Cast Announced For New Douglas Play

Casting has been announced for the world premiere of Kimber Lee’s “different words for the same thing,” which begins previews May 4 at the Center Theatre Group/Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. The opening night is May 11 and performances run through June 1, 2014.

Directed by Center Theatre Group Associate Artistic Director Neel Keller, “different words for the same thing” features acclaimed stage and screen actors Sam Anderson (Blackbird at Rogue Machine, Lost), Jackie Chung (brownsville song (b-side for tray) at Actors Theatre of Louisville), Stephen Ellis (The Coward at LCT3), Monica Horan (Everybody Loves Raymond), Devin Kelley (Resurrection), Rebecca Larsen (Sacred Fools), Savannah Lathem (Lost, Moneyball), Erick Lopez (Faking It), Malcolm Madera (House of Cards, Boardwalk Empire), Alyson Reed (Broadway’s Marilyn: An American Fable, Cabaret), Hector Atreyu Ruiz (Gang Related) and José Zuniga (The Call).

“different words for the same thing” has set design by Sarah Krainin, costume design by Candice Cain, lighting design by Geoff Korf and sound design by Paul James Prendergast. Casting is by Heidi Levitt, CSA, and the production stage manager is Kirsten Parker.

Set in a small town in southwestern Idaho, and the vast spaces that surround it, “different words for the same thing” depicts the intersecting lives of the townspeople as they deal with the web of love, tradition, religion, politics and heartbreak that connect them all.

In a series of intimate, deeply felt scenes, Lee introduces Marta and Henry, three generations of their family, and many of their friends and neighbors. All are linked to the heartbeat and daily life of the community in ways reminiscent of Thornton Wilder’s classic “Our Town.”