Production details are hot off the price regardingtimeshare performance casting for the world premiere of Box 4901, written by and starring Brian Francis, and co-created and directed by Rob Kempson. Box 4901 playsin Toronto at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre from February 27 to March 8, 2020.
In 1992, novelist Brian Francis placed a personals ad in the newspaper. In total, he received 25 responses but there were 13 letters he never responded to. Now, at a much different stage in life, Brian has written replies to those letters. Box 4901 is a hilarious, strange, sweet, and awkward look back at how gay men used to find one another.
“While it might seem antiquated in our dating app world, responding to classified personal ads was the only way many queer people could find with one another,” said Francis. “One thing that hasn’t changed over the years is our desire for connection. We’re still looking to find one another – or even ourselves. I hope that’s something audiences both young and old take away from Box 4901.”
Box 4901 is specifically derived from the queer narrative of Brian’s life and it it speaks to audiences all about the importance of connection. The theme, the desire to connect with one another, resonates whether or not you identify as queer. It is only amplified by our 14-person ensemble cast, a size rarely seen on Toronto stages.
Following two-sold out workshop productions (2018 SummerWorks Lab; 2019 foldA Festival), the world premiere of Box 4901 once again features an entirely queer cast and creative team. Joining Francis on stage in Toronto will be Colin Asuncion, Hume Baugh, Samson BonkeabantuBrown, Keith Cole, Daniel Jelani Ellis, Jeff Ho, Michael Hughes, Indrit Kasapi, Daniel Krolik, Eric Morin, G. Kyle Shields, Chy Ryan Spain, and Geoffrey Whynot.
Set design is by Brandon Kleiman, lighting design by Cosette Pin, sound design by Adrian Shepherd-Gawinski, and stage management by Lucy McPhee. The play is produced by Stacey Norton with Curtis te Brinke as associate producer.
Tickets range from $25.00 to $29.00. Visit www.buddiesinbadtimes.com or call 416-975-8555 for more information.