From: Arizona Theatre Company [mailto:info@arizonatheatre.org]
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2011 3:36 PM
Subject: Press Release: ARIZONA THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES AN AWARD-WINNING SEASON FOR 2011-2012
ARIZONA THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES AN AWARD-WINNING SEASON FOR 2011-2012
Two most recent Tony Award-Winning Best Plays, GOD OF CARNAGE and RED, highlight 45th Anniversary season
THE GREAT GATSBY continues ATC's AMERICA PLAYS!
series, world premiere of a new SHERLOCK HOLMES thriller by Jeffrey Hatcher, new musical DADDY LONG LEGS brings romance to the stage, and Alfred Hitchcock's THE 39 STEPS brings laughter to the season
Arizona Theatre Company celebrates its 45th season as Arizona's leading professional theatre and the 20th anniversary of Artistic Director David Ira Goldstein's creative leadership, with an award-winning season of thrilling theatre in 2011-2012. The coming season is filled with some of the hottest recent plays in their Southwest Premieres, and electric moments of pure beauty, magic and deeply felt emotion in a mix of comedy, drama, and music.
The new season opens with the World Premiere of a thriller about the world's greatest detective, SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE ADVENTURE OF THE SUICIDE CLUB by Jeffrey Hatcher, based on stories by Robert Louis Stevenson and the characters of Arthur Conan Doyle; followed by sharp-edged comedy in the Southwest Premiere of the 2009 Tony Award-Winning Best Play GOD OF CARNAGE by Yasmina Reza. ATC's season continues with the Arizona Premiere of the award-winning new musical by the original director of Les Misérables and the creators of the Tony-nominated Broadway musical Jane Eyre with the musical romance DADDY LONG LEGS, directed by John Caird; followed by the wildly successful long-running Broadway comedy ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S THE 39 STEPS. The fifth and final year of ATC's AMERICA PLAYS! Celebrating Great American Stories initiative will bring the great American novel to the stage with F. Scott Fitzgerald's THE GREAT GATSBY, adapted by Simon Levy; and the season will close with the Southwest Premiere of the winner of six 2010 Tony Awards, including Best Play -- John Logan's brilliant RED, a gripping drama about artist Mark Rothko.
"Next year marks my twentieth season as Artistic Director of Arizona Theatre Company and I knew we wanted to put together something very special to celebrate these past two decades," said David Ira Goldstein in announcing the 2011-2012 Season. "ATC's mission is to bring together a wide cross-section of the State's communities to be entertained, provoked and astonished by wonderful artists telling diverse stories. Luckily, we were able to secure the rights to some of the hottest new plays direct from Broadway as well as a new award-winning musical heading that way. I am personally excited to be directing a new play by one of our favorite playwrights working in one of our audience's favorite genres. And we've always had a desire to produce an adaptation of THE GREAT GATSBY as the culmination of our five year series of American stories, although the rights proved elusive until just recently. Next year will find some of our favorite artists returning, but also an array of new directors, actors and designers pointing us towards what I promise will be a transformational new decade in ATC's history."
THE 2011-2012 SEASON:
World Premiere Thriller
SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE ADVENTURE OF THE SUICIDE CLUB
Jeffrey Hatcher
Based on "The Suicide Club" by Robert Louis Stevenson
And characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Directed by David Ira Goldstein
Tucson: September 17, 2011 - October 8, 2011
Phoenix: October 13, 2011 - October 30, 2011
In the heart of London, behind the impassive facade of a windowless house, some of Europe's most powerful men gather to play a game. The game is murder and this is The Suicide Club. But the Club has a new member: Sherlock Holmes. Brilliant, perceptive, the greatest detective in the English-speaking world and susceptible to the darkest moods. Holmes has joined the Club. Does he wish to die? Will he have to kill? Can his old friend Dr. Watson save him? Or doesn't Holmes want to be saved? And all the time, we are aware that dark forces deep within the Suicide Club may be manipulating the deaths of prominent men in plot so far reaching that the fate of Europe is at stake. A beguiling World Premiere thriller commissioned by ATC from one of our favorite authors brings the famous detective alive in a tale full of mystery, twists and chills.
Southwest Premiere
GOD OF CARNAGE
Yasmina Reza
Directed by Rick Lombardo
A Co-Production with San Jose Repertory Theatre
Tucson: October 22, 2011 - November 12, 2011
Phoenix: November 17, 2011 - December 4, 2011
"Sticks and stones can break my bones" ... but when Benjamin hits Henry at a nearby park, it starts two sets of parents on a comically explosive downhill slide from political correctness to character assassination. In this universally acclaimed new comedy by the author of Art, adults come together for a civilized evening of coffee, cake and conversation about their kids. But frayed nerves soon surface and the grownups begin to outdo their pugnacious children in bad behavior, disproving the notion that "words can never hurt me." Winner of the 2009 Tony Award for Best Play, God of Carnage is a hilariously harrowing look at the minefield of modern marriage.
