Charles Randolph-Wright's BORN FOR THIS, TIGER STYLE! & More Will Premiere in 2015-16 Season for Atlanta's Alliance Theatre

Atlanta's nationally acclaimed Alliance Theatre and Jennings Hertz Artistic Director Susan V. Booth are pleased to announce the 2015/16 Season for the Alliance Stage, Hertz Stage, Theatre for Youth and Families, and Theatre for the Very Young series. The 47th season includes five world premieres, a musical by BeBe Winans and Charles Randolph-Wright, a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, a literary classic featuring an all-Atlanta cast, and exceptional productions for youth and families.

The 2015/16 Alliance Stage season will begin on September 2, 2015, with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the powerful American drama exploring the beauty and danger of being a free spirit in a closed system. This production will be directed by Susan V. Booth and brought to life by an all-Atlanta based cast.

Also on the Alliance Stage this fall is the world premiere of Tiger Style!, by 2013 Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition winner Mike Lew. Tiger Style! takes and funny and sarcastic look at the slacker child and tiger parent in all of us. This production marks the first time that an Alliance/Kendeda Competition winner has had a subsequent play produced on the Alliance Stage.

In January 2016, the Alliance will produce the regional premiere of Disgraced, the provocative 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama on religion and cultural identity in America by Ayad Ahktar. Disgraced was included in The New York Times Best of 2014 list for theater. It was recently nominated for a 2015 Tony Award for Best Play. The Alliance's production of Disgraced will be directed by Artistic Director Susan V. Booth.

The Alliance Stage season will close with the world premiere musical Born for This: The BeBe Winans Story, the hilarious and heartwarming true story of six-time Grammy Award-winning icon BeBe Winans's journey to fame. Born for This is directed by Charles Randolph-Wright (Motown The Musical) with music by BeBe Winans; book is by Randolph-Wright and Winans. BeBe and CeCe Winans will be portrayed on stage by a new generation of Winans -- niece and nephew Deborah Joy and Juan Winans.

The 2015/16 Hertz Stage season will include two world premieres including another partnership production with Atlanta's favorite improv company, Dad's Garage and the 2016 Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition winner.

The Hertz season will open on September 18, 2015, with the A Steady Rain, an edge-of-your-seat thriller about two Chicago cops who push their moral boundaries to the breaking point. A Steady Rain received its world premiere in Chicago where it was awarded the Joseph Jefferson Awards for Best New Work and Best Production in 2008. It made its Broadway debut in 2009 with Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig in the leading roles. The Alliance production will be directed by Scandal star Jeff Perry.

Also on the Hertz Stage will be Merry %#!*ing Christmas, a new holiday production by Atlanta's favorite improve group Dad's Garage, where a cast of characters including Scrooge and Frosty the Snowman must save the world from Santa Clause and global warming. Closing the Hertz season is Ethel, a musical look at the life of legendary stage and film star Ethel Waters. Ethel is written by and stars Atlanta's Terry Burrell.

The Alliance is pleased to announce the winner of the 2016 Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, Start Down, by Eleanor Burgess. Start Down is a smart and funny look at work, love and get rich quick tech start-ups. Burgess is currently working towards a MFA in Dramatic Writing from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. In addition to the full production the play will receive, Burgess and four other competition finalists will also be given development and networking opportunities such as new play workshops. An exciting addition to the competition prize this year and moving forward is the option for the winning play to be published and licensed by Samuel French, the world's largest publisher of plays and musicals. Past Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition winners who have been published by Samuel French include In Love and Warcraft, Bike America, The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls, and Carapace.

"Start Down is as smart as it is contemporary and wears its wisdom cloaked in good humor," said Alliance Theatre Director of New Projects Celise Kalke. "The play feature engaging characters wrestling with the moral complexities of technology in the classroom."

