PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, April 14, 2011 CONTACT: Patrick Finlon, Marketing Director 315-443-2636 or [email protected]
Syracuse Stage Announces 2011-2012 Season Large-Scale Musicals and Acclaimed New Works Showcase Range of Theatrical Art
(Syracuse, NY)—Syracuse Stage is pleased to announce its 2011- 2012 season. Offerings will include The Turn of the Screw from the book by Henry James; comedy and compassion in The Boys Next Door; a musical adaptation of C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; the acclaimed musical event Caroline, or Change by Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori; the winner of the 2010 Tony Award for Best New Play, Red; and The Brothers Size, a contemporary drama by celebrated playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney. For information on season packages, call the Syracuse Stage Box Office at 315-443-3275. Tickets for individual shows will be available later this year at a date TBD.
―Syracuse Stage is very proud to be offering Central New York some of the leading plays being performed in theatres across the country,‖ said Producing Artistic Director Timothy Bond. ―With two of the largest musicals that we’ve produced in recent years, and newer plays that have received critical acclaim in New York and beyond, our patrons are in for a rewarding season that showcases a wide range of world-class theatrical art.‖
Four of the 2011-2012 productions will be performed in the 499-seat Archbold Theatre. The Turn of the Screw and The Brothers Size will be performed in a reconfigured Storch Theatre (usually a 200-seat endstage space). The reconfigured space will offer approximately 260 seats in a three-quarter thrust configuration, with seating sections on three sides of the performance area.
―The Turn of the Screw and The Brothers Size call for intense and nuanced performances appreciated best in an intimate space where you can be close to the stage,‖ notes Bond. ―The reconfigured Storch Theatre, where no seat is further than seven rows from the stage, allows us flexibility in programming that puts Syracuse Stage in league with major theatre companies around the country.‖
Stage’s Managing Director Jeffrey Woodward adds: ―Theatres offering three-quarter thrust configurations include Lincoln Center Theatre in New York, American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Hartford Stage in Connecticut, the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, and the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. We are pleased to now offer this experience to Central New York theatregoers.‖
Other offerings for next season will include the continuation of Stage’s longstanding Welch Allyn Sign Interpreted Performance Series In Memory of Susan Thompson, as well as the new
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Open Captioned Performance Series and Audio Described Performance Series. Such programs ensure access for all to experience the transformative power of live theatre.
―Our mission includes reaching out to all members of our community,‖ said Bond. ―Syracuse Stage is national in the sense that we are a professional theatre company collaborating with the country’s finest artists. Equally important, we are a local company, with a full-time resident staff doing everything from building the sets and costumes to administrative functions such as marketing and educational outreach. It’s important to us as a regional theatre to be part of the local community and to be a welcoming place for all.‖
This past season, many community partnerships were deepened, including a partnership with the Onondaga Historical Association which has produced several exhibits relating to Syracuse Stage productions; a partnership with the Syracuse Film Festival in presenting Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps; M&T Bank sponsored Pay-What-You-Can events; Prologue conversations with actors before every show; partnerships with Syracuse University to make tickets easily available to students; art exhibits featuring the work of local photographers; a partnership with SUNY Upstate Medical University bringing medical students to The Clean House followed by discussions on medical ethics; and a large-scale video project featuring children affiliated with WHOLE ME, a local organization providing educational and social services for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals.
In the upcoming season, Syracuse Stage looks forward to more community partnerships and to continuing its mission of bringing world-class theatre to Central New York.
THE 2011-2012 SEASON:
The Turn of the Screw A Psychological Thriller and Ghost Story *Performed in the reconfigured Storch Theatre September 21—October 16, 2011
Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher From the story by Henry James Directed by Michael Barakiva
―A dazzling act of the imagination. Mr. Hatcher has pushed James' clever turn to its furthest degree." — The New York Times
Do you believe in ghosts? If you saw a ghost, would you trust your senses or run to the nearest psychiatric-Promptcare? Henry James caused quite a scandal when he published his psychological thriller The Turn of the Screw, a riveting story of a young governess and two small children set on a remote English estate. In this wildly entertaining stage adaptation, two actors bring all of James’ eccentric characters and spine-tingling moments to life. What is lurking at the top of the stairs?
Background: Originally published in 1898 as a novella by Henry James, The Turn of the Screw was developed into a stage adaptation titled The Innocents in 1950, which led to a 1954 opera by Benjamin Britten and a 1961 movie starring Deborah Kerr as the governess. A 1959 television play version featured Ingrid Bergman. One of the best and most famous stories in the psychological horror genre, Turn has inspired countless works including the feature film
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The Others starring Nicole Kidman. Henry James was an American-born writer who spent much of his life in England. He was a contemporary and friend to writer Edith Wharton and artist John Singer Sargent. Other notable works by James includes Daisy Miller (1879), The Portrait of a Lady (1881), The Bostonians (1886), What Maisie Knew (1897), The Wings of a Dove (1902), and The Ambassadors (1903).
