Berkeley Rep Announces Electrifying Selections for New Season
Berkeley Rep Announces Electrifying Selections for New Season
Berkeley Rep Announces Electrifying Selections for New Season
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UPDATED OCTOBER 1, 2012<br />
For photos, interviews, videos, etc. contact:<br />
Terence Keane, Director of Public Relations<br />
(510) 647-2917, tkeane@berkeleyrep.org<br />
BERKELEY REP ANNOUNCES ELECTRIFYING SELECTIONS FOR NEW SEASON<br />
2012-13 features exhilarating plays from 12 extraordinary artists<br />
MARCH 1, 2012 – Even as shows launched from its stage continue to thrill audiences in <strong>New</strong><br />
York and nationwide, the Tony Award-winning <strong>Berkeley</strong> <strong>Rep</strong>ertory Theatre proudly announces a<br />
new year of exhilarating plays. The upcoming season features an incredible array of<br />
accomplished artists who have collectively earned four Tony Awards and 12 Obie Awards –<br />
Oskar Eustis, David Henry Hwang, Denis O’Hare, Lisa Peterson, Sarah Ruhl,<br />
Leigh Silverman, Les Waters, Mark Wing-Davey, and Mary Zimmerman – while also<br />
introducing local audiences to exceptional young writer Dan LeFranc and Pulitzer Prize-winner<br />
Lawrence Wright.<br />
The Main <strong>Season</strong> <strong>for</strong> 2012-13 begins in August with the West Coast premiere of Chinglish, the<br />
hilarious Broadway comedy written by Hwang and staged by Silverman. Then Zimmerman gives<br />
the Bay Area a beautiful gift <strong>for</strong> the holidays with The White Snake be<strong>for</strong>e <strong>Berkeley</strong> <strong>Rep</strong> brings<br />
the Bard back with a bang in Wing-Davey’s production of Pericles, Prince of Tyre. Wright and<br />
Eustis enter the fray with the world premiere of Fallaci, while Ruhl and Waters reunite <strong>for</strong> the<br />
West Coast premiere of Dear Elizabeth. Meanwhile, the Limited <strong>Season</strong> features Peterson and<br />
O’Hare’s visceral new version of An Iliad alongside the exuberant world premiere of LeFranc’s<br />
Troublemaker, or The Freakin Kick-A Adventures of Bradley Boatright.<br />
This entire experience is generously supported by BART and Wells Fargo, who have stepped<br />
<strong>for</strong>ward as official season sponsors <strong>for</strong> the eighth straight year. Best of all, since <strong>Berkeley</strong><br />
<strong>Rep</strong> insists that scintillating art should be accessible and af<strong>for</strong>dable, theatre lovers can<br />
see three or more shows <strong>for</strong> as little as $27 each!<br />
“<strong>Berkeley</strong> <strong>Rep</strong> always tries to wed passionate artists with potent stories to create work that is<br />
invigorating, entertaining, and challenging,” declares Tony Taccone, the Theatre’s artistic<br />
director. “This season is no different. We’re delighted to welcome back distinguished directors like<br />
Mark, Mary, Lisa, and Leigh, each of whom has had remarkable success since last we met.<br />
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BERKELEY REP ANNOUNCES ELECTRIFYING NEW SEASON / 2 OF 6<br />
We’re excited by the range of writers as well: I’m pleased to bring David back to the Bay Area,<br />
and it’s been quite some time since Shakespeare was seen on our stage. As <strong>for</strong> Dan LeFranc,<br />
he’s got real talent and is about to have a breakout year.<br />
“I’m proud to add Lawrence Wright and Oskar Eustis to the mix,” he continues, “and we all know<br />
how well Sarah and Les work together. I’m delighted to continue our collaboration with these<br />
beloved artists. Whatever we’re exploring, <strong>Berkeley</strong> <strong>Rep</strong> strives to go beyond entertainment and<br />
tap into our shared humanity. Theatre is a communal act that relies on this kind of connection. It<br />
relies on inquisitive artists, on our dedicated staff and volunteers, and on our curious,<br />
adventurous audience.”<br />
Thanks to the eclectic appetite of that audience, <strong>Berkeley</strong> <strong>Rep</strong> has grown from a storefront<br />
stage to a national leader in innovative theatre. Since 1968, it has provided a welcoming<br />
