ARIZONA THEATRE COMPANY OPENS 50TH SEASON WITH AWARD-WINNING, PROVOCATIVE BROADWAY HIT, KING CHARLES III
TUCSON, Ariz. (Aug. 30, 2016): What happens when Queen Elizabeth dies? Is Prince Charles ready to ascend to the throne? Is England ready for him? This bracingly provocative and outrageously entertaining new play makes its regional premiere when Arizona Theatre Company opens its 50th anniversary season with Mike Bartlett's award-winning exploration of the people underneath the crowns, King Charles III, Sept. 10-30 at the Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. The 2016-17 season is sponsored by I. Michael and Beth Kasser.
Drawing on the style and structure of a Shakespearean history play, but with a modern verve, a comic subplot and even the occasional appearance of a significant ghost, the story follows Charles after the death of current Queen Elizabeth. In his first official act on the throne, Charles refuses to sign a bill already passed by Parliament limiting the rights of the press in invading personal privacy. An ironic action in light of his first wife's death fleeing paparazzi, Charles stands his ground and political firestorm ensues.
Described by Ben Brantley in The New York Times as a "dazzling presumptuous drama, set in and around Buckingham Palace in a highly foreseeable future," King Charles III won the 2014 Critic's Circle Theatre Award for Best New Play and earned five 2016 Tony Award and three Drama Desk Award nominations, including Best Play (Tony) and Outstanding Play (Drama Desk). ATC's production will be the first of a number of American productions of this recent Broadway hit.
ATC's production of King Charles III brings back acclaimed director Matt August (The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord). It stars Peter Van Norden (The Sunshine Boys and Inventing Van Gogh) returning to the ATC stage to play Charles. The rest of actors playing the Royal Family include Dylan Saunders as Harry, Adam Haas Hunter as William, Kate Maher Hyland as Kate and Cathy Dresbach, one of the state's most acclaimed performers, making her ATC debut as Camilla.
Ticket prices are $25-$100 and are available in-person at the Temple of Music and Art box office, via phone at (520) 622-2823 or online at www.arizonatheatre.org.
King Charles III will be followed by Act of God (Oct. 22 – Nov. 12); Fiddler on the Roof (Dec. 3-31); The River Bride (Jan. 14-Feb. 4) Ring of Fire (March 4-25); Holmes and Watson, a new Jeffrey Hatcher play commissioned by ATC (April 15-May 6 in Tucson).
For more information call (520) 622-2823 or visit www.arizonatheatre.org.
BIOGRAPHIES
Mike Bartlett (Playwright) Plays include: King Charles III (Olivier Award), Wild, Game, Love, Love, Love, 13 (National Theatre), Decade (co-writer), Earthquakes in London, Cock, Contractions, Artefacts, and My Child. Radio credits include: "The Core," "Heart," "Liam," "The Steps," "Love Contract," "Not Talking," and "The Family Man," all on BBC. Screen credits include "Earthquakes in London" and "Hometown."
Matt August (Director) directed last season's Discord at ATC. Broadway: Dr. Suess' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (also ten National Tours, Madison Square Garden, Grand Ol' Opry, Pantages, Wang, Chicago, Fox Theatres). International: Full Monty Australia Tour. Regional Theatre: Discord (Geffen Playhouse); Pioneer Theatre), Old Globe, Ford's Theatre, L.A. Theatre Works, Hanger Theatre, TheatreWorks Palo Alto, The Acting Company, NoHo Arts Center; Sixteen Wounded starring Martin Landau (Long Wharf Theatre). His productions have been recognized by Ovation, Helen Hayes, Broadway World, Bay Area Critics and Australia's Helpmann Award Nominations
Peter Van Norden (Charles) has appeared previously at ATC in The Sunshine Boys and Inventing Van Gogh. Recent credits: Copenhagen (Rubicon Theatre Company); The Merchant of Venice (L.A. Shakespeare Center); W.R. and Daisy (Annenberg Center); The Liar (Antaeus Theatre Company); Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers (L.A. Theatre Works, New York Theatre Workshop, and Chinese Tour); San Diego Repertory Theatre, Getty Villa, Backstage West. In NYC: Little Johnny Jones (with Donny Osmond), Hamlet (with Kevin Kline and Sam Waterston), Jungle of Cities (with Al Pacino), Henry V (with Meryl Streep), and Saint Joan (with Lynn Redgrave).
Cathy Dresbach (Camilla) has enjoyed a long career in Arizona as a stage actress and commercial voice talent. Some favorite theatre credits include Calendar Girls, Noises Off, Tribes, Always...Patsy Cline, The Women, (Phoenix Theatre); Good People, boom, Angels in America, Nickel and Dimed, The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow (Actors Theatre of Phoenix); Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Theater Works); The Immigrant, Kindertransport, Fiddler on the Roof (Arizona Jewish Theatre); The Yellow Boat, Still Life with Iris (Childsplay). Film credits include "The Imposter" and "Anastasia." She spent five years writing and performing on the iconic television program, The Wallace and Ladmo Show.
