| New
York Theatre Workshop's 2008/2009 Season
THINGS
OF DRY HOURS
Written by Naomi Wallace. Directed by Ruben
Santiago-Hudson. January 2009
In Depression-era Alabama, Tice Hogan, a black Sunday school teacher
and Communist Party leader, lives at the
edge of trouble. When a white factory worker on the run demands sanctuary,
Tice and his daughter, Cali, may just
be forced to cross the line. In Things of Dry Hours,
playwright Naomi Wallace’s (Trestle at Pope
Lick Creek at NYTW) powerful and poetic language lays bare the
dangerous collision of gender, race, and ideology. Tony Award-winner
Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Seven Guitars on Broadway
and Signature Theatre) directs.
Two
additional productions will be selected from the following list of options:
BLOODY
BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON
Written by Alex Timbers. Music and Lyrics by Michael
Friedman. Directed by Alex Timbers.
Shootouts! Indians! Rock 'n' Roll! Oh my! Bloody Bloody
Andrew Jackson, a wild and wicked new rock musical, is
an irreverent history lesson for the 21st century. Bloody
Bloody... tells the story of the long and dubious journey
of America's seventh president, from joining the frontier army at 13
to becoming the first populist leader of the "free world."
From Alex Timbers (A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s
Scientology Pageant) and OBIE-Award winning composer Michael
Friedman, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
takes a scorching, sly, and timely look at a moment in history when,
for better or worse, the politics and politicians of the time helped
shape and form the country as we now know it.
BEAST
Written by
Michael Weller.
In this fever dream for the theatre, playwright Michael Weller
asks the provocative question “Is America prepared to face the
consequences of its actions in Iraq?” Two American soldiers, shipped
home from their final tour in Iraq, physically and emotionally maimed,
seem to be unable to leave the battle behind. Beast
ignites with the fury and confusion of these warriors who return to
a home that they find unworthy of their sacrifices. They go on a rampage
across the American landscape, a horror-filled road trip, and at each
stop they feed on the ugliness and violence that they find. America
may be fighting them over there to keep us safe at home, but Beast
forces us to confront our own complicity in the havoc wreaked by these
two hapless souls.
THE
GRAND INQUISITOR
Adapted by Marie Hélène Estienne from
The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky. Directed by Peter
Brook.
With Bruce Myers. A co-presentation with Theatre
for a New Audience.
Legendary theatre director Peter Brook and actor Bruce
Myers, one of his greatest long-time collaborators, give life
to Dostoyevsky’s chilling parable about the perversion of religious
faith.
THE
NIGHTINGALE
Books and Lyrics by Steven Sater. Music by Duncan
Sheik. Directed by James Lapine.
From
Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater (the
Tony Award-winning creators of Spring Awakening) and Tony-
and Pulitzer-winner James Lapine (Sunday in the
Park With George, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) comes
a new musical based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen.
THE
HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER
Based on the novel by Carson McCullers. Adapted by
Rebecca Gilman. Directed by Doug Hughes.
When
a mysterious, mute stranger arrives in a small Southern town, the locals
flock to him as a newfound confidant, seeking compassion and understanding
from the one person who needs it the most. As they start to rely on
him more and more for both emotional and financial support, he finds
himself slipping deeper and deeper into a black hole of loneliness.
Adapted for the stage by acclaimed playwright Rebecca Gilman
and directed by Doug Hughes (The Beard of Avon
at NYTW, Doubt), The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is
a beautiful and timeless tale about the universal need for human connection.
TALES
FROM HOLLYWOOD
Written by Christopher Hampton.
Hollywood.
1938. Austrian playwright and novelist Odon von Horvath arrives, fleeing
Europe and trying to make a life for himself as a screenwriter. In the
midst of the brutal World War, Horvath and his fellow émigré
writers, including Thomas Mann and Bertolt Brecht, struggle to find
a place for themselves in America while coming to terms with the political
actions of their countrymen. When the war finally ends, the lucky escapees
find themselves persecuted by the country that took them in. Tales
From Hollywood is a moving and cautionary tale about the
potentially tragic effects of remaining true to one’s beliefs
during a time of political unrest.
NEW
AT NYTW:
OFF AGAIN! THE OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL SERIES
Stemming
directly from our mission to produce work by artists whose visions provoke
and challenge all of us, the
Off Again! Musical Series will examine the history
of Off-Broadway musicals as a body of work and their impact over time.
While exact titles and dates are still being determined, NYTW plans
to hold a concert series of two or three musicals that represent a diversity
of artists, forms, and traditional notions of “success.”
The concerts will have short runs. Currently under consideration are:
Promenade (1969), written by Maria
Irene Fornes and composed by Al Carmines;
Iphigenia in Concert by Peter Link;
and The Waves, written by Lisa Peterson
(based on Virginia Woolf’s The Waves) and composed by
David Bucknam.
Just
as the original productions of these and other Off-Broadway musicals
demonstrated diverse casts, NYTW will cast these concert versions with
a diversity of ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender in mind. The
2008/09 Season will be the inaugural year for what NYTW plans to be
an ongoing annual series.
Please note: The Off Again! Series is not part of the 3-Play Member
package and SmartPass tickets will not be valid for these performances.
All NYTW Members and SmartPass holders will receive an exclusive opportunity
to purchase tickets at a discounted price before the general public.
All
Repeat Defenders will be guaranteed a pair of comp tickets to one OFF
AGAIN! concert of their choice. Repeat Defenders at the $5,000 level
will be entitled to two pairs of their choice.
For
more information about NYTW's 2008/2009 membership packages and how
to become a member of New York Theatre Workshop, Click
here!
All
programs subject to change.
click
here to go back to the home page
|
