9:18 a.m., Feb. 17, 2011----A new adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's classic American political novel, All the King's Men, is being presented by the Resident Ensemble Players (REP) in February and March at the Thompson Theatre in the Roselle Center for the Arts at the University of Delaware.

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Recounting the rise and fall of a Southern politician, All the King's Men explores the tension between the personal and political in a way that is both timely and timeless.

For a sneak peek video of the show, click here.

The adaptation is by director Adrian Hall, who worked with Warren on an earlier adaptation of the book. Widely regarded as the father of the nonprofit regional theatre movement, Hall received an honorary degree from UD in 2007 and has been involved with four earlier Professional Theatre Training Program productions at the University.

Scene design is by Eugene Lee, who has been the production designer for NBC's Saturday Night Live since 1974, as well as numerous Broadway productions. He has received three Tony Awards for his work on Leonard Bernstein's Candide, Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd and Stephen Schwartz' Wicked.

"Having Adrian Hall and Eugene Lee here as guest artists unites the REP with the roots of the American regional repertory movement, infuses us with the extraordinary creativity and vitality of two of the great artists in the contemporary theatre and offers our audiences an exciting and unique work of the highest quality," said Sanford Robbins, chairperson of the Department of Theatre.

"All the King's Men is at once both the greatest novel on American politics but also an astoundingly contemporary story of the loss of innocence and idealism. The parallels between the action in the play and what we see on the nightly news are striking and disturbing," Robbins said.

All the King's Men contains adult language and situations and is recommended for mature audiences only.

Performances are scheduled at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 17, 18, 19, 26 and March 5; and at 2 p.m. on Feb. 19, 20, 26 and March 5 and 6.

Tickets are $18-$24 for the general public depending on the performance. Discounts are available for students, seniors and UD faculty and staff. Group discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. To purchase tickets, call the box office at (302) 831-2204 or visit the REP website.

All the King's Men is being presented in rotating repertory with Tennessee Williams' masterpiece The Glass Menagerie.

Adrian Hall

Hall is recognized widely as one of the most influential American theatre directors of the post-World War II period. An actor, director and playwright, he was the founding artistic director -- a position he held for 25 years -- of the Trinity Repertory Company, one of the most respected regional theaters in the country. While serving as artistic director at Trinity, he was hired as the artistic director of the Dallas Theatre Center, serving as director of two of America's most prominent professional theatres in tandem, 2,000 miles apart, from 1983 to 1989, a feat never duplicated in the history of the American theatre. In 1981, Hall's Trinity Repertory received the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theater Company for its contributions to the American theatre. He is the subject of two books, including Theatre to Change Men's Souls: The Artistry of Adrian Hall by Jeannie Marlin Woods, published by the University of Delaware Press in 1993.

Eugene Lee

Lee holds BFA degrees from the Art Institute of Chicago and Carnegie Mellon, an MFA from Yale Drama School and three honorary doctorates. In addition to Tony Awards, his honors include the American Theatre Wing's Design Award, the Outer Critics' Circle Award, the Drama Desk Award, the Lucille Lortel Award, the Pell Award and the Elliot Norton Award for Sustained Excellence. He was recently inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in New York. His credits include The Normal Heart, Agnes of God, Showboat, Ragtime, A Moon for the Misbegotten, The Hairy Ape, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Homecoming and Compulsion. Films include Coppola's Hammett, Huston's Mr. North and Malle's Vanya on 42nd Street. He originally made Providence, R.I., his home because of the opportunity to collaborate with Adrian Hall at Trinity Repertory Company, where he has been the resident designer for more than 40 years.