The Boys Next Door Comedy and Compassion in a Group Home for the Disabled October 19—November 6, 2011
By Tom Griffin Directed by Timothy Bond
"Griffin's play hits squarely on the truth of life with its constant interplays and shadings of triumphs and tears." —NY Daily News
Meet Arnold Wiggins. He’s basically a nervous person. He lives with Lucien P. Smith who likes to read very big books, and Norman who works in the doughnut shop, and Barry who imagines he is a golf pro (lessons $1.13 per hour). In addition to an apartment, these guys share a caseworker named Jack who, despite his genuine concern for his clients, is on the verge of total burn-out. The Boys Next Door is a gentle comedy from the late 80s set in a group home for the developmentally disabled. As playwright Griffin reveals the daily struggles of his characters to make sense of their world and their places in it, he reminds us to consider how much we take for granted every day. The Boys Next Door is very funny and very touching.
Background: The Boys Next Door was written in the early 1980s. After a 1987 Off-Broadway run, it quickly became a hot regional play produced at theatres across the country. In 1996 it became a made-for-TV movie featuring Nathan Lane, Courtney B. Vance, Michael Jeter and Robert Sean Leonard. The Boys Next Door at Syracuse Stage will be presented in celebration of the 60th anniversary of ARC of Onondaga, the largest provider of services to people with developmental disabilities in Onondaga County.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Narnia Comes to Life in a Mystical Adventure *Co-Produced with Syracuse University’s Department of Drama November 25—December 31, 2011
Dramatized by Adrian Mitchell Music Composed by Shaun Davey Directed by Linda Hartzell Musical Direction by Dianne Adams McDowell
―A roaring success.‖ – The Birmingham Post
London. The war is on and the bombs are falling. Four children – Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy – flee the perils of the Blitz to the safety of the countryside. In an old wardrobe they discover a portal to the land of Narnia, where a fearsome White Witch holds the inhabitants spellbound in a winter lasting 100 years. There the children enter a deadly struggle, joining with the great lion, Aslan, to battle the White Witch and her army. Commissioned by the
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Royal Shakespeare Company and rarely produced State-side, this thrilling musical adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ inspiring tale delivers excitement for the whole family.
Background: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the first of seven books in C.S Lewis’ magical Chronicles of Narnia, written between 1950 and 1956, which includes Prince Caspian (1951), The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952), The Silver Chair (1953), The Horse and His Boy (1954), The Magician’s Nephew (1955), and The Last Battle (1956). The books have sold over 100 million copies and have been printed in over 40 languages, solidifying their place as one of the most significant series in the genres of fantasy and children’s literature. While there have been many adaptations including films and stage productions, this 1998 version created for the Royal Shakespeare Company is regarded as one of the best, breaking all box office records when it debuted. Writer Adrian Mitchell was a poet, novelist and playwright who wrote more than 30 plays, operas, children's plays, classic adaptations. Composer Shaun Davey scored many productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company including A Winter’s Tale, Columbus and the Discovery of Japan, The Tempest, and King Lear. In addition, Davey received a Tony nomination for composing music for James Joyce’s The Dead, which ran on Broadway in 2000.
Caroline, or Change The Acclaimed Musical Event Blending Blues, Gospel and Traditional Jewish Melodies— by Tony Kushner (Angels in America) and Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie) February 1—26, 2012
Book and Lyrics by Tony Kushner Music by Jeanine Tesori Directed by Marcela Lorca
―A monumental achievement in American musical theatre.‖ – New York Observer
An eight-year-old boy named Noah Gellman struggles with the loss of his mother and the arrival of a new stepmother. One constant in his life are the small daily rituals he shares with Caroline, the family’s African-American maid. The year is 1963—civil rights and Kennedy—and in the Gellman household in Lake Charles, Louisiana, change is coming for everyone, in big ways and small. Two powerhouses of the American theatre, playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America) and composer Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie and Shrek: The Musical), join forces on a musical of startling creativity and refreshing originality (don’t be surprised when the washing machine starts to sing). Acclaimed on Broadway and winner of London’s prestigious Olivier Award for Best New Musical, with a score ranging from blues to gospel to traditional Jewish melodies, Caroline, or Change proves playwright Kushner’s point that ―music is a blessing that enters the soul through the ear.‖
Background: Caroline received six Tony nominations including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Score; it won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music; and it won the presitigious 2007 Olivier Award for Best New Musical. After its sold-out run at the Public Theatre in New York City, Caroline moved to Broadway’s Eugene O’Neill Theatre followed by numerous productions around the country. The production at the Guthrie Theatre, directed by Marcela Lorca, is regarded as one of the very best, featuring Greta Ogelsby in the title role. ―Ogelsby delivers a ravishing and powerful lead performance . . . playwright Tony Kushner was visibly choked up,‖ reported the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Here at Syracuse Stage, Ogelsby will
4 reprise the title role and Marcela Lorca returns to direct. Many of the characters in Caroline were inspired by Kushner’s childhood in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Red Winner of the 2010 Tony Award for Best New Play March 7—25, 2012
By John Logan Directed by Penny Metropulos
―A sizzling, intellectually thrilling drama.‖ – Chicago Tribune
The 2010 Tony Award-winner for Best Play, Red is an intense and exciting bio-drama of the famed Abstract Expressionist painter Mark Rothko at the time that he was working on a commission for a series of murals for New York’s Four Seasons restaurant. On paper, the play has two characters, Rothko and young assistant. On stage, the paintings themselves become characters adding a stunning visual presence and making palpable the intense physical process of the art. As Rothko and his young protégé prepare paint and canvas and assess and reassess each work, they engage in a combative struggle over the methods and purpose of art that is sharp, funny and mentally invigorating.