The 2014/15 Youth and Families season includes four family productions -- Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical, based on the beloved Caldecott Honor-winning book by children's author and illustrator Mo Willems; Tell Me My Dream, a world premiere play for middle schoolers written by Atlanta author and Alliance Theatre Playwright in Residence Pearl Cleage; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, based on the beloved classic by C.S. Lewis; plus the Alliance's 26th annual production of the Dickens classic A Christmas Carol, starring David de Vries as Ebenezer Scrooge.

"We work for weeks, months, years sometimes, to create 12 works of theatre each season," said Susan V. Booth, Jennings Hertz Artistic Director. "But the work isn't complete until the audience arrives. The experience of audience members laughing, questioning, and responding together completes the play and enriches the hearts and minds of everyone involved. We are grateful to Atlanta audiences for enriching our work -- and hopeful that this upcoming season will let us return the favor. See a lot, see a little -- and see how much richer you feel."

Visit www.alliancetheatre.org/nextseason for more information on the 2015/16 season. Season tickets are on sale now. Tickets for individual productions go on sale in July, 2015.

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ALLIANCE STAGE SERIES:

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST

By Dale Wasserman

Adapted from the novel by Ken Kesey

Directed by Susan V. Booth

Performance Dates: September 2 - 20, 2015

This powerful American drama explores the beauty and danger of being a free spirit in a closed system. Randall McMurphy charms his way onto a psych ward thinking it the easy way to serve out a six month prison term. There he encounters Nurse Ratched, a disciplined and extremely focused agent of authority. Randall uses his charisma and humor to breathe life into the ward and lead the other patients into open rebellion. But McMurphy's revolution against Nurse Ratched and everything she stands for quickly turns from sport to a fierce power struggle with shattering results. Featuring an all-Atlanta cast. For tickets and information, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/cuckoo or call 404.733.5000.

TIGER STYLE! (World Premiere)

By Mike Lew

Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel

Performance Dates: September 30 - October 18, 2015

Star students and squabbling siblings Albert and Jennifer Chen used to represent the pinnacle of adolescent achievement. When it comes to adulthood, they're epic failures. Albert's just been passed up for promotion and Jennifer's been dumped by her loser boyfriend. So they do what any reasonable egghead brother and sister would do and go on an Asian Freedom Tour! Travelling from California to China, Tiger Style! embraces the inner slacker and the outer tiger parent in all of us. For tickets and information, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/tigerstyle or call 404.733.5000.

DISGRACED (regional premiere)

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Tony Award nominee for Best Play

By Ayad Ahktar

Directed by Susan V. Booth

Performance Dates: January 27 - February 14, 2016

Winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a 2015 Tony Award nominee for Best Play, Disgraced tells the story of Amir Kapoor, a successful lawyer who is rapidly moving up the corporate ladder while distancing himself from his Muslim roots. When Amir and his wife Emily, a white artist being courted by a Jewish curator, host a dinner party, friendly conversation quickly explodes into something far deeper and more dangerous. One of the most provocative conversation starters on religion and culture in American theater today, Disgraced examines an American identity far more complicated than any melting pot. For tickets and information, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/disgraced or call 404.733.5000.

BORN FOR THIS: THE BEBE WINANS STORY (world premiere, musical)

By Charles Randolph-Wright and BeBe Winans

Music and Lyrics by BeBe Winans

Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright

Produced in association with Arena Stage, Washington, D.C.

Performance Dates: April 13 - May 15, 2016

From Charles Randolph-Wright, director of Motown the Musical, and six-time Grammy Award-winning icon BeBe Winans comes a hilarious and heartwarming journey towards self-discovery. Detroit natives BeBe and CeCe Winans, youngest siblings of the Winans family dynasty, experience the ultimate in culture shocks when invited to join Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker's Praise The Lord Network television show. The Winans teenagers become not only television celebrities, they also become like adopted children of the Bakkers, integrating TV evangelism in Pineville, North Carolina. As BeBe and CeCe encounter fame, fortune and even a young Whitney Houston, BeBe must learn to balance his desire for success with his true calling. A new American musical starring the next generation of Winans performers as the young BeBe and CeCe! For tickets and information, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/bornforthis or call 404.733.5000.

