SWEET AND SAD, THE FLICK, GLOUCESTER BLUE and More Set for Gloucester Stage's 2015 Season
By: BWW News Desk May. 28, 2015
"I am very excited about our 2015 season at GSC because of our wonderful line-up of playwrights, directors, actors, designers and staff that we are assembling, explains Walsh, "Each play has a unique, contemporary message that will engage our audience - full of heart, humor and intelligence. We are excited to expand our programming and know there will be something for everyone!"
The 2015 season features a new Israel Horovitz Gloucester play, a Pulitzer Prize winner, an Obie Award winner, a world premiere, and a collaboration with another professional theatre north of Boston plus new performance times, lower ticket prices, and an increase to 7 Mainstage productions each with longer runs to extend the season from May through December 31, 2015.
"Gloucester Stage has such an extraordinary history, I'm pleased to build upon that this season," said Jon Wojciechowski, the theatre's executive managing director. "We are working hard to get back to our roots, produce unexpected theatre at prices everyone can afford, and to introduce more people to new and interesting work. This theatre comes alive when it is filled with people."
Gloucester Stage kicks off the 36th season on May 28 with Richard Nelson's Sweet and Sad, the second play in the celebrated Apple Family Plays; followed by Deborah Zoe Laufer's Out of Sterno opening on June 25; then Enda Walsh's The New Electric Ballroom opens on July 23 directed by Gloucester Stage Interim Artistic Director Robert Walsh and featuring Gloucester Stage favorite Nancy E. Carroll; August 20 Annie Baker's The Flick opens; followed by a new Israel Horovitz Gloucester play, Gloucester Blue, directed by the author and Gloucester Stage Founding Artistic Director and opening on September 17. October 22 is the opening of a world premiere work written by the 2015 Gloucester Stage Playwriting Apprentice and the season wraps up with the delightful holiday show, Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!) running November 27 through December.
2015 season performance days and times for all productions are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm. Single-ticket prices for all performances are $28 for Adults and Senior Citizens. A limited number of tickets are available for ages 25 years old and under for $1 cash only, day of performance only. Gloucester Stage Memberships for the 2015 Season are also on sale.
For information about Gloucester Stage or to purchase single tickets or a Membership call the Box Office at 978-281-4433 or visit www.gloucesterstage.com.
May 28 - June 20
SWEET AND SAD
Part Two of the Celebrated Apple Family Plays
Directed by Weylin Symes
Written by Tony Award-winning playwright Richard Nelson, Sweet and Sad takes place on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 at a family gathering in Rhinebeck, New York. Against a backdrop formed by the ordinary actions of sharing a meal, the Apple family grapples with not-so-ordinary topics of remembrance, loss, and change. Sweet and Sad is a co-production with Stoneham Theater, which is presenting the first Apple play, That Hopey Changy Thing, February 26-March 15 at the Stoneham Theatre. Gloucester Stage and Stoneham Theatre have joined forces for two consecutive seasons to produce the New England premieres of all four of the Apple Family plays by Richard Nelson. All four plays are directed by Stoneham Theatre's Producing Artistic Director Weylin Symes and feature the same design team and cast. The cast includes Joel Colodner, Laura Latreille, Karen MacDonald, Paul Melendy, Bill Mootos, and Sarah Newhouse. The New England premiere of Richard Nelson's Sweet and Sad runs May 28 through June 20 at Gloucester Stage. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm.
June 25 - July 18
OUT OF STERNO
By Deborah Zoe Laufer
Directed by Paula Plum
Dotty's life in Sterno with her husband Hamel is absolutely perfect! It's a fairy tale, it really is. True, in their seven years of marriage Hamel has forbidden her to leave their tiny apartment or speak to anyone, but Dotty is so very happy to spend her days watching video re-enactments of the day they first met. When a phone call from a mysterious woman threatens to tear her world apart, Dotty must venture out into the vast city of Sterno and try to discover what it is to be a "real" woman. Out of Sterno explores the triumph and heartbreak of growing up and the contradictory societal pressures women face just trying to make it across town. Veteran award-winning actress and director Paula Plum who most recently starred in 2014's Auld Lang Syne at Gloucester Stage, directs the wickedly funny Out of Sterno. Deborah Zoe Laufer's Out of Sterno runs from June 25 through July 18 at Gloucester Stage. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm.
July 23 - August 15
THE NEW ELECTRIC BALLROOM
By Enda Walsh
Directed by Robert Walsh
From the author of the musical Once comes a comedy-drama about three sisters living in a small town on the coast of Ireland. The youngest, Ada, works at the local fish-packing plant, but Breda and Clara stay home and relive their teenage encounter with a 1950s rocker at the New Electric Ballroom. Their surreal routine is interrupted by Patsy, a fishmonger who ends up offering the sisters more than just the catch of the day. The New Electric Ballroom won the OBIE Playwriting Award. Directed by Gloucester Stage Interim Artistic Director Robert Walsh, the production features Derry Woodhouse, Marya Lowry, Adrianne Krstansky and Rockport resident and GSC favorite Nancy E. Carroll. Ms. Carroll starred in Gloucester Stage's 2014's critically acclaimed 4000 Miles. The New England premiere of Enda Walsh's award winning The New Electric Ballroom runs from July 23 through August 15 at Gloucester Stage. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm.
