Bat Boy & Midsummer Night's Dream Come to Great Lakes Theater Festival Starting April 8

Great Lakes Theater Festival (GLTF) will conclude its 2009-10 season in the company's revolutionary home at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare, with a Spring Repertory that features Keythe Farley, Brian Flemming and Laurence O'Keefe's outrageous Off-Broadway Musical of the Year, Bat Boy: The Musical and William Shakespeare's magical masterpiece, A Midsummer Night's Dream. The productions will be performed in rotating repertory April 8 - May 16, 2010. The Spring Repertory features GLTF's resident artistic company of actors performing two alternating plays on the same stage over six weeks. Veteran Festival artist Victoria Bussert will direct Bat Boy: The Musical and GLTF's Producing Artistic Director Charles Fee will direct A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Great Lakes Theater Festival's 2010 Spring Repertory is sponsored by PNC with support from the Festival's Business Alliance. GLTF's second season at the Hanna Theatre is presented with support from The Cleveland Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council. In addition, Great Lakes Theater Festival is generously funded by the citizens of Cuyahoga County through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. Media sponsors for the Festival's 48th season are Cleveland Scene, The Plain Dealer, WCLV 104.9 FM, WCPN 90.3 FM ideastream, WKSU 89.7 FM and The Weekly World News.

"We are thrilled to be back on the Hanna Theatre's revolutionary Parker Hannifin Stage where the finale of our second season in our amazing home promises to be extraordinary," said GLTF Producing Artistic Director Charles Fee. "Our Spring Repertory productions and our Hanna Theatre performance space work together to provide an intimate theatrical experience for audiences that is unlike any other in the region."

GLTF's Spring Repertory commences with Keythe Farley, Brian Flemming and Laurence O'Keefe's outrageous Off-Broadway musical, Bat Boy: The Musical. Ripped from the hilarious headlines of the supermarket tabloid The Weekly World News, Bat Boy is a classic love story with serious bite. This delightfully delicious twist on the modern day musical comedy tells the amazing story of a strange boy with pointy ears, his struggle to find a place in a world that shuns him, and the love that creates both miracles and madness. Armed with an exuberant score that integrates the best of rock, Broadway, gospel, and country music, this Off-Broadway Musical of the Year award-winner is a witty comical confection that keeps both tongue and fang firmly in cheek.

William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream completes the Festival's Spring Repertory pairing. An exhilarating night of midsummer madness, this magical comedy brims with mistaken identity, mismatched lovers and mischief-making fairies. Boldly inspired by the marvelously mod influences of a rock ‘n' roll infused 1960s London, this production of Shakespeare's comic masterpiece ensnares two pairs of lovers and a rustic troupe of would-be actors in a magical-mystery tour de force. A Midsummer Night's Dream is a joyful celebration of love lost, transformed and restored that casts a powerfully pleasing spell on audiences of all ages.

GLTF's 2010 Spring Repertory directing corps is comprised of familiar Festival faces. Victoria Bussert will stage Bat Boy: The Musical. Bussert celebrates her 23rd year at Great Lakes Theater Festival this season. Her work was last seen by Festival audiences this past fall when she directed The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Over the past two decades, she has directed a host of memorable productions including Into the Woods, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Private Lives, Anything Goes, Gypsy, A Little Night Music, She Loves Me, The Most Happy Fella, Rough Crossing, Blithe Spirit, La Ronde, The School For Wives, Noel and Gertie, The Threepenny Opera, and Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill. Charles Fee, GLTF's Producing Artistic Director, will complete the Festival's Spring Repertory directing duo when he helms William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Fee's acclaimed productions of Twelfth Night (2009), The Comedy of Errors (2009), Macbeth (2008), Hay Fever (2007), The Importance of Being Earnest (2005), The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (2004), and Hamlet (2003) have led to an artistic and financial renaissance for Great Lakes Theater Festival.

Great Lakes Theater Festival will maintain its new pricing structure this spring - designed to increase accessibility for its audiences. As part of the program, 25% of the seats at every GLTF Hanna Theatre performance are priced at $25 or less. Furthermore, adult tickets for every performance always begin at $15 and all student tickets are $11 - making the Great Lakes Theater Festival experience one of the most affordable entertainment options in the region. "It is absolutely vital to the mission and long-term health of our organization that we create affordable opportunities for every person in our region to experience live theater," said GLTF Producing Artistic Director Charles Fee.

