Photo Flash: First Look at Long Wharf Theatre's JANUARY JOINER

Long Wharf Theatre will present the world premiere of Laura Jacqmin's new play January Joiner: A Weight Loss Horror Comedy, now through February 10, 2013 on Stage II. The production will be directed by Associate Artistic Director Eric Ting. The cast includes Ashlie Atkinson (Terry), Anthony Bowden (Brian), Tonya Glanz (April), Meredith Holzman (Myrtle), Maria-Christina Oliveras (Not-Terry), and Daniel Stewart Sherman (Darnell.) Get a first look at the cast onstage in the photos below!

The creative team is comprised of Narelle Sissons (sets), Oana Botez (costumes), Stephen Strawbridge (lights), Leah Gelpe (sound), and Matthew Melchiorre (stage manager.)

Eat less. Exercise more. Make healthy choices. Ignore the bloodthirsty vending machine when it speaks to you. The clientele of a high-end weight loss spa in sunny Florida try to live these mantras daily. But at what cost? In this modern age, when we are barraged with rail thin models in magazines, "miracle" cleanses and fad diets, January Joiner asks, why can¹t we just be happy with ourselves? Alternately hilarious, moving and chilling, this new comedy by Laura Jacqmin, one of the country¹s most exciting emerging playwrights, shows us that what appears in the mirror isn¹t always what it seems.

Inspired to write the play by events in her family life, Jacqmin blends elements of horror and comedy in an effort to depict the struggles of real people dealing with change, in both themselves and their loved ones. "The play grapples with the American obsession with size, and what our bodies say about us," Jacqmin said. "If what's outside is the only thing that counts, do our insides really matter? What happens to us when the people who are closest to us change?"

Jacqmin, a Yale University graduate, received her MFA from Ohio University. Her play Two Lakes, Two Rivers was workshopped at the 2012 O'Neill National Playwrights Conference. Other plays include Ski Dubai, Look, We Are Breathing, and Dental Society Midwinter Meeting. Her work has been produced and developed by Atlantic Theater Company, Old Vic New Voices, Roundabout Underground, Vineyard Theatre, Ars Nova, Cape Cod Theatre Project, Second Stage Theatre, among others.

Tickets are $45-$65. For more information about Long Wharf Theatre or to buy tickets, visit www.longwharf.org or call 203-787-4282.

Photo Credit: T. Charles Erickson