home <strong>for</strong> emerging and established artists, encouraging them to lovingly revive classics and<br />
increasingly to create bold new work. In the last six years, the company has helped send six<br />
shows to Broadway. Eight more landed off Broadway, one moved to London, two turned into<br />
films, and others toured the nation. At present, American Idiot keeps rocking on the road while<br />
Emotional Creature is getting ready <strong>for</strong> its off-Broadway run. Now the curtain rises on another<br />
year of inventive and intelligent plays in <strong>Berkeley</strong>…<br />
The season kicks off in August with the West Coast premiere of Chinglish. David Henry Hwang<br />
won three Obies and the Tony Award <strong>for</strong> Best Play with popular scripts like M. Butterfly and FOB.<br />
Now he’s back with a canny comedy of cross-cultural errors. In Chinglish, an American<br />
businessman heads to Asia to score a lucrative contract <strong>for</strong> his family’s firm – but the deal isn’t<br />
the only thing getting lost in translation as he collides with a Communist minister, a bumbling<br />
consultant, and a suspiciously sexy bureaucrat. “Hilarious,” raves Variety. “This well-made<br />
comedy takes a poignant view of the profound isolation and terrible vulnerability of people who<br />
are lost without their native language.” “I haven’t heard an audience laugh that much in years,”<br />
agrees the Chicago Sun-Times. “There’s sex, heartache, even a bit of song and dance….<br />
Hwang takes a situation that worries most Americans – China’s rise – and the impossibility of<br />
understanding each other, particularly in languages as different as Chinese and English, and<br />
builds a marvelous comedy.” Two-time Obie-winner Leigh Silverman returns to the Roda<br />
Theatre to stage the twists in a terrific play she took to Broadway. Love is on the line, and<br />
laughter fills the ledger in Chinglish.<br />
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BERKELEY REP ANNOUNCES ELECTRIFYING NEW SEASON / 3 OF 6<br />
Then an ancient tale comes roaring back to life in a compelling new telling filled with<br />
contemporary wit and wisdom. The clash of swords and shields, the broken hearts and broken<br />
oaths, the bonds of friendship and family – An Iliad arises on a bare stage, told by an old man<br />
who’s seen too much. In October, Obie Award-winner Lisa Peterson directs a stunning show that<br />
captures the grief and glory of the battle <strong>for</strong> Troy. Homer removes his armor on behalf of all<br />
humanity and reveals the truth within each of us. “Spellbinding,” proclaims the <strong>New</strong> York Times.<br />
“Smartly conceived and impressively executed, An Iliad relates an age-old story that resonates<br />
with tragic meaning today.” Presented on the intimate Thrust Stage, the script by Peterson and<br />
Denis O’Hare is adapted from Robert Fagles’ translation of the original. “Explosive, altogether<br />
breathtaking,” says the Chicago Sun-Times. “Brilliantly meshes past and present calamity, with<br />
touches of the most caustic dark humor suddenly shifting into unimaginable pathos. Their vision<br />
allows us to see the faces of 18-year-old soldiers plucked from the villages of Greece and the<br />
beautiful city of Troy morph into those of the similarly young men from Nebraska and <strong>New</strong> York<br />
who have ended up on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq.” A hawk, a dove… An Iliad races<br />
through time to become indelibly relevant today.<br />
Next <strong>Berkeley</strong> <strong>Rep</strong> welcomes back a beloved artist. Mary Zimmerman is mesmerizing. From<br />
Metamorphoses to The Arabian Nights, audiences have embraced her enchanting adaptations of<br />
epic tales. Now the acclaimed director casts a spell with The White Snake, a classic romance<br />
from Chinese legend. As she falls <strong>for</strong> a charming young man, a snake spirit discovers what it<br />
means to be human. But a monk objects, and the bride must unveil her magical powers to save<br />
their love. “Tony-winning theater alchemist Mary Zimmerman has become famous <strong>for</strong> breathing<br />