Adam Haas Hunter (William) Regional credits include: Abundance at South Coast Repertory and The Whipping Man at The Pasadena Playhouse and South Coast Repertory. Mr. Hunter has appeared at A Noise Within, the Getty Villa, Kirk Douglas Theatre, The Theatre @ Boston Court, Theatre Banshee, UCLA Live, and Ulysses Theatre in Croatia, to name a few. Mr. Hunter has won or been nominated for Ovation, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, LA Weekly and Garland awards. He is a graduate of California Institute of the Arts.
Kate Maher Hyland (Kate) was most recently seen in the role of Jackie-O in Wendy McLeod's House of Yes at the Zephyr Theatre. Other LA Theatre credits include the world premiere of Everything You Touch at Theatre@Boston Court; The Liar, The Crucible, You Can't Take It With You at the Antaeus Theatre Company; I'll Be Back Before Midnight at The Colony Theatre; The Bungler at A Noise Within Theatre; and A Stubborn Woman at Los Angeles Theatre Center.
Dylan Saunders (Harry) Regional: Mark Taper Forum, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, New Leaf Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, Stage 773, The Ten Chimneys. International: National Theatre's Connections Festival (London, UK), Festival Apostrof (Prague, CZ).
The ensemble of KING CHARLES III also includes Steve Alderfer (Couttsey), Kathryn Kellner Brown (Sarah / Ghost), Harold Dixon (James Reiss), Corey Walter Johnson (Mr. Evans), Gregory North (Mr. Stevens), Jeanne Syquia (Jess), Christian Miller (Spencer), Bill Chameides, Aubrey King, Ali Wood Moser and Cera Naccarato.
CREATIVE TEAM
Scenic Design: G.W. Mercier
Lighting Design: Paul Miller
Costume Design: Kish Finnegan
Sound Design: Brian Jerome Peterson
Voice and Dialect Coach: Kevin Black
Casting: Michael Donovan, CSA
Stage Manager: Timothy Toothman
Assistant Stage Manager: Glenn Bruner
Tickets for King Charles III start at $25 and are subject to change depending on time, date and section, and are available at www.arizonatheatre.org or by calling the box office at (520) 622-2823. Discounts are available for seniors and active military. A $10 student ticket pricing is now available for all performances. Half-price rush tickets are available for balcony seating for all performances one hour prior to curtain at the ATC box office (subject to availability). Pay What You Can performance is NEED DATE at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available for a suggested $10 donation. (Tickets must be purchased at the Temple of Music and Art starting one hour prior to curtain. Tickets are first-come, first served. Cash only. Two tickets maximum per person.) For discounts for groups of 10 or more, call (520) 622-2823.
Arizona Theatre Company offers accessibility services for patrons with disabilities for select performances. Audio Description provides patrons with vision loss a running audio description of the movement and activities onstage through an infrared broadcast system. An Audio-Described performance is offered on Friday, Sept. 30 at 2 p.m. Interested patrons with vision loss may request a tactile tour one hour prior to curtain. American Sign Language Interpretation is presented by professional, theatrically-trained ASL-interpreters for people who have deafness or hearing impairment. An ASL-interpreted performance is offered on Thursday, Sept. 29 at 7:30 p.m. Open captioning allows patrons to read the play's dialogue on an LED screen as the play progresses. An open captioned performance is offered on Friday, Sept. 30 at 2 p.m. For open-captioned or ASL-interpreted performances, patrons should request seats best suited to ASL interpretation or captioning when purchasing tickets. Large print and Braille playbills and infrared listening amplification devices are also available at every ATC performance with reservation. TTY access for the box office is available in Tucson at (520) 884-9723 or via Arizona Relay at (800) 367-8939 (TTY/ASCII).
Fact Sheet:
King Charles III
By Mike Bartlett
Directed by Matt August
Venue:
Temple of Music and Art
330 S. Scott Ave.
Tucson, Arizona
Previews Begin: Saturday, Sept. 10 at 8 p.m.
Opening Night: Friday, Sept. 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Closing Performance: Friday, Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Ticket Info:
Ticket prices are $25-$100 and are available in-person at the Temple of Music and Art box office, via phone at (520) 622-2823 or online at www.arizonatheatre.org.
Contact:
Steve Carr, The Kur Carr Group, Inc., (602) 317-3040
About Arizona Theatre Company:
Arizona Theatre Company (ATC) is the preeminent fully professional theatre in the state of Arizona committed to inspiring, engaging, and entertaining - one moment, one production, and one audience at a time. Boasting the largest seasonal subscriber base in the performing arts in Arizona, ATC is the only resident company in the U.S. that is fully based in two cities providing its wide array of programming and community outreach across the region. Now in its 50th season, more than 130,000 people a year attend our performances at the historic Temple of Music and Art in Tucson, and the elegant Herberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix. Each season of home-grown productions reflects the rich variety of world drama—from classics to contemporary plays, from musicals to new works—along with a wide array of community outreach programs, educational opportunities, access initiatives and new play programs. Designated The State Theatre of Arizona, ATC is led by Artistic Director David Ira Goldstein and a dedicated Board of Trustees.
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