New Repertory Theatre Announces 2008-09 Season

New Repertory Theatre, in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, announces the 2008-2009 season.

MAINSTAGE SHOWS IN THE MOSESIAN THEATER

Three Sisters
by Anton Chekhov
Translation by Curt Columbus

What is keeping these three promising sisters from getting to Moscow? Raised with the utmost standards of refinement and taste, Olga, Masha and Irina cling desperately to vivid memories of the thriving Moscow they left as children. The play, in a thrilling new translation by Curt Columbus, begins on the anniversary of their father's death. Feeling suffocated and unable to bear the triviality of their lives, the sisters endeavor to fill them with excitement. Tempers flare, and appetites go unchecked, eliciting feral and treacherous responses, which turn this proper Prozorov home into an emotional minefield.

The Lieutenant of Inishmore
by Martin McDonagh

A terrorist… and his cat? Blazingly funny and bitterly blood-curdling. A brazen and unapologetic farce. This award-winning comedy tells the story of a ruthless Irish Republican Army enforcer, "Mad" Padraic, and the one thing he loves more than anything else in the world . . . his little black cat, Wee Thomas. But someone has killed Wee Thomas. Was it an accident or an execution? Whoever is responsible had better fess up, or Padraic's reign of terror will come crashing down on the small Irish island of Inishmore. What ensues is a hilariously bloody, choking farce, quintessential to McDonagh, the playwright who gave us the critically acclaimed The Pillowman.

Cabaret
Book by Joe Masteroff
Based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood
Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb

Willkommen, Bienvenue... Welcome to the decadence of 1920's Berlin where Cliff, a lost American writer, enters the Kit Kat Club and gets caught in a sea of painted lips and rouged cheeks. He meets Sally Bowles, a burlesque star, who ensnares him with her wiles. History is in the making as the Nazis rise to power. "Leeff all your troubles outzide," the Emcee advises, but the club begins to imitate that outside world, and those leering entertainers become more threatening than enticing. Winner of 8 Tony Awards, this popular musical includes such favorites as "Willkommen," "Maybe This Time," "Don't Tell Mama," and "So What?"

Exits and Entrances
By Athol Fugard

He's dying of unimportance. Engulfed in a world defined by the division of apartheid, a young man, addressed only as "the Playwright," prepares an arrogant and aging star for the evening's performance of Oedipus Rex. The Playwright struggles to find his voice, and the actor confronts his fear of no longer being admired, needed or wanted. As they debate, the pair find themselves at odds about why art matters and the extent of its impact on the world.

One additional play is still being selected for production on the Mainstage in the Mosesian Theater.

DOWNSTAGE AT NEW REP SHOWS IN THE BLACK BOX THEATER

EITHER

Body Politic
By Jessica Goldberg
Part of the National New Play Network

How can you tell an unbiased story when you get dangerously close to your subject?  Posing as a researcher, Wendy, a Hollywood screenwriter, attempts to infiltrate an army medical center in the hopes of interviewing injured Iraqi war veterans for her next film.  Barring her entrance is Captain Gray Whitrock, an unyielding patriot who, even after losing his foot in the war, returned for a second tour of duty.  Through Wendy's interactions with Gray and his pregnant wife, Lydia, the convictions of all three are called into question, as they struggle with love, duty, honor and sacrifice in a world of perpetual conflict, both at home and abroad.

OR

Gutenberg! The Musical!
By Scott Brown and Anthony King

Bud and Doug have written the next great American musical, or at least they think they have. When the opportunity to audition for financial backers comes up, the two men, excited by the possibility of a Broadway run, earnestly and hilariously perform all the songs and play all the parts in their ridiculous, historical epic, based on the invention of the printing press. One bright idea, two men with gumption, and lots of hats make for one of the silliest musicals you'll see this year.

One additional play is still being selected for production Downstage @ New Rep in the Black Box Theater.

HOLIDAY TRADITIONS

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol
Adapted for the stage and
Directed by Rick Lombardo
Mainstage in the Mosesian Theater

New Repertory Theatre, in collaboration with the Arsenal Center for the Arts and Watertown Children's Theatre, revives its popular adaptation of Dickens' classic holiday story, which has all the trimmings of a lavish Victorian Christmas. The production offers a feast for the senses, ranging from a pre-show caroling concert to luxurious period costumes, from singing and dancing – the performers accompany themselves on over a dozen different instruments – to ghosts that fly through the air and evaporate into the London fog. For audience members of all ages, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, now in its fourth year, is the perfect holiday celebration.

The Santaland Diaries
By David Sedaris
Adapted by Joe Mantello
Downstage @ New Rep in the Black Box Theater

After his second sold-out run last season Downstage @ New Rep, Crumpet, the wickedly funny Macy's Elf, returns to the Black Box Theater in this strange-but-true account of adventures in holiday retailing. If you've had enough of the usual heartwarming holiday fare, it's the perfect antidote.

Subscriptions for New Rep's 2008-2009 season are on sale now.  Information on different membership packages can be obtained by contacting New Rep's Box Office at 617-923-8487 or via e-mail at info@newrep.org.  Please note that Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and The Santaland Diaries are not included in any subscription package.

Mainstage performance times are Thursdays at 7:30PM; Fridays at 8PM; Saturdays at 3:30PM and 8PM; Sundays at 2PM; plus one Thursday matinee at 2PM and select weeks Wednesdays & Sundays at 7:30PM

Downstage performances times are Thursdays at 8PM; Fridays at 8:30PM; Saturdays at 4PM & 8:30PM; Sundays at 3PM; and select weeks Wednesdays & Sundays at 8PM

In the 2008-2009 season, tickets for Mainstage non-musical productions will range from $35-$55 (for musicals, $40 – $60), depending on the day of the week and seating location. Tickets for Downstage productions are $25. Senior, student, and group discounts are available, as well as student rush.  For more information, call 617-923-8487, or e-mail tickets@newrep.org

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