fresh life into primal fables,” remarks the Mercury <strong>New</strong>s. “Time and again, she reconnects us to<br />
the myths dancing at the edges of our collective subconscious.” “Zimmerman has the kind of<br />
trans<strong>for</strong>ming theatrical touch that reconnects audiences to what live theater is all about,” adds the<br />
San Francisco Chronicle. “Mystery, magic, a heightened awareness of the physical, music,<br />
spectacle and a showman’s audacity – all these <strong>for</strong>m the defining grammar of her work.” And<br />
USA Today asserts, “Zimmerman could stage the Chicago phone book and have it be<br />
fascinating!” With the alluring and hypnotic White Snake in the Roda Theatre, Zimmerman<br />
unwraps another exquisite gift <strong>for</strong> the holidays.<br />
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BERKELEY REP ANNOUNCES ELECTRIFYING NEW SEASON / 4 OF 6<br />
After the <strong>New</strong> Year, get ready <strong>for</strong> Troublemaker, or The Freakin Kick-A Adventures of Bradley<br />
Boatright. Only <strong>Berkeley</strong> <strong>Rep</strong> could unleash this wild world premiere, which it commissioned from<br />
hot young playwright Dan LeFranc. It’s nineteen mighty-eight. In working-class Rhode Island,<br />
Bradley and his bestest friend tangle with rich kid Jake Miller and some middle-school goons. And<br />
their nemesis has help from a bunch of zombies and grown-ups! Put down that backpack, turn up<br />
the soundtrack, and let’s cut class. LeFranc was awarded the <strong>New</strong> York Times Outstanding<br />
Playwright Award, and that eminent newspaper reported, “In this most vibrant of theatrical<br />
communities, we thought it would be fitting to focus on the most powerful of new voices.” Now he<br />
stirs up trouble on the Thrust Stage with the help of director Lila Neugebauer, a <strong>for</strong>mer intern at<br />
<strong>Berkeley</strong> <strong>Rep</strong> who is now in demand as a freelance director. Faster than a speedboat, more fun<br />
than a video game, Troublemaker has a sassy mouth and an irresistible heart of gold.<br />
Then, with Fallaci, Pulitzer Prize-winner Lawrence Wright turns the spotlight on a fellow reporter<br />
and her fascinating contradictions. Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci was larger than life. Her<br />
childhood courage resisting the Nazis fueled her work as a war correspondent with an<br />
antiauthoritarian zeal that perfectly matched the ’60s and ’70s. She gained fame by grilling<br />
Kissinger, Castro, Khomeini, Qadaffi, and other public figures who squirmed under her ferocious<br />
questioning. In this world premiere, a young woman interviews the fiery author at the end of her<br />
life, when she became a darling of the right. What begins as a discussion of journalism ends with<br />
two women exchanging life-changing lessons about destiny and empathy. Don’t miss this sizzling<br />
new play staged by respected director Oskar Eustis and penned by a revered writer from The<br />
<strong>New</strong> Yorker. “The journalist Lawrence Wright possesses a knack <strong>for</strong> clarifying complicated<br />
problems,” notes the <strong>New</strong> York Times. “Obviously this comes in handy in his regular line of work,<br />
but it is just as useful in his secondary vocation, as a public raconteur trying to elucidate thorny<br />
topical issues from the unlikely pulpit of an Off Broadway stage.” “Like that cool professor whose<br />
courses always fill up first, Wright is the kind of conveyer of wisdom who doesn't so much lecture<br />
as seduce,” says the Washington Post. He is a bestselling author, award-winning journalist,<br />
screenwriter, and playwright whose previous scripts include My Trip to al-Qaeda and The Human<br />
Scale. The latter was also staged by Eustis, artistic director of The Public Theatre, who is known<br />
<strong>for</strong> staging new scripts such as A Bright Room Called Day, Angels in America, Compulsion,<br />
Execution of Justice, and The Ruby Sunrise. Together they bring Fallaci to the Roda Theatre in<br />
March.<br />