HERTZ STAGE SERIES:

A STEADY RAIN

By Keith Huff

Directed by Jeff Perry

Performance Dates: September 18 - October 11, 2015

A Steady Rain is a harrowing and intimate story of two Chicago policemen pushing their moral boundaries to the breaking point. Joey and Denny have been best friends since kindergarten and now are practically family - Joey helps out with Denny's wife and kids; Denny keeps Joey away from the bottle. Sharing a squad car, the two men bond together against an increasingly violent and deeply troubling inner city. Scorching drama with haunting performances and edge-of-your-seat dramatic tension. From playwright Keith Huff, a writer and producer of Syfy's Helix, AMC's Mad Men and the NetFlix series House of Cards, A Steady Rain is directed by Steppenwolf Theatre Company Co-Founder Jeff Perry, well-known for his role as Cyrus Beene on ABC's hit TV seriesScandal. Joseph Jefferson Award winner for Best New Work and Best Production. For more information and tickets, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/rain or call 404.733.5000.

MERRY %#!*ING CHRISTMAS (World Premiere)

By Arlen Konopaki and Kevin Gillese

Directed by Kevin Gillese

Performance Dates: November 27 - December 19, 2015

When Santa's gift-giving mania destabilizes the world economy, and global warming threatens to reduce Frosty to a puddle, an unlikely duo must team up to save Christmas: Ebenezer Scrooge and a single dad in an ugly sweater. This December Dad's Garage brings you an epic holiday mash-up full of split second character changes, live music, and their trademark irreverent humor. So if you think Santa's consumerism might be the death of us all, or that Frosty may be the only one who's motivated enough to tackle climate change, or that Scrooge probably did master the art of time travel, then come on down to the Alliance this season and laugh until it Hertz. For more information and tickets, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/dadsgarage or call 404.733.5000.

START DOWN (World Premiere)

Winner of the 2016 Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition

By Eleanor Burgess

Performance Dates: February 13 - March 6, 2016

Inspired by his girlfriend's high school teaching career and eager to create a cutting-edge product, software developer Will forms a company dedicated to making online tutorials tailored to individual student needs. It's a brilliant idea until the program threatens some deeply held beliefs about the student/teacher relationship. A smart and funny look at work, love, and get-rich-quick tech start-ups. This award-winning play questions the way we live, the way we educate our children, and our core values around technology. For more information and tickets, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/startdown or call 404.733.5000.

ETHEL

By and starring Terry Burrell

Directed by Ken Roberson

With music from leaders in the popular American song canon including Irving Berlin and Harold Arlen

Performance Dates: March 25 - April 17, 2016

Ethel is a glimpse into the magnificent and very complicated life of legendary stage and film star Ethel Waters. A versatile actress who epitomized the glamour of Black Vaudeville while successfully and lucratively crossing over into traditionally white performance venues, Waters inspired directors and singers and songwriters with her talent and versatility. Waters was the first to record "Stormy Weather" later starring in the remarkable Cabin in the Sky. Atlanta's own Terry Burrell brings this amazing performer to life in a one-woman play with music, band, and the larger than life wit of Ethel Waters. For more information and tickets, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/ethel or call 404.733.5000.

