BROKEN GLASS, BALTIMORE, BLACKBERRY WINTER and More Set for New Rep's 2015-16 Season

New Repertory Theatre announces its 2015-2016 SEASON: IDENTITY. Featuring eight productions in three theatre spaces, next season includes five plays in the Charles Mosesian Theater, beginning with Broken Glass, presented in celebration of the centennial of the birth of playwright Arthur Miller; A Number, Caryl Churchill's stark and startling drama; The Snow Queen, a new musical co-written and directed by former New Rep Artistic Director Rick Lombardo; Blackberry Winter, a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere; and Freud's Last Session, a razor-sharp, witty, and much anticipated Boston Area Premiere. Our third annual Next Rep Black Box Festival will include two companion pieces whose setting is shared, but whose time is separated by 2000 years: Via Dolorosa by David Hare and The Testament of Mary by Colm To?ibi?n. The Festival will also include the Next Rep World Premiere of Baltimore by Kirsten Greenidge, co-presented with Boston Center for American Performance (BCAP).

"New Rep is pleased to share a diverse season of works that examine characters as they seek to identify who they are within the rich and varied worlds of these plays," explains Artistic Director, Jim Petosa. "Each play strives to illuminate fundamental elements of human nature, exploring themes that resonate across time, gender, race, and religion. And it is with great pleasure that we welcome back former Artistic Director Rick Lombardo to New Rep. I look forward to working with him on his highly imaginative adaptation of The Snow Queen, which is sure to enchant the entire family this holiday season."

"As this new season begins, we invite our audiences to add their voice to the conversation," says Managing Director, Harriet Sheets. "At New Rep we appreciate the thoughtfulness of our audiences. Next season we've increased the number of opportunities for audiences to continue the conversation with more talkbacks and the return of our Spotlight Symposium Series."

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NEW REPERTORY THEATRE'S 2015-2016 SEASON: IDENTITY:

BROKEN GLASS
by Arthur Miller, directed by Jim Petosa
featuring Jeremiah Kissel as Phillip Gellburg
SEP 5-27/2015
Charles Mosesian Theater
PRESS OPENING: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 AT 7:30PM

This powerful, Olivier Award-winning, and Tony-nominated drama is presented as part of a national celebration of the centennial of the birth of playwright Arthur Miller. It is November 11, 1938, the day after Kristallnacht, when Sylvia Gellburg loses the ability to walk. Her husband Phillip desperately seeks to find the cause. After consulting Dr. Harry Hyman, it's determined that her paralysis may have been psychosomatically induced. Hyman's obsession with curing Sylvia uncovers a complex tangle of egos, resentment, and guilt, as well as Phillip's own paralyzing struggle with his Jewish identity.

A NUMBER
OCT 10-NOV 1/2015
by Caryl Churchill Charles Mosesian Theater
PRESS OPENING: MONDAY, OCTOBER 12 AT 7:30PM

In this stark and startling drama a son confronts his emotionally distant father, learning a horrifying truth about his past. As anger and abandonment issues emerge, a mystery is exposed, revealing a disturbing incident involving a number of "others." A Number is an illuminating and provocative work by internationally acclaimed playwright Caryl Churchill in which she examines individuality and the theory of and nature versus nurture.

THE SNOW QUEEN
book by Kirsten Brandt and Rick Lombardo music by Haddon Kime lyrics by Kirsten Brandt, Haddon Kime, and Rick Lombardo, additional music by Rick Lombardo, directed by Rick Lombardo
NOV 28-DEC 20/2015
Charles Mosesian Theater
PRESS OPENING: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30 AT 7:30PM

An exciting new pop/rock musical adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale, The Snow Queen is a coming-of-age adventure that follows a young woman on a journey of self-discovery in a magical, wintry landscape. When her best friend Kai is put under a magic spell, Gerda must follow him to the palace of the Snow Queen. Along the way, she battles witches, encounters fantastical characters, and flies through the frozen air on a steampunk odyssey. Co-written and directed by former New Rep Artistic Director, Rick Lombardo, The Snow Queen is sure to enchant the entire family this holiday season.

VIA DOLOROSA
JAN 2-31/2016
by David Hare Black Box Theater
PRESS OPENING: MONDAY, JANUARY 4 AT 7:30PM

In 1997, Olivier Award-winning playwright David Hare visited Israel and Palestine to better understand the complex conflicts of the region and to write a play based on his travels. Via Dolorosa is the illuminating result, combining interviews and conversations with artists, politicians, historians, and settlers with the author's own experiences in an extraordinary narrative that examines ideologies and issues of faith from those living in "The Holy Land."

THE TESTAMENT OF MARY
by Colm To?ibi?n, directed by Jim Petosa
featuring Paula Langton as Mary
JAN 31-FEB 28/2016
Black Box Theater
PRESS OPENING: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1 AT 7:30PM

Years after her son's death, Mary, mother of Jesus, is visited by the Gospel writers seeking the truth. In an honest, insightful, and moving first-person narrative, Mary recounts her son's final days. Based on the novella by author and playwright Colm To?ibi?n, this Tony-nominated play provides a stunning glimpse into the heart and mind of a grieving mother as she's left with the question: was it worth it?