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BERKELEY REP ANNOUNCES ELECTRIFYING NEW SEASON / 5 OF 6<br />
Action, adventure, emotion, and awe… Expect that and more when Mark Wing-Davey brings a<br />
nimble take on Shakespeare to <strong>Berkeley</strong> <strong>Rep</strong>. The Obie Award-winning director served up such<br />
diverse works as Mad Forest, The Beaux’ Stratagem, and 36 Views. Next spring he delivers a<br />
riveting look at Pericles, Prince of Tyre. A virtuous man clings to the mast of a storm-tossed ship<br />
as his family reels from palace to brothel to a sacred Greek temple. Knights and pirates, villains<br />
and kings… Discover the excitement of Shakespeare all over again in Pericles. We promise:<br />
despite the tides of fate, the good guys are “led on by heaven and crown’d with joy at last.”<br />
“Wing-Davey combines the instincts of the painter with those of the photojournalist,” notes the<br />
<strong>New</strong> York Times. He “first burst upon the local scene with his electrifying version of Caryl<br />
Churchill’s Mad Forest at the <strong>Rep</strong> in 1992, then staged ACT’s long-running production of Angels<br />
in America,” the San Francisco Examiner explains. Don’t miss his long overdue return to<br />
<strong>Berkeley</strong> <strong>Rep</strong>’s Thrust Stage.<br />
The final show in the season features a pair of acclaimed collaborators: Sarah Ruhl and<br />
Les Waters, the creators of Eurydice, In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), and Three Sisters,<br />
return to <strong>Berkeley</strong> <strong>Rep</strong> with another tale of love and longing. Dear Elizabeth follows the beautiful<br />
and bittersweet friendship between Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell. Across oceans and<br />
continents, across three decades, these esteemed poets found a true marriage of minds in their<br />
eloquent correspondence. Dubbed the Dickinson and Whitman of the 20 th century, they traded<br />
hundreds of vibrant, witty, and passionate letters that now spring to life on stage. This West Coast<br />
premiere paints an intimate portrait of two extraordinary – and quite ordinary – lives, told anew by<br />
two of the finest artists of our time. “Ruhl, like Dickinson, is a wild original,” says Smithsonian.<br />
“Even when she tackles darker topics – heartbreak, loss, disease, and death – her touch is light.”<br />
“In Les Waters, who directed her exciting Eurydice a few seasons back, she has found an expert<br />
collaborator,” adds The <strong>New</strong> Yorker. Next May, they turn their attention to Bishop and Lowell<br />
with a new play in the Roda Theatre. As Mark Doty wrote after seeing the correspondence<br />
between his fellow poets, “There's such life in these letters that the reader can't help but feel<br />
included in an intimate bond between two lively, vulnerable, and complex souls. Because their<br />
exchange stretches across decades, we watch these fast friends struggle, deepen, and change,<br />
and help to shape each other's work.”<br />
Get the best seats <strong>for</strong> these shows at the consistently lowest prices by subscribing to<br />
<strong>Berkeley</strong> <strong>Rep</strong>. The Main <strong>Season</strong> package guarantees tickets <strong>for</strong> Chinglish, Dear Elizabeth,<br />
Fallaci, Pericles, and The White Snake, while the Full <strong>Season</strong> package also includes seats <strong>for</strong> An<br />
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BERKELEY REP ANNOUNCES ELECTRIFYING NEW SEASON / 6 OF 6<br />
Iliad and Troublemaker. Alternatively, you can “choose your own season” by selecting three or<br />
more plays that appeal to your palate. In addition to significant savings, subscribers receive<br />
valuable benefits such as the right to reschedule <strong>for</strong> free, discounts when purchasing tickets <strong>for</strong><br />
friends, and the opportunity to secure seats be<strong>for</strong>e the general public <strong>for</strong> special events like<br />
Mikhail Baryshnikov’s In Paris and Eve Ensler’s Emotional Creature. Best of all, subscribers have<br />
guaranteed seats to sold-out plays while others are turned away.<br />
