It was spring, 1944. Wartime. And a wisecracking New York reporter was on her way to Hollywood and a secret tryst with one of MGM’s hottest starlets. An accident outside of Austin. No Jews. No Coloreds. No Queers. Welcome to Texas!

Diversionary Theatre and Moxie Theatre present Bluebonnet Court

Diversionary Theatre and MOXIE Theatre will jointly present the second full production of Zsa Zsa Gershick’s award-winning play Bluebonnet Court from March 20-April 13 at Diversionary Theatre. Set in 1944, against the backdrop of World War II and the waning days of Hollywood’s glamour era, Bluebonnet Court is a play about sex, civil rights and finding family in the most unusual places.

Winner of the 2007 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Los Angeles Theatre and two NAACP awards for theatrical excellence, Bluebonnet Court earned critical acclaim from Variety, the L.A. Times, The Advocate, L.A. Weekly and The Jewish Journal.

Diversionary’s Executive & Artistic Director Dan Kirsch saw the play during its sold-out premiere run in Los Angeles in 2006, and knew it would be a perfect Diversionary/MOXIE co-production. The production will be directed by MOXIE’s Artistic Director, Delicia Turner Sonnenberg.

“Zsa Zsa’s play does the impossible,” says Sonnenberg. “It tackles important issues like race, religion and sexuality all within the context of a delicious forbidden romance. It’s sexy, funny and heartbreaking at the same time. Plus, MOXIE and Diversionary have assembled an all-star cast of actors San Diego has probably never seen on stage together at one time. What more can you ask for in production?”

The cast features Chris Buess, Monique Gaffney, Jo Anne Glover, Lisel Gorell-Getz, Fred Harlow, Leigh Scarritt and Wendy Waddell. The creative team includes: Joel Daavid (set design, winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the L.A. Drama Critics Circle) and Jennifer Brawn Gittings (costume design). The production is underwritten in part by Joann Clark.

In this multi-racial dramedy, wisecracking Hearst "sob sister" Helen Burke (nee Berkowitz) is on her way from Manhattan to Hollywood and a coveted spot as an MGM contract writer. When she’s waylaid on the outskirts of Austin, Texas, it’s more than her car that gets an overhaul. Bluebonnet Court explores aspects of American culture that remain deeply troubling – very much alive – and difficult to confront. Racial intolerance, anti-Semitism, homophobia, and a general fear of the “other” remain pervasive, particularly during times of war. Beneath a comic veil, the play highlights questions that remain relevant to contemporary audiences: What does it mean to be true to oneself? How do people create community? And how and when do we reveal who we are when it’s dangerous to do so?

Critics have been unanimous in their praise of Bluebonnet Court. "The play offers real wit and a disarming sensuality. With a … sweet summer romance, Bluebonnet Court is a might cozy place to spend the night." - “RECOMMENDED” L.A. Times. “Well written, funny and moving.” –Variety. "Sassy and surprising, Zsa Zsa Gershick's 'Bluebonnet Court' tells a World War II-era lesbian love story that grabs the heart and holds on tight." - The Advocate. "Zsa Zsa Gershick's comedy-drama about lesbians connecting in an unlikely corner of Texas in 1944 is full of surprises." - "GO" L.A. Weekly. "Magnificently compelling. There is comedy, pathos, despair, and anger, not to mention sexual tension - in short, it has all the trappings of a long term monster hit. A true classic." - "PICK OF THE WEEK" Reviewplays.com

Playwright Zsa Zsa Gershick is the author of Secret Service: Untold Stories of Lesbians in the Military (Alyson, 2005), recently featured on C-SPAN’s “Book TV.” Secret Service was a 2005 NPR Summer Reading Pick, and is the 2006 winner of ForeWord Magazine’s Best Gay & Lesbian Nonfiction Book of the Year Award. (ForeWord Magazine is the Publisher’s Weekly of independent publishers and booksellers.)

Gershick’s earlier book, Gay Old Girls (Alyson Books, 1998), was winner in 1999 of ForeWord Magazine’s Best Gay & Lesbian Nonfiction Book of the Year Award, finalist for the Lambda Literary Award, and nominee for the American Library Association’s Best Gay & Lesbian Book Award. Her screenplay “Rozzie & Harriet” (co-written with Marion Levine) was a 1999 Los Angeles OutFest finalist. Her bylined work has appeared in Newsweek, the Advocate and the Texas Observer, among other publications.

A former newspaperwoman, Gershick holds a master’s degree in non-fiction writing from the USC Master of Professional Writing Program, where she also has taught, and an MFA in playwriting from the USC School of Theatre. She is a graduate of the U.S. Army Defense Information School (DINFOS) and served in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Diversionary Theatre was started in 1986. The mission of the theatre is to produce plays with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender themes that portray characters in their complexity and diversity both historically and contemporarily.

MOXIE Theatre’s mission is to expand the idea of what is feminine by using the intimate art of theatre to create more diverse and honest female images for our culture. MOXIE Theatre began its first full season in October 2005 bringing the community theatre that is smart, sexy and surprising - Theatre for women and the men who love them!

Bluebonnet Court is the fifth show of Diversionary Theatre’s 2007-2008 season and the third show of MOXIE Theatre’s season, and will preview on Thursday and Friday, March 20 and 21, and open on Saturday, March 22, and run through Sunday, April 13. Performance times are: Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday & Saturday at 8:00pm, Sunday at 2:00 & 7:00pm, and a Monday, March 31 performance at 7:30pm.

Talkbacks with the playwright will be held after several performances. Please call the box office for updated information.

Single tickets are now on sale. Tickets are $29 for Thursday, Sunday and Monday performances, $31 for Friday nights and $33 for Saturday nights, with a $4 discount for students, seniors 60+ and active military. Tickets for opening night will be $45 and include a post-show cast party.

Groups of 10-29 receive a $4 discount, and groups of 30+ receive an $8 discount. For tickets or information, call the Diversionary box office at 619.220.0097 or log on to www.diversionary.org or www.moxietheatre.com.

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The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture provides major support for Diversionary Theatre