BALTIMORE
by Kirsten Greenidge, directed by Elaine Vaan Hogue
MAR/2016
Boston University Theatre Lane-Comley Studio 210
A Next Rep World Premiere co-presented with Boston Center for American Performance (BCAP)
PRESS OPENING: TBA

After she's dismissed from her job in the athletics department, Shelby Wilson becomes Resident Advisor to a group of freshmen -- after all, it'll look good on her resume. She soon discovers that a racially charged incident has set student against student, and it's up to her to mediate the situation. In this world premiere production, playwright Kirsten Greenidge explores the complexities of racism from the perspective of eight culturally diverse college students.

BLACKBERRY WINTER
MAR 26-APR 17/2016
by Steven Yockey Charles Mosesian Theater
A National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere
PRESS OPENING: MONDAY, MARCH 28 AT 7:30PM

Success, meticulous planning, and an eye for detail have in no way prepared Vivienne for the news inside that little white envelope. Even with the aid of a creation myth of her own imagination and her insomnia-driven baking, apprehension takes hold as she grapples with the frightening thought of her mother fading away from advancing Alzheimer's Disease. A National New Play Network (NNPN) Rolling World Premiere, Blackberry Winter is a humorous and touching new work.

FREUD'S LAST SESSION
APR 30-MAY 22/2016
by Mark St. Germain Charles Mosesian Theater directed by Jim Petosa
PRESS OPENING: MONDAY, MAY 2 AT 7:30PM

On the brink of war in Europe, author and former atheist C.S. Lewis visits the London home of Dr. Sigmund Freud. Lewis's recent embrace of Christianity stands in stark contrast to Dr. Freud, whose beliefs are influenced by his life's work in science. Amidst evacuations and air raid sirens these two legendary scholars debate religion, sex, love, the existence of God, and the meaning of life itself. Filled with humanity, humor, and razor-sharp dialogue, Freud's Last Session imagines the meeting of two of the 20th century's greatest academics.

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About New Repertory Theatre - New Repertory Theatre is the award-winning, professional theatre company in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA. Now celebrating its 30th anniversary season as a leading self- producing theatre in greater Boston, New Rep produces contemporary and classic dramas, comedies, and musicals in both the 340-seat Charles Mosesian Theater and the 90-seat Black Box Theater. Annually, New Rep serves over 40,000 patrons, including 2,000 season subscribers. In addition to its mainstage productions, New Rep produces Next Voices, a program dedicated to developing new plays with four playwrights through three staged readings and one world premiere production. Under its Lifelong Enrichment Arts Programs (LEAP), New Rep also produces its Classic Repertory Company, Page To Stage, Insider Experiences, and Spotlight Symposium Series.

New Rep's Mission - New Repertory Theatre produces plays that speak powerfully to the essential ideas of our time. Through the passion and electricity of live theater performed to the highest standards of excellence, New Rep expands and challenges the human spirit of both artists and audience. New Rep presents world premieres, contemporary and classic works in several intimate settings. We are committed to education and outreach, including special dedication to the creation of innovative in-school programming and providing access to underserved audiences. New Rep is an active advocate for the arts and a major voice in the national dialogue defining the role of theater in our culture.

Jim Petosa (Artistic Director) joined New Repertory Theatre as an award-winning theater artist, educator, and leader in 2012. He has served as Director of the School of Theatre, College of Fine Arts, at Boston University since 2002, and Artistic Director of Maryland's Olney Theatre Center for the Arts and its National Players educational touring company (1994-2012). While at BU, he established the Boston Center for American Performance (BCAP), the professional production extension of the BU School of Theatre, in 2008. Throughout the Northeast, Petosa has directed for numerous institutions, including Assassins, On the Verge, The Elephant Man (IRNE Nomination), Amadeus, Three Viewings, The Last Five Years, and Opus at New Rep. In Boston, his work was nominated for two IRNE awards for A Question of Mercy (BCAP). He has served as one of three artistic leaders for the Potomac Theatre Project (PTP/NYC) since 1987. In Maryland, his work earned over 25 Helen Hayes Award nominations as well as the award for outstanding direction of a musical for Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well... His production of Look! We Have Come Through! was nominated for the Charles MacArthur Award for outstanding new play, and he earned the Montgomery County Executive's Excellence in the Arts and Humanities Award for Outstanding Artist/Scholar. A member of Actors' Equity Association, Mr. Petosa has served on the executive board of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for StageSource. Originally from New Jersey, he was educated at The Catholic University of America and resides in Quincy.

Harriet Sheets (Managing Director) joined New Repertory Theatre in 2000, bringing with her experience in human resources, union contracts and negotiations, budgeting and cash-flow management, as well as marketing, development, and special events. During her tenure, Ms. Sheets has successfully managed the theatre's increasing operational budget, and moved the company from Newton Highlands to Watertown's Arsenal Center for the Arts. Prior to New Rep, she was the General Manager at Merrimack Repertory Theatre, where she worked for nine years. Ms. Sheets began as an Actors' Equity Association Stage Manager, working at North Shore Music Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Opera Company of Boston and others. Originally from Arizona, she holds a BFA from Arizona State University and resides in Methuen.

For more information, visit www.newrep.org.

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