August 20 - September 12
THE FLICK
By Annie Baker
Directed by Bridget Kathleen O'Leary
The 2014 Winner for Pulitzer Prize for Drama, The Flick is set in a run-down movie theater in central Massachusetts and follows three underpaid employees as they mop the floors and attend to one of the last 35-millimeter film projectors in the state. Their tiny battles and not-so-tiny heartbreaks play out in the empty aisles, becoming more gripping than the lackluster, second-run movies on screen. With keen insight and a finely-tuned comic eye, The Flick is a hilarious and heart-rending cry for authenticity in a fast-changing world. Bridget Kathleen O'Leary makes her Gloucester Stage directing debut with this Pulitzer Prize winning work. Annie Baker's The Flick runs from August 20 through September 12 at Gloucester Stage. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm.
September 17 - October 3
GLOUCESTER BLUE
Directed by Mr. Horovitz
Stumpy and Latham are working-class housepainters in Gloucester. Husband-and-wife Bummy and Lexi are their upscale clients. Blue may be the color on the walls, but blood red and blackmail emerge as the dominant palette in this dark comedy, the latest Gloucester play by Gloucester Stage Founding Artistic Director Israel Horovitz.. The author directs a cast featuring Gloucester Stage Interim Artistic Director Robert Walsh, Lewis D. Wheeler, and Francisco Solorzano. The New England premiere of Israel Horovitz's Gloucester Blue runs from September 17 through October 3 at Gloucester Stage. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm.
October 22 - November 7
THE WORKSHOP
A World Premiere by Gloucester Stage's 2015 Playwriting Apprentice
Directed by Casey L. Oakes
Gloucester Stage's inaugural professional apprenticeship program will culminate with a world premiere of a play written by our playwriting apprentice. Audiences will witness the birth of a next-generation playwright in this not-yet-titled production-and do their bit to support young theatre makers. The Workshop is designed around a playwriting apprentice who works throughout the season to author a new play. The play will be work-shopped in monthly readings with audience talkbacks. The playwriting apprentice will meet regularly with the Director of Artistic Engagement and other select professionals to work through the play, addressing issues, deepening characters, and working toward a final draft. The program culminates with the World Premiere of the playwright's work in a fully-staged, Equity production as part of GSC's 2015 Main Stage season. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm.
November 27 - December 31
Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!)
By John Alvarez, Michael Carlton, and James Fitzgerald
Directed by Casey L. Oakes
The Grinch, Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, Charlie Brown, and George Bailey-and just about every other holiday character-make an appearance in this hilarious comedy when three actors decide to retell every Christmas story ever told in only 90 minutes rather than perform yet another rendition of A Christmas Carol. This fast-paced and funny romp features holiday traditions from around the world, a sing-along of every carol ever sung, and audience participation in the Fruit, Nut, and Dating Game about fruitcake. Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!) is an all-ages show that will delight children. Directed by Gloucester Stage's Director of Artistic Engagement Casey L. Oakes, Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!) runs from November 27 through December 31 at Gloucester Stage. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm.
PERFORMANCE TIMES: Wednesday - Saturday: 7:30 pm; Saturday - Sunday: 2:00 pm at Gloucester Stage Company; 267 East Main Street; Gloucester, MA.
MEMBERSHIPS: Club 5 Membership: Five passes to any Mainstage show. $150. A $194 value. Includes free admission to the Arthur Miller Centennial Event October 17 and free admission to The Workshop, a world premiere of a play developed by our playwriting apprentice. Club 3 Membership: Three passes to any Mainstage show. $90. A $107 value. Includes free admission to the Arthur Miller Centennial Event October 17.
Membership benefits include flexibility, priority seating, easy exchanges, 2-for-1 StageSource "Circle of Friends" ticket offers at Boston-area theatres, early bird tickets for our new holiday show, and exclusive backstage tours. Use your passes at one show or multiple shows. Choose your seats when you get your membership or anytime.
All Single Tickets: $28.00. 2015 Single Ticket Price is 30 percent lower than the 2014 Adult ticket price AND 20 percent lower than 2014 senior/students ticket price. 25 Years Old and under Tickets: $1 for all performances. Cash only. Limited seat availability. No reservations. Tickets available at the door on day of performance only.
Pay What You Wish tickets are available for the Second 2 pm Saturday matinee of each production. Tickets can only be purchased day of show at the door.
CAPE ANN NIGHT - The reduced ticket price for the Thursday Preview performance of each production is $20 for residents of Gloucester, Rockport, Essex and Manchester. Proof of residency required. Limit: 2 Cape Ann Night tickets per household per production. Limited amount of tickets available per performance.
For further information, call the Gloucester Stage Box Office at 978-281-4433 or visit www.gloucesterstage.com.
Pictured: Gloucester Stage Interim Artistic Director Robert Walsh, Director of the New England Premiere of Enda.
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