For Immediate Release	Press Info.: James Breen (805) 962-5365 x1 jbreen@ensembletheatre.com www.ensembletheatre.com Box Office (805) 962-8606 October 30, 2006
Download this release as PDF file, download the calendar listing as PDF file.

---

Ensemble Theatre Company Presents the
Touching Comedy Visiting Mr. Green.

(Santa Barbara, CA)—On Tuesday, November 21, Ensemble Theatre Company (ETC) of Santa Barbara will begin performances of the compassionate and touching comedy Visiting Mr. Green, by Jeff Baron. This award-winning off-Broadway hit will run through Sunday, December 17, 2006. Ensemble Theater Company performs Tuesday through Saturday at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 and 7:00 pm. Opening night is Friday, November 24.

One of the most widely performed plays around the world, Visiting Mr. Green, by Jeff Baron, is a poignant, at times hilarious, and heartwarming portrayal of the collision of two men – one a devout Jewish widower, the other a young hot-shot American Express executive – each of whom harbors painful secrets. What starts out as a comedy about two men who do not want to be in the same room together beautifully evolves into a gripping and emotional drama. The production stars Broadway veteran Ben Hammer as Mr. Green and Aaron Serotsky as Ross.

Ensemble Theatre's new Executive Artistic Director Jonathan Fox makes his Santa Barbara directing debut with this production. "Visiting Mr. Green crosses religious, cultural, and gender-based borders," said Mr. Fox. "The play, I believe, moves anyone who has ever yearned for parental acceptance, which I dare say is the majority of the world's population."

Visiting Mr. Green is Jeff Baron's first play and has earned international recognition, having been translated into 21 different languages and won numerous awards in the United States as well as in Israel, Greece, Germany and Turkey. It opened off Broadway in 1997 at the Union Square Theatre, starring Eli Wallach and David Alan Basche and ran successfully for 354 performances.

Ben Hammer (Mr. Green) made his Broadway debut in The Great Sebastians, starring Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. In the original production of The Diary of Anne Frank, he alternated with Joseph Schildkraut in the part of Mr. Frank. Paddy Chayevsky's The Tenth Man, directed by Tyrone Guthrie; Mother Courage starring Anne Bancroft, directed by Jerome Robbins; The Royal Hunt of the Sun starring Christopher Plummer; Neil Simon's Broadway Bound; and again with Anne Bancroft in Golda directed by Arthur Penn and many others.

Aaron Serotsky (Ross Gardiner) has appeared at theaters across the country including Denver Center Theatre Company, Seattle Repertory Theatre; Alliance Theatre, George Street and Cincinnati Playhouses; the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis; and the Utah Shakespearean Festival. His musical work includes the Chicago premiere of The Immigrant, for which he has been nominated for a 2005 Joseph Jefferson Award, as well as the First National Tour of Titanic.

Ensemble Theatre Company's 2006-2007 season will continue with The Memory of Water by Shelagh Stephenson (February 16 to March 11, 2007), The Violet Hour by Richard Greenberg (April 6 to April 29, 2007) and This Is How It Goes by Neil LaBute (June 1 to June 24, 2007). For season information and subscriptions, visit www.ensembletheatre.com.

The Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara was founded in 1979 and is housed at the intimate Alhecama Theatre located in the historic Presidio District in downtown Santa Barbara at 914 Santa Barbara Street. ETC is Santa Barbara's longest running, most award-winning professional resident theatre company, now beginning its 27th anniversary season.

Ticket prices for Visiting Mr. Green range from $25.00 to $37.00 and a 4 Play subscription series ranges from $80.00 to $120.00. Performances run Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 and 7:00 pm. ETC offers discounts to students, seniors and groups of 10 or more. Subscriptions, single tickets and group tickets are available through the Ensemble Theatre Box Office at (805) 962-8606.

###