Photo Flash: First Look at Actors Theatre's FOX ON THE FAIRWAY

Considered Ludwig's tribute to the great English farces of the 1930s and 1940s, The Fox on the Fairway will tee up on Stage West at The Herberger Theater Center, 222 E. Monroe, from Jan. 25 to Feb. 10 under the direction of Matthew Wiener. Wiener's direction of another Ludwig farce, the Tony Award-nominated Lend Me A Tenor, drew rave reviews from audiences and critics during runs in San Diego and Pennsylvania.

The Fox on the Fairwaytakes audiences on a hilarious romp filled with mistaken identities, slamming doors and over-the-top romantic shenanigans in a madcap adventure about love, life and one man's eternal love affair with golf.

The story revolves around Bingham (Ted Barton, making his Actors Theatre debut), the manager of the Quail Valley Country Club and its heated rivalry with another local club managed by the irritating Dickie (Gene Ganssle, who has appeared in many Actors Theatre productions), who makes a giant bet with Bingham on an upcoming tournament.

Justin (Kyle Sorrell, last seen in Pursuit of Happiness) is the young ringer Bingham recruits for Quail Valley, but his great golf game doesn't always hold up under stress. Justin's fiancée, Louise (Ashley Stults, who had previously been in Actors Theatre's annual production of A Christmas Carol for many years), initiates Justin's latest personal crisis by breaking their engagement during the tournament, thrusting saucy Quail Valley booster Pamela (Maren Maclean, last seen in Actors Theatre's production of Benefactors) into the picture as she tries to reunite the two. Add in Bingham's wife, Muriel (Johanna Carlisle, making her Actors Theatre debut) whose antique shop her husband used as collateral for the bet and the situation becomes even more frantic.

Set design is by Kimb Williamson, costume design by Lois Myers and lighting design by Paul Black.

Single tickets are $31 to $47 (additional fees may apply) and are available online at www.actorstheatrePHX.org or at the Herberger Theater Center Box Office, 602.252.8497, 222 E Monroe, Downtown Phoenix.

Following The Fox on the Fairway, Actors Theatre will stage A Steady Rain, March 22-April 6, from Mad Men alumnus Keith Huff, who earned the 2008 Jeff Award for Best New Work for the original Chicago production. The play follows Chicago police officers, longtime partners and best friends Joey and Denny who have always had each other's backs until an unfortunate decision tests their loyalty and pits them against one another in a harrowing tale of guilt, fear and corruption.

The season will close with Good People, May 3-19, a critical and audience hit when it debuted on Broadway last year. The story focuses on Margie Walsh, a single mother with a special-needs daughter laid off from her job in a dollar store in a tough economy. Margie leaves the familiar surroundings of South Boston to find opportunity in the suburbs, but finds herself wildly out of her element and facing the question: is opportunity granted or earned? Nominated for a 2011 Tony Award for Best Play, a review in Variety included the comment: "If Good People isn't a hit...there is no justice in the land."

For more information, visit www.actorstheatrephx.org.

Photo Credit: John Groseclose

Johanna Carlisle and Ted Barton

Kyle Sorrell