Between The Lines "... possesses an appealing wit and sophistication ..." Jenn McKee Ann Arbor News "Crim has a deft way with dialogue and an intuitive sense of how to build a scene ..." Terry Pow Jackson Citizen Patriot "Crim ... writes with restrained beauty." Mike Hughes Lansing State Journal "Freshman playwright Carey Crim is off to a great start with her Purple Rose Theatre Company writing debut Growing Pretty ... Lucy's story is definitely one to which we can all relate." Sean Dalton Chelsea Standard

Showing March 27 - May 31, 2008