ALLIANCE THEATRE FOR YOUTH AND FAMILIES SERIES:

KNUFFLE BUNNY: A CAUTIONARY MUSICAL

Script and Lyrics by Mo Willems

Music by Michael Silversher

Based on the book Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems

Directed by Rosemary Newcott

Performance Dates: May 27 - June 28, 2015

It sounds so simple -- just a quick trip to the Laundromat with Daddy, Trixie, and her beloved Knuffle Bunny. But, before you know it things go horribly, hilariously wrong. Chock full of adventure, song, and gigantic dancing laundry, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical tells a tale of firsts: a stuffed animal's first trip in the laundry, a little girl's first words, and a Daddy's first time dealing with his child going "boneless." Based on his beloved Caldecott Honor-winning picture book, six-time Emmy Award winner Mo Willems joins Grammy Award-winning composer Michael Silversher to lovingly celebrate the heart and heartache of toddler drama. This play is being produced in partnership with the High Museum of Art's exhibition Seriously Silly! The Art & Whimsy of Mo Willems. Tickets are available by calling 404.733.5000 or online at www.alliancetheatre.org/knufflebunny.

TELL ME MY DREAM (World Premiere)

By Pearl Cleage

Directed by Rosemary Newcott

Performance Dates: October 30 - November 8, 2015

There was a not so long ago moment when making music and making history were part of the same Atlanta dream. In 1910, that dream became a music festival that made history and changed the lives of two unsuspecting middle school time travelers forever. Take a trip back to the time before Instagram and ear buds when friendship could build a bridge to freedom. This play was especially written for Middle Schoolers and their families by Alliance Playwright in Residence, Pearl Cleage, in her first show for young audiences. For more information and tickets, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/dream or call 404.733.5000.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

By Charles Dickens

Adapted by David H. Bell

Directed by Rosemary Newcott

Performance Dates: November 19 - December 24, 2015

Join the Alliance Theatre for one of Atlanta's most treasured holiday traditions. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by ghosts offering him a chance at a better future -- his old partner Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future -- who teach him it is never too late to change. With an all-Atlanta cast and beautiful live music, this Broadway-scale production will warm your heart with joy whether you're coming again or for the first time. For tickets, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/christmas or call 404.733.5000.

THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE

Based on the novel by C.S. Lewis

Directed by Rosemary Newcott

Performance Dates: March 5 - 20, 2016

Based on the beloved novel, this magical production portrays the adventures of four siblings through the wardrobe and into the land of Narnia. Here they are caught up in a struggle between the mysterious, magical lion, Aslan, and the White Witch, who wants this astonishing country and its talking animals and amazing creatures frozen in perpetual winter. C.S. Lewis's classic of love, faith, courage, and giving, with its triumph of good over evil, is one of the most enjoyed stories of our time. For information and tickets, visit alliancetheatre.org/wardrobe or call 404.733.5000.

THEATRE FOR THE VERY YOUNG:

The Alliance will produce three plays developed for ages 18 months to 5 years old including two world premieres and one remounted production. Tickets for Theatre for the Very Young will go on sale in Friday, May 15, at 8:00 a.m. Check www.alliancetheatre.org/tvy for updates.

PLAY THE PLAY WITH CAT THE CAT

Written and Directed by Scott Warren

Based on the book series by Mo Willems

Performance Dates: October 21-November 15, 2015

Based on Mo Willems' beloved CAT the CAT series, this play explores the often terrifying experience of making a new friend. Using the rhyming and simple language of the books, this theatrical experience will invite our young audience to identify Cat the Cat's parade of animal friends, mimic their animal sounds, and even learn a new language! When Cat the Cat meets a newcomer on the scene, the audience shares in the nerves and the joy of the experience, and ultimately makes a room full of new friends themselves. Come play the play with Cat the Cat!

A BUCKET OF BLESSINGS

Written by Madhuri Shekar

Directed by Rosemary Newcott

Based on the book by Surishtha & Kabir Sehgal

Performance dates: January 12 - February 14, 2016

Near a majestic mountain in a vast jungle with many mango trees, it has not rained for weeks and weeks. The village well and pond are dry. Monkey and his friends look everywhere for water, but they have no luck. And then Monkey remembers a story his mama used to tell him; a story about how peacocks can make it rain by dancing. Join Monkey on his journey and together, we can discover if this magical story is true. Filled with traditional Indian music and dancing, this charming retelling of a classic Indian folktale promises to engage the senses and inspire the imagination.