Great Lakes Theater Festival's award-winning home at the Hanna Theatre features a visionary "Great Room" inspired design concept that integrates the artist and audience experience into a single unified environment. Hanna patrons select from a variety of seating opportunities including traditional theater seats, club chairs, lounge/bar seats, banquette couches and private box seating. Boasting a fully flexible hydraulic thrust stage, a complete array of state-of-the-art theatrical systems and an intimate 550-seat house arranged in a thrust configuration, the Hanna is one of the most innovative theaters in the country.

Great Lakes Theater Festival will continue to afford patrons extraordinary access to the artistic process this spring. The Hanna always opens its doors ninety minutes before each performance allowing patrons to observe the complete pre-show preparation process of GLTF's actors and technical staff. Elements traditionally hidden from audiences such as stage combat rehearsals, dance calls, prop/scenic pre-sets, technical cue rehearsals and actor warm-ups will be conducted in full view of patrons, offering GLTF audiences an amazing glimpse into the theatrical process.

The Festival will also continue its unique series of social enhancement programming at the Hanna. The programming, organized by day of week, is designed to augment the patron experience and highlight the Hanna's new amenities.

"Salon Thursdays" will feature an engaging pre-show discussion/presentation beginning one hour before curtain with a Festival artist or local scholar. (Offered: Apr. 29 & May 6, 13)
"Happy Hour Fridays" afford patrons the ability to avoid the commute home from work and back to the theater in time for the show. On "Happy Hour Fridays," audience members are invited to meet at the Hanna's bar and lounge immediately after work to enjoy a fine assortment of savory hors d' oeuvres and a complete range of beverages for sale beginning ninety minutes before every performance. (Offered: Apr. 16, 30 & May 7, 14)
"Night Cap Night Saturdays" are designed to encourage audience members to stay after the performance and mingle with friends and family in the Hanna's bar and lounge. The Hanna's bar and lounge is open until ninety minutes after the performance on "Night Cap Saturdays." (Offered: Apr. 17 & May 1, 8, 15)
"Ice Cream Social Sundays" offer patrons the opportunity to enjoy a London theatre tradition brought state-side with family and friends. Audience members are invited to purchase a cool personal ice cream treat before the show or at intermission. Ice cream will be offered at every performance in GLTF's Spring Repertory, but on "Ice Cream Social Sundays," the treat is half price. (Offered: Apr. 18, 25 & May 2, 9, 16)
Opening Night performances of Bat Boy: The Musical (April 10th) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (April 24th) have been scheduled for Saturday evenings with preview performances of both productions scheduled for the preceding Thursday and Friday nights. The Friday previews of Bat Boy: The Musical (April 9th) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (April 23rd) have been designated as "Press Previews" - public performances that will also accommodate theater critics and other media representatives. These nights also feature a half-hour pre-show discussion with the director beginning at 6:30 p.m. Curtain times for all evening performances will remain at 7:30 p.m., with a 1:30 p.m. curtain time for Saturday matinees and a 3:00 p.m. curtain time for Sunday matinees. Both productions in GLTF's Spring Repertory will continue to offer sign-interpreted and audio-described performances as well as the popular Playnotes pre-show discussion series. (Click here for a complete list of performance calendar http://www.greatlakestheater.org/calendar/)

Single performance tickets for Great Lakes Theater Festival productions range in price from $15-$69 (Student tickets are $11 - any performance / any seat) and are available by calling (216) 241-6000, by ordering online at http://www.greatlakestheater.org/tickets/default.asp

or by visiting The PlayhouseSquare Ticket Office. Groups of ten or more receive discounts of up to 38% by calling the Great Lakes Theater Festival Group Sales Department at (216) 241-5490 x302. (Additional handling fees may apply and may vary depending on point of purchase.)
Great Lakes Theater Festival has brought the pleasure, power and relevance of classic theater to the widest possible audience since 1962. The first resident company of PlayhouseSquare, GLTF celebrates its 28th year in downtown Cleveland this season. Festival programming reaches 85,000 adults and students annually.

 

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