:: MacIDeas :: Press Release

For Immediate Release
Thursday August 5, 2004

WOODY HARRELSON, JASON LEWIS
AND MATT & BEN TAKE TORONTO BY STORM THIS FALL

Critically acclaimed This Is Our Youth returns with Big Star Power along with the Off-Broadway smash hit MATT & BEN

Toronto- macIDeas today announced the return of the smash hit production of Kenneth Lonergan's This Is Our Youth, directed by Woody Harrelson and the Canadian premiere production of the New York and Los Angeles pop-culture hit MATT & BEN; This Is Our Youth will return to the Berkeley Street Theatre and MATT & BEN will feature at the Poor Alex Theatre this fall.

Operating in live theatre, film and television, macIDeas is a production company with a mandate to produce thought provoking stories that examine who we are as people. As a prerequisite, the company feels strongly that these stories must be artistically relevant and commercially viable to commit to a project. The principals of the company are: Matthew Bassett (Chairman), Marcello Cabezas (Artistic Producer), Derrick Chua (Producer, Legal Counsel), Steven Moore (Producer, Live Entertainment), Carolyn Newman (Senior Producer, Film & TV), Leron Cohen (Producer, Business Affairs), and Tyler Levine (Producer, Film & TV). macIDeas boasts a wonderfully able advisory board and various associate producers who bring much value to each project.

macIDeas is being assisted on these projects by the producing talents of Michael Rubinoff, Corey Ross, Dee Shipley, Kate Meehan, Rick Gerrits, and Chris Reynolds.

We are also pleased to announce the support and assistance of Jeff Stober and The Drake Hotel for both of these projects. Mr. Stober's commitment to exciting artistic ventures in our city and beyond is reflected in his belief and commitment to macIDeas and the magic we are attempting to create.

"We were overwhelmed with the success of This Is Our Youth last year and are thrilled that Woody has joined us again for this year's production along with an amazing cast and crew," said Marcello Cabezas, Artistic Producer, macIDeas. " MATT & BEN is such a dynamic play that has received such overwhelming acclaim in New York and Los Angeles that we couldn't let Toronto miss out on this experience," said Matthew Bassett, Chairman, macIDeas.

Headlining This Is Our Youth is Jason Lewis of Sex and the City fame where he played opposite Kim Cattrall as her love interest in the series final season. He will play Dennis Ziegler. Acclaimed Canadian actress Katharine Isabelle will perform opposite Jason as Jessica Goldman. Isabelle is known for her many roles in film and television including Ginger Snaps, Falling Angels, Cousins and Josie and the Pussycats. Marcello Cabezas, will return in his critically acclaimed portrayal of Warren Straub. Cabezas, co-founder of macIDeas, has also participated as an actor in Vladeck, choke. (TIFF, Palm Springs, Woodstock 2004) and the award-winning series Blue Murder.

This Is our Youth playwright, Kenneth Lonergan is one of the most exciting talents in the entertainment community. With a successful history in screenwriting (having worked on
projects including; Analyze This and Rocky & Bullwinkle), he has been nominated for two
Academy Awards for best screenplay; You Can Count on Me (2001) and Gangs Of
New York (2002).

This is Our Youth was nominated for the esteemed Drama Desk Award. Aside from its great success in Toronto last year, the play has enjoyed a very successful West End run in
London with Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Hayden Christiansen and Anna Paquin among the performers involved. The play has since been remounted in London with Colin Hanks,
Kieran Culkin and Alison Lohman with Freddie Prinze Jr., Chris Klein and Heather Burns.

MATT & BEN starring Toronto actors, Hilary Doyle and Jane Spence, is written by Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers and directed by David Warren who is best known for his work on the Broadway revival; Philip Barry's Holiday starring Laura Linney and Tony Goldwyn and Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke starring Mary McDonnell and Harry Hamlin.

The Canadian premiere of MATT& BEN is a macIDeas production in association with Victoria Lang & Pier Paolo Piccoli and Stephen Pevner and some other producing partners still being confirmed.

The play looks at the relationship between Matt Damon and Ben Affleck depicting Hollywood's golden boys. MATT & BEN took the prize for "Best Overall Production" during its sold-out run at the New York International Fringe Festival and was the only play invited to appear at the HBO sponsored 2003 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. In July 2003, MATT & BEN opened at Off-Broadway's P.S. 122 in the East Village and took the New York theatre scene by storm with the New York Times calling the show "Absolutely delightful, sharp and clever!"

MATT & BEN has been called "The hottest ticket in town!" by Us Weekly, "The Hottest Play in New York" by Newsweek, "A big Off-Broadway hit!" by E! Entertainment Television and "A run-away hit!" by Variety. MATT & BEN was included on Entertainment Weekly's "Must List," Rolling Stone Magazine's "2003 Hot List" and was among Time Magazine's top five theatre picks of the year. MATT & BEN had its West Coast premiere at The Acme Comedy Theatre in Los Angeles in April, and received rave reviews.

This Is Our Youth preview performances run September 2-6, and the play opens September 7 and runs to October 2 for a limited engagement of 35 performances. MATT & BEN previews begin September 30, with regular performances from October 5 to November 14, 2004.

For This is Our Youth, ticket prices range from $25.00 - $59.75. Evening performances will run Monday to Saturday at 8p.m. and matinees on Thursdays at 1p.m. and Saturdays at 2p.m. Some student tickets available for Thursday matinees and rush seats will be available if tickets are available. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling the CanStage box office at (416) 368-3110 or through the Ticketmaster box office at (416) 872-1111 or online at www.ticketmaster.ca. For more information on This is Our Youth, please visit www.thisisouryouth.ca.

For Matt & Ben, tickets will be $20.00-35.00, with some student discounts. Performances will run Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday 8pm, Thursday 7pm and a special late night show at 10pm, Saturday 4pm, Sunday 2pm. Tickets will be on sale starting August 15th and can be purchased through Ticketmaster at 416-872-1111 or online at www.ticketmaster.ca. For more information, please visit www.mattandbentheplay.com.