Playhouse to open season with 'Les Misérables'
By Deborah Martin, January 18, 2013
Playhouse President and CEO Asia Ciaravino read a lot of plays before hitting on what she thinks is the best lineup for the 2013-14 season.
She was looking for pieces that lent themselves to community outreach for the theater, including talk-backs and performances outside the space. And she looked for works that would stretch the artists.
“It's a really good opportunity for our talent to shine,” she said.
To that end, the Russell Hill Rogers stage upstairs will offer:
“Les Misérables”: The sprawling musical, which spawned the current big-buzz movie, spins a tale of redemption, romance and revolution. The Playhouse will be the first non-school in the city to produce the piece; the North East School of the Arts staged the school edition in 2011.
“Guys and Dolls”: The 1950 musical offers up the lively story of gamblers trying to keep a game going and the women who exasperate and enchant them. The score includes such classics as “Adelaide's Lament,” “Luck be a Lady,” “Sue Me” and “Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat.”
“Company”: Stephen Sondheim's 1970 musical drama follows a man as he reflects on his relationships and the fact that he's never married. The score includes “Another Hundred People” and “The Ladies Who Lunch.”
“Funny Girl”: The musical digs into the life of performer Fanny Brice. The score includes “People,” “Don't Rain on My Parade” and “The Music That Makes Me Dance.”
“Tommy”: The rock opera brings The Who's 1969 double album about a “deaf, dumb and blind kid” who “sure plays a mean pinball” to the stage. The score includes “See Me, Feel Me,” “Listening to You” and “I'm Free.”
As for the Cellar season, it holds:
“Wittenberg”: David Davalos' comedic drama brings together Hamlet, Faustus and Martin Luther for a piece exploring philosophical concepts.
“The Waiting Room”: Lisa Loomer's comedic drama explores shifting ideas of female beauty and the cost of that pursuit.
“Venus in Fur”: David Ives' drama is set at an audition for a theatrical adaptation of the erotic novel “Venus in Fur.” The playwright/director and an unlikely contender for the role find themselves drawn to each other, and lines between the play and reality begin to blur.
“Dead Man's Cell Phone”: Sarah Ruhl's exploration of technology and metaphysics begins with a woman snatching up an incessantly ringing cellphone that turns out to belong to a dead man. She starts taking messages and, eventually, sets out to try to make things right on that stranger's behalf.
“Clyborne Park”: Bruce Norris' 2011 Pulitzer Prize winner updates “A Raisin in the Sun,” exploring race and gentrification in both 1959 and in the 21st century.
dlmartin@express-news.net
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