Darko Tresnjak to Direct World Premiere of REAR WINDOW in Connecticut

Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak announced today two additions to the Hartford Stage 2015-16 Season, including the world premiere of Rear Window, adapted for the stage by Keith Reddin, and Directed by Darko Tresnjak. The play is based on the same short story-"Rear Window" by Cornell Woolrich-that inspired the Alfred Hitchcock film, a 1954 Academy Award nominee.

Also newly added to the season is Having Our Say: the Delany Sisters' First 100 Years, Emily Mann's moving adaptation of the book written by Sarah L. and A. Elizabeth Delany with Amy Hill Hearth, which stayed on The New York Times bestseller list for 105 weeks.

Hartford Stage previously announced the season will open in September with the world premiere of An Opening in Time, a subtle and moving play about finding connections in a changing world, written by Connecticut native Christopher Shinn and Directed by Oliver Butler; The Body of an American, an award-winning work by Dan O'Brien in a co-production with Primary Stages in New York; and Romeo and Juliet, Directed by Tresnjak.

In THE FALL Tresnjak will direct the premiere of Keith Reddin's adaptation of Rear Window, the classic story about a man, confined to his apartment, who witnesses a murder in a nearby building. Rear Window is presented by special arrangement with Charlie Lyons, Jay Russell and Jeff Steen. Highly regarded as both an actor and a writer, Reddin's plays include Frame 312, Life and Limb, All the Rage, and Rum and Coke. Cornell Woolrich was a popular and influential writer of crime fiction. His stories and novels were turned into movies by Alfred Hitchcock, Harold Clurman, Francois Truffaut, Robert Siodmak, and Jacques Tourneur.

"I'm a big fan of both Cornell Woolrich's stories and Keith Reddin's plays. And I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work on this smart, terse, and timely adaptation of a classic suspense story," said Tresnjak.

After the holidays, the season will continue with The Body of an American and Romeo and Juliet before Having Our Say.

A co-production with Long Wharf Theatre, and based on actual interviews, Having Our Say is the story of 103-year-old Sadie Delany and 101-year-old Bessie Delany. They were the daughters of a former slave, grew up in the Jim Crow South, lived in Harlem during its renaissance, and had professional careers as a teacher and a dentist, respectively. While they make dinner to remember their father's birthday, the two sisters tell us the story of the last century, as they lived it. History at its most immediate, and poignant. "The most provocative and entertaining family play to reach Broadway in a long time," said The New York Times.

Adapted by multi-award-winning playwright and McCarter Theatre Artistic Director Emily Mann from the best-selling book by Sarah L. Delany and A. Elizabeth Delany with Amy Hill Hearth, Having Our Say received 3 Tony nominations in 1995 and has since been produced internationally to critical acclaim.

"From the time she worked here as a director during Mark Lamos' tenure, Emily Mann has been a long-standing friend of Hartford Stage's. We're delighted to be producing one of her most popular plays," said Managing Director Michael Stotts.

The six-play MainStage Season is on sale now, and subscriptions start at $125, a substantial savings over the cost of individual tickets. Order online at www.hartfordstage.org/subscribe or call the Box Office at 860-527-5151.

Tickets to A Christmas Carol are also on sale but to subscribers only. Single tickets for all shows will go on sale to the general public in July. However, group seats are available now for all shows via www.hartfordstage.org/group-sales or Theresa MacNaughton at (860) 520-7114.

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