A young woman falls in love with a total stranger she meets on the subway. After giving the man her actual beating heart, he disappears—leading this unlikely heroine on a quest to retrieve her heart, accidentally cracking open those of others she meets along the way. Whimsical, quirky, and wildly original, the play pushes on the ever stranger phenomenon of physical human interaction in the age of technology. Why is it that we are ever more connected and yet we have never felt more alone? With Love and a Major Organ is an eccentric, edgy comedy about what it costs to give your heart away, and what happens when you discover you actually have one.
*Production Photos by Jenny Graham
The Playwright
Julia Lederer is a playwright from Toronto. Her plays have been produced across North America and in the UK. Recent productions: Reality Theatre(SummerWorks Performance Festival), Frame (Seven Collective in NY; Alumnae Theatre in Toronto), Spooning (InspiraTO Festival in Toronto; Midnight Summit Ensemble in Chicago; Midtown International Festival in NY), The Best Plan For Living Happily (Toronto).
With Love and a Major Organ had its US premier in Chicago with Strawdog Theatre. In June, it was the first Canadian play to receive a feature production at The Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Alaska. With Love and a Major Organ is published by Scirocco Drama. In Canada, Julia has developed work with: Driftwood Theatre, Roseneath Theatre, Nightwood Theatre, The Thousand Islands Playhouse, amongst others. Currently she is the Associate Playwright for SMOOTHIELAND, a company creating Episodic Youth Theatre. Upcoming: It’s Nothing, a short film, goes into production spring 2018. julialederer.ca
The Director
Jessica Kubzansky has been the Co-Artistic Director of The Theatre @ Boston Court in Pasadena since its inception. For Boston Court elsewhere: Luis Alfaro’s Mojada, A Medea in Los Angeles (at The Getty Villa), Sheila Callaghan’s Everything You Touch (Rattlestick at the Cherry Lane, NYC). At Boston Court: World Premieres of Stefanie Zadravec’s Colony Collapse, EYT, R II (Kubzansky’s own three-person adaptation of Richard II), Michael Elyanow’s The Children, Jordan Harrison’s Futura, Laura Schellhardt’s Courting Vampires, Salamone/McIntyre’s Gulls, Mickey Birnbaum’s Bleed Rail, Carlos Murillo’s Unfinished American Highwayscape #9&32, Jean-Claude Van Itallie’s Light, Cody Henderson’s Cold/Tender. Plus: Camino Real, Mother Courage. Recently elsewhere: Aditi Kapil’s Orange (South Coast Rep), Stupid F*cking Bird (ACT, Seattle), Hold These Truths (Portland Center Stage, Pasadena Playhouse), Pygmalion (Pasadena Playhouse), Hamlet with Leo Marks (Theatre 150). LADCC Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatre, among others.
The Actors
Bonita Friedericy first hit the boards at the age of 10 in her older brother’s high school production of Fiddler On the Roof. Although she would never be a triple threat (very obvious), she was hooked. Since then, she has been in lots of plays (quite a few directed by Jessica Kubzansky), lots of theatre companies, and a bunch of tv shows and films (her favorite job was being a badass general on Chuck). You might remember her lecture on typography in the production of Futura at the Boston Court. She lives in West Hollywood with her two beloved guys: John A. Billingsley and Solomon P. Kitten.
Daisuke Tsuji (pronounced Dice-Kay) is an LA-based actor for TV/film, theater, and VO. He was most recently seen as Orlando in As You Like It (Antaeus Theater Company). Other Theaters: Imogen Says Nothing (Yale Repertory Theater), The Orphan of Zhao (American Conservatory Theater and La Jolla Playhouse), American Night (Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Kirk Douglas Theater). As company member at Oregon Shakespeare Festival for 4 years, he performed in 10 productions, including King Lear, Animal Crackers, and The Imaginary Invalid. He has also worked as a clown in Cirque du Soleil’s Dralion. TV/Film: Brockmire, The Man in the High Castle, The Blacklist. Training: UCLA. daisuketsuji.com
Paige Lindsey White Stage: Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion (Pasadena Playhouse); Macon Hill in Abundance (South Coast Rep); Brooke Wyeth in Other Desert Cities(Arizona Theatre Company & Indiana Rep); Ann in At Home at The Zoo (Wallis Annenberg); Catherine in Rapture Blister Burn (San Diego Rep); Heisenberg (u/s) (Mark Taper Forum); Trying, Ghost-Writer, and The Heir Apparent (International City Theatre); The Children and R II (Theatre @ Boston Court); Walking the Tightrope (24TH ST Theatre), Ivo Van Hove’s A View From the Bridge (Ahmanson & Kennedy Center, u/s); Fallen Angels (Ensemble Theatre Santa Barbara); Wounded (Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble); Mutual Philanthropy (Ensemble Studio Theatre LA). International Tour: Trial of the Catonsville Nine (The Actors’ Gang). TV: Shameless, American Woman, Corporate, Days of Our Lives, The Flipside, TV Funhouse LA Drama Critics’ Circle Award Lead Performance Winner, 3 Ovation Nominations paigelindseywhite.com
