Berkeley Rep Announces Electrifying Selections for New Season

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

CHINGLISH
Main Season Play #1 – Roda Theatre
West Coast premiere
Written by David Henry Hwang
Directed by Leigh Silverman
August 24 – October 7, 2012
Opening night: August 29, 2012
AN ILIAD
Limited Season Play #1 – Thrust Stage
Adapted from Homer
By Lisa Peterson & Denis O’Hare
Translation by Robert Fagles
Directed by Lisa Peterson
October 12 – November 11, 2012
Opening night: October 17, 2012
THE WHITE SNAKE
Main Season Play #2 – Roda Theatre
Written and directed by Mary Zimmerman
November 9 – December 23, 2012
Opening night: November 14, 2012
TROUBLEMAKER,
or The Freakin Kick-A Adventures
of Bradley Boatright
Limited Season Play #2 – Thrust Stage
World premiere
Written by Dan LeFranc
Directed by Lila Neugebauer
January 4 – February 3, 2013
Opening night: January 9, 2013
2012-13 SEASON SCHEDULE
# # #
FALLACI
Main Season Play #3 – Roda Theatre
World premiere
Written by Lawrence Wright
Directed by Oskar Eustis
March 8 – April 21, 2013
Opening night: March 13, 2013
PERICLES, PRINCE OF TYRE
Main Season Play #4 – Thrust Stage
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Mark Wing-Davey
April 12 – May 26, 2013
Opening night: April 17, 2013
DEAR ELIZABETH
Main Season Play #5 – Roda Theatre
West Coast premiere
Written by Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell
Arranged by Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Les Waters
May 24 – July 7, 2013
Opening night: May 29, 2013