"Never underestimate the pleasure of watching really good actors behaving terribly." - The New York Times
Contains mature language
Southwest Premiere
DADDY LONG LEGS
Music and Lyrics by Paul Gordon
Book by John Caird
Based on the novel by Jean Webster
Directed by John Caird
Tucson: November 26, 2011 - December 17, 2011
Phoenix: December 29, 2011 - January 15, 2012
From the Tony Award-winning director of Les Misérables and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, and the creators of the Tony Award-nominated Jane Eyre, comes a heartwarming new musical based on a book beloved for generations, Daddy Long Legs tells of a young girl's Cinderella journey into womanhood, as well as a confirmed bachelor's awakening into love. Told through a series of letters between Jerusha Abbott, the oldest orphan at the John Greer Home, and Jervis Pendleton, her mysterious benefactor, Daddy Long Legs is a testament to the power of the written word and its ability to touch our hearts. An elegant and inventive romance, this award-winning musical love story has been lauded for its innocence, its sheer beauty, and its depth of emotion, not to mention its magnificent musical score. Winner of three prestigious Ovation Awards including Best Book, Best Score and Lead Actress in an Original Musical.
"Completely winning" - The Los Angeles Times.
Alfred Hitchcock's
THE 39 STEPS
Adapted by Patrick Barlow
From the novel by John Buchan
From the movie by Alfred Hitchcock
Directed by Joel Sass
Tucson: January 14, 2012 - February 4, 2012
Phoenix: February 9, 2012 - February 26, 2012
Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have ... Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps. A mind-blowing cast of four actors play over 150 characters in this fast-paced tale of an ordinary man on an extraordinarily entertaining adventure. The madness begins when mild-mannered Richard Hannay starts his evening at the theatre and ends the night with a dead body in his lap. Caught in maze of murder, espionage and flirtatious entanglements, our hero careens from the British music hall to the moors of Scotland and back to the London Palladium in search of a plausible alibi and the true identity of the killer. Broadway's most intriguing, most riotous, most unmissable Tony Award-winning comedy smash proves that anything the movies can do, the theatre can do more hilariously!
"Once this fun ride leaves the station, you don't want to get off!" - New York Daily News
"Absurdly enjoyable" - The New York Times
Southwest Premiere
F. Scott Fitzgerald's
THE GREAT GATSBY
Adapted by Simon Levy
Directed by Stephen Wrentmore
Tucson: February 25, 2012 - March 17, 2012
Phoenix: March 22, 2012 - April 8, 2012
Considered by many to be the Great American Novel, The Great Gatsby is at once titillating, fascinating and shocking in its portrayal of The Jazz Age that was soon to disappear from the American landscape. In this first authorized theatrical adaptation since 1926, Simon Levy brings the humor, irony, pathos and loveliness of F. Scott Fitzgerald's American classic to the stage. Navigate the languid atmosphere of wealth and privilege in Weast Egg, Long Island with Nick Carraway as he observes the glittering, elaborate parties of his neighbor, the infamous and illusive Jay Gatsby. Part of ATC's AMERICA PLAYS! Celebrating Great American Stories series, The Great Gatsby's sharp depiction of the "American Dream" resonates anew for each generation.
"Stunning...amazing...a brilliant distillation" - Variety
Arizona Premiere
RED
By John Logan
Tucson: April 7, 2012 - April 28, 2012
Phoenix: May 3, 2012 - May 20, 2012
Master Abstract expressionist Mark Rothko, one of the most visionary artists of the 20th Century, has landed the commission of a lifetime, a series of murals for New York's Four Seasons Restaurant. As he wrestles with the overwhelming task of creating multiple paintings on a grand scale, his new young assistant questions his views of art, creativity and commerce. What follows is a raw and provocative dialogue between master and novice, old guard and new guard exploring the question, "Is art meant to provoke, soothe or disturb?" Based on true events, Red is a searing portrait of an artist's ambition and vulnerability as he tries to create a definitive work for an extraordinary setting. Red is the winner of six 2010 Tony Awards including Best Play, the most honored play of the Broadway season.
"Intense and exciting. It's impossible not to feel thrilled." - The New York Times
"Smart, exciting and scintillating - The New Yorker
Contains mature language
Season packages for the 2011-2012 Season are on sale now. All Tucson performances take place at the Temple of Music and Art (330 S. Scott Avenue); call the Box Office at (520) 622-2823. All Phoenix performances take place at the Herberger Theater Center (222 E. Monroe Street); call the Box Office at (602) 256-6995. For more information about Arizona Theatre Company and the 2011-2012 Season visit www.arizonatheatre.org.
Arizona Theatre Company is celebrating its 45th Season of award-winning theatre in Arizona. To commemorate this memorable milestone we are offering a special gift to all ATC subscribers (both old and new) when they purchase a Six-Play Package by April 22, 2011 -- they will receive a voucher valid for two FREE tickets to any regular mainstage performance in the 2011-2012 Season.
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