Ticket packages begin as low as $81. <strong>Berkeley</strong> <strong>Rep</strong> also offers generous discounts <strong>for</strong> senior<br />
citizens, theatregoers under 30, and employees of nursery, elementary, and secondary schools.<br />
Purchase a subscription now, because individual seats don’t go on sale until August.<br />
In addition to offering steep savings on great seats <strong>for</strong> subscribers, <strong>Berkeley</strong> <strong>Rep</strong> organizes<br />
free events nearly every night to stretch that budget even further. Arrive at the Theatre early to<br />
enjoy gourmet tastings with local culinary artisans, pre-show talks with trained docents, and a<br />
delicious menu of local, organic, and sustainable food at the café. Certain evenings also feature<br />
post-show chats with the artists or late-night parties that welcome a new generation of<br />
theatregoers. These free activities trans<strong>for</strong>m a play into an entire evening of entertainment.<br />
In four decades, four million people have enjoyed more than 300 shows at <strong>Berkeley</strong> <strong>Rep</strong>.<br />
These shows have gone on to win five Tony Awards, seven Obie Awards, nine Drama Desk<br />
Awards, one Grammy Award, and many other honors. In recognition of its place on the national<br />
stage, <strong>Berkeley</strong> <strong>Rep</strong> was honored with the Tony Award <strong>for</strong> Outstanding Regional Theatre in<br />
1997. Its bustling facilities – which include the 400-seat Thrust Stage, the 600-seat Roda Theatre,<br />
the <strong>Berkeley</strong> <strong>Rep</strong> School of Theatre, and a spacious new campus in West <strong>Berkeley</strong> – are helping<br />
revitalize a renowned city. A not-<strong>for</strong>-profit organization, the theatre welcomes an annual audience<br />
of 200,000, serves 23,000 students, and hosts dozens of community groups every year, thanks to<br />
1,000 volunteers and more than 330 artists, artisans, and administrators.<br />
Come see tomorrow’s shows today at <strong>Berkeley</strong> <strong>Rep</strong>. The Roda Theatre and the Thrust Stage<br />
are both located on Addison Street in downtown <strong>Berkeley</strong>, near bus lines, bike routes, and<br />
parking lots – and only half a block from BART. For more in<strong>for</strong>mation, call (510) 647-2949 or<br />
click berkeleyrep.org.<br />
# # #
CHINGLISH<br />
Main <strong>Season</strong> Play #1 – Roda Theatre<br />
West Coast premiere<br />
Written by David Henry Hwang<br />
Directed by Leigh Silverman<br />
August 24 – October 7, 2012<br />
Opening night: August 29, 2012<br />
AN ILIAD<br />
Limited <strong>Season</strong> Play #1 – Thrust Stage<br />
Adapted from Homer<br />
By Lisa Peterson & Denis O’Hare<br />
Translation by Robert Fagles<br />
Directed by Lisa Peterson<br />
October 12 – November 11, 2012<br />
Opening night: October 17, 2012<br />
THE WHITE SNAKE<br />
Main <strong>Season</strong> Play #2 – Roda Theatre<br />
Written and directed by Mary Zimmerman<br />
November 9 – December 23, 2012<br />
Opening night: November 14, 2012<br />
TROUBLEMAKER,<br />
or The Freakin Kick-A Adventures<br />
of Bradley Boatright<br />
Limited <strong>Season</strong> Play #2 – Thrust Stage<br />
World premiere<br />
Written by Dan LeFranc<br />
Directed by Lila Neugebauer<br />
January 4 – February 3, 2013<br />
Opening night: January 9, 2013<br />
2012-13 SEASON SCHEDULE<br />
# # #<br />
FALLACI<br />
Main <strong>Season</strong> Play #3 – Roda Theatre<br />
World premiere<br />
Written by Lawrence Wright<br />
Directed by Oskar Eustis<br />
March 8 – April 21, 2013<br />
Opening night: March 13, 2013<br />
PERICLES, PRINCE OF TYRE<br />
Main <strong>Season</strong> Play #4 – Thrust Stage<br />
Written by William Shakespeare<br />
Directed by Mark Wing-Davey<br />
April 12 – May 26, 2013<br />
Opening night: April 17, 2013<br />
DEAR ELIZABETH<br />
Main <strong>Season</strong> Play #5 – Roda Theatre<br />
West Coast premiere<br />
Written by Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell<br />
Arranged by Sarah Ruhl<br />
Directed by Les Waters<br />
May 24 – July 7, 2013<br />
Opening night: May 29, 2013