K2 Set For L.A. Premiere at the Underground Theater

The Los Angeles premiere of K2, written by Patrick Meyers and directed by Damen Scranton, will play two lower-priced previews at the Underground Theater in Hollywood on Thursday, October 7 and Friday, October 8 at 8pm, and opening is set for Saturday, October 9, 2010, at 8pm. K2 will play a strictly limited engagement through Sunday, November 14.

K2, the mountain, is the second-tallest peak on the planet, rising to an elevation of 28,251 feet on the border between Pakistan and China. K2, the play, is a 75-minute harrowing tale of two mountain climbers who are stranded on a ledge at 27,000 feet. After an accident leaves one of the men with a severely broken leg, the two survive the night only to confront the fact that they do not have the necessary equipment to rappel to Base Camp safely. K2 is the story of two contentious friends and their struggle to solve an impossible problem. It is a tale of friendship and morality, of love and mortality, of climbing, quantum physics, and the search for God.

The cast of K2 will feature Sean Galuszka and Jake Suffian. The design team includes Laura Fine Hawkes (set), and Leigh Allen (lighting). Casting is by Steve Helgoth. Jamie Van Dyke is the production stage manager, and K2 is being produced by Jake Suffian for K2Project. Environmental consultant is Jessica L. Aldridge, and climbing consultant Tony Yeary will train the actors in high altitude climbing techniques using the appropriate mountaineering clothing and equipment.

K2 had its world premiere in 1982 at the Theatre by the Sea in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Followed closely by productions at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. and Syracuse Stage in Syracuse, New York, K2 opened on Broadway in 1983. Actor Jeffrey DeMunn and lighting designer Allen Lee Hughes received Tony Award nominations, and Ming Cho Lee won the Tony and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Set Design.

The Los Angeles premiere of K2 will promote environmental conservation and responsibility by using eco-friendly and recycled materials throughout the production process. All materials will then be recycled, to the extent that they can be, at the conclusion of the run. Also, 10% of all ticket sales will be donated to the Central Asia Institute. C.A.I. works to bring educational resources to remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.