THE LIZARD & EL SOL

Directed by Rosemary Newcott

Performance Dates: March 8 - April 3, 2016

An interactive adventure based on a famous Mexican folktale about a time when El Sol, (the Sun), disappeared from the sky. Young ones and their caregivers will help the tenacious Lizard find the sleepy El Sol and finally coax him out of his hiding place. Colorful puppets and bright Mexican inspired music and dance will lead everyone along in this tropical tale that promises to culminate in a grand festival to celebrate sunshine and friendship and all the joy that life can bring!

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Season Tickets to the Alliance Theatre's 2015/16 Season are on sale now and may be purchased by visiting www.alliancetheatre.org/seasontickets or by calling 404.733.4600, Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Season Ticket Benefits:

· Save 15-20% versus single tickets

· Discounts on parking, dining and entertainment

· No-fee ticket exchanges

· Show insurance

· Save 15% on all additional tickets

· The Alliance Insider e-Newsletter with special offers and news

· Those who purchase a 4-play package receive 2 guest passes

Founded in 1968, the Alliance Theatre has become the leading producing theatre in the Southeast, creating the powerful experience of shared theatre for diverse people. The Alliance values excellence, pursued with integrity and creativity, and achieved through collaboration. Reaching more than 200,000 patrons annually, the Alliance delivers powerful programming that challenges adult and youth audiences to think critically and care deeply. Under the leadership of Susan V. Booth, Jennings Hertz Artistic Director, the Alliance Theatre received the Regional Theatre Tony Award in recognition of sustained excellence in programming, education and community engagement.

Known for its high artistic standards and national role in creating significant theatrical works, the Alliance has premiered more than 80 original productions including Tony Award winners The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, Aida, by Elton John and Tim Rice, and Alfred Uhry's The Last Night of Ballyhoo. The Alliance has a reputation for developing important American musicals with a strong track record of Broadway, touring, and subsequent productions, including the world premieres of Sister Act: The Musical, Come Fly Away, Bring It On: The Musical, Stephen King and John Mellencamp's Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, the American premiere of Zorro, with music by the Gipsy Kings, Harmony -- A New Musical by Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman, and most recently the world premiers of Bull Durham -- A New Musical and Tuck Everlasting. The Alliance also creates and nurtures the careers of playwrights through the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, producing a premiere for the competition winner as part of the regular season, and the Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab, providing developmental support and production resources for three performing arts projects each year. The work produced by the Alliance allows locally based artists the chance to create on a nationally watched stage, building and sustaining Atlanta's artistic community.

Each year the Alliance Theatre Acting Program and Education Department reaches close to 50,000 students through performances, acting classes, drama camps, and in-school initiatives. The Alliance creates and produces plays for young audiences at every age level: from the Collision Project, where high school artists create and perform new work based on a classic text, to the ground breaking Theatre for the Very Young, creating interactive shows for infants and toddlers. The Alliance also offers community education classes for all ages and abilities of theatre interest; and adult student productions of unproduced plays in development, working with local and national playwrights.

An active participant in Georgia classrooms, the Alliance has developed programs using theatrical techniques to aid in student learning through storytelling and problem solving. The Alliance's Institute for Educators and Teaching Artists equips teachers with theatrical techniques that link directly to school curriculum, align with the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards, and increase student learning. These programs include Georgia Wolf Trap Early Learning Through the Arts, which focuses on literacy skills for children in Pre-K - 2nd Grade, and Dramaturgy K-12, in which students create research material that informs Alliance productions and prepares peer audiences. Twice recognized by the U.S. Education Department as leaders in arts education, these programs reflect the Alliance's commitment to city wide arts access.

The Alliance delivers the finest talent, art and educational opportunities for Atlanta audiences -- proving once again that the Alliance is where great theatre lives.