Playhouse season focuses on women
By Deborah Martin : January 9, 2014
The theater's 2014-'15 season focuses heavily on women, featuring several pieces written by female playwrights, including a world premiere, and a number of juicy roles for actresses.
Here's the lineup for the Russell Hill Rogers stage upstairs:
The Wizard of Oz, Oct. 3-Nov. 2: Odds are, you know the story — tornado-displaced Dorothy tries to make her way home — as well as the music, including “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” and “Over the Rainbow.”
Fiddler on the Roof, Dec. 5-22: Patrons frequently request the musical, said Playhouse President and CEO Asia Ciaravino. It follows a family in a time of transition, as the parents cleave to tradition and their daughters start to venture into a changing world.
Gypsy, Feb. 13-March 15: The musical is based on the childhood of burlesque queen Gypsy Rose Lee, who was raised by a stage parent who went by the handle Mama Rose.
Drood (The Mystery of Edwin Drood), May 29-June 21: The musical is based on Charles Dickens' unfinished novel “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.” The audience determines the ending.
Grease, July 17-Aug. 16: The final audience fave of the upstairs season looks at the greasers and their gals at Rydell High in 1959.
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| Sheila Rinear (via Express-News) |
End of the Rainbow, Oct. 10-Nov. 2: The piece, which looks at Judy Garland's final days, will run concurrently with “Wizard of Oz,” Ciaravino said. The film version of “Wizard” helped establish Garland's place as a pop culture superstar, so offering the two shows will allow audiences to explore her work from two perspectives.
Merry Gentlemen, Dec. 11-14: San Antonio-based playwright Sheila Rinear will spend this year working with students and community members to develop this piece, a holiday-themed work that will premiere in the Cellar.
The Last Five Years, Jan. 30-Feb. 22: Jason Robert Brown's musical about the end of a relationship is built around a nifty gimmick: The wife tells her version of events beginning at the end and moving backward through time, while her soon-to-be-ex-husband tells things in chronological order.
Crime and Punishment, March 13-April 5: Marilyn Campbell's and Curt Columbus' script boils the Dostoyevsky novel into a taut 90 minutes.
4000 Miles, May 15-June 7: Amy Herzog's play is about a young man who suffers a loss and recovers by moving in with his 91-year-old grandmother.
Water by the Spoonful, July 3-26: Quiara AlegrÃa Hudes's Pulitzer Prize winning drama is about an Iraqi war veteran trying to forge a life for himself stateside.
In addition, plans are afoot for Motherhood Out Loud, a Vagina Monologues-like look at parenting; it's slated to run May 8-10. Ciaravino is making plans to present it away from The Playhouse. The production will be a fundraiser for the theater's education programs.
dlmartin@express-news.net
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