Background: Mark Rothko (originally named Marcus Rothkowitz) was born in Russia and came to the United States with his family in 1913. A major figure in New York’s Abstract Expressionist movement, he has been the subject of retrospectives at the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and other major museums around the world. John Logan has written 14 plays including Never the Sinner, Hauptmann: Speaking in Tongues, Scorched Earth and Riverview. His new adaptation of Ibsen's The Master Builder appeared on the West End in 2003. Logan's work as a screenwriter includes Sweeney Todd (Golden Globe award); The Aviator (Oscar, Golden Globe and WGA nominations); Gladiator (Oscar, Golden Globe and WGA nominations); The Last Samurai; Any Given Sunday, and RKO 281 (WGA award, Emmy nomination). The Broadway production of Red was produced by Arielle Tepper Madover, a 1994 graduate of the Department of Drama in Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts.
The Brothers Size A Contemporary Drama by Celebrated Playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney *Performed in the reconfigured Storch Theatre April 18—May 13, 2012
By Tarell Alvin McCraney Directed by Timothy Bond
―Listen closely, and you might hear that thrilling sound that is one of the main reasons we go to the theatre, that beautiful music of a new voice.‖ – The New York Times
Tarell Alvin McCraney is an exciting new voice in American Theatre and his award-winning The Brothers Size proves why. In the Louisiana bayou, big brother Ogun Size is hardworking and steady. Younger brother Oshoosi is just out of prison and aimless. Elegba, Oshoosi’s old prison mate, is a mysterious complication. A simple circle defines a world that begins in ritual and evolves into a tough and tender drama of what it means to brother and be brothered. Flights
5 of poetry, music, dance and West African mythology combine in a contemporary tale that explores the tenuousness of freedom and the need to belong somewhere, to something, to someone.
Background: In 2007, The Brothers Size started as a workshop at the Yale School of Drama (where McCraney served as an assistant to August Wilson) with performances at the Public Theatre in New York and McCarter Theatre Center in New Jersey, followed by its European premiere at the Young Vic. The immense critical acclaim led to being nominated for London’s Olivier Award. In 2008, McCraney became a Playwright in Residence at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and in 2010 he became the 43rd member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Ensemble. The now 31-year-old playwright’s success has earned him the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright, a 2009 GLAAD Award for Outstanding Play, the Paula Vogel Playwriting Award, the inaugural New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award, and a Hodder Fellowship at Princeton University. The Brothers Size is part of McCraney’s Brother/Sister trilogy.
SYRACUSE STAGE
Syracuse Stage is Central New York’s premier professional theatre. Founded in 1974, Stage has produced more than 235 plays in 38 seasons including a number of world, American, and East Coast premieres. Each season 90,000 patrons enjoy an adventurous mix of new plays and bold interpretations of classics and musicals featuring the finest theatre artists. In addition, Stage maintains a vital educational outreach program that annually serves over 30,000 students from 24 counties. A solid core of subscribers and supporters helps keep Syracuse Stage a vibrant artistic presence in Central New York. Additional support comes from the government, foundations, corporations and Syracuse University. Syracuse Stage is a constituent of the Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, and a member of the Arts and Cultural Leadership Alliance (ACLA), the University Hill Corporation and the East Genesee Regent Association. Syracuse Stage is a member of The League of Resident Theatres (LORT), the largest professional theatre association in the country.
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Syracuse Stage I Producing Artistic Director: Timothy Bond I Managing Director: Jeffrey Woodward 820 E. Genesee St. I Main: 315-443-4008 I Box Office: 315-443-3275 I www.SyracuseStage.org
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