TheatreWorks New Milford Sets '12 Season, Announced At Spruce Home Party

TheatreWorks recently announced its 2012 line-up of theatrical performances at a party hosted by Spruce Home & Garden, a retailer of upper-end home products and accessories, on Bank Street in New Milford.

Over 100 subscribers, donors, and special guests, along with the Board of Directors of TheatreWorks, gathered for a few hours to mingle and nosh on appetizers from New Milford's Lucia Ristorante, who then hosted a post-event party at the restaurant. Guests were treated to a wine-tasting sponsored by The Bridge Fine Wine, Spirits & Beer of New Milford and the White Silo Farm and Winery of Sherman.

“We’re proud and pleased to have hosted this event with TheatreWorks for the second consecutive year,” said Spruce Home & Garden owner, Steven Wilburn. “By partnering with an arts organization like TheatreWorks New Milford, that has become renowned for great local theatre over the past 45 years, we are conveying to the community that, after just one year in business, we’re here to stay.”

The evening culminated with a presentation of TheatreWorks’ 2012 season, which includes four mainstage shows, four children's/young adult productions, and four free staged readings. TheatreWorks’ Senior Night and Pay-What-You-Want Night outreach programs will also continue in 2012.

“We’re extremely grateful for this continued partnership between the local business community and TheatreWorks,” said TheatreWorks’ President, Glenn R. Couture. “It’s an honor to unveil our upcoming season with partners who are as committed as we are to making the greater New Milford region a great place to work and play. We are very proud to be able to continue to provide Broadway-caliber theatre at ticket prices that are much more affordable than Broadway.”

Couture announced that the company’s 45th season will kick off in March with THE IRISH CURSE by Martin Casella. Mr. Casella was in attendance as was Ms. Tillie Page Laird, who is generously underwriting the entire production so that all proceeds from ticket sales will go directly to TheatreWorks. THE IRISH CURSE opened Off-Broadway in March 2010, and just two days prior, Ms. Laird and Mr. Casella brought the play to the TheatreWorks stage in the format of a staged reading. The staged reading was very successful, and for her generosity Ms. Laird, who is also a TheatreWorks season subscriber, was awarded an orchid courtesy of Pygmalion Designs of Sherman on behalf of the TheatreWorks board of directors.

THE IRISH CURSE is a wicked, rollicking, and very funny new play. Size matters to a small group of Irish-American men who meet weekly in a Catholic church basement in New York City as part of a self-help group for guys who possess a certain anatomical "shortcoming" that they believe, right or wrong, affects men of Irish descent.

In June comes GOLDA'S BALCONY, featuring New Milford actress Sonnie Osborne. The play is a riveting portrait of Golda Meir, one of the most fascinating and complex women of our time. From Russian immigrant to American schoolteacher to a leader of international politics as the fourth Prime Minister of Israel, this tight-knit story of war and peace is an intriguing backdrop for a dramatic look at idealism, power, and the strength it takes to shape the destiny of a nation.
Ronald Gwiazda, literary agent of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet and part-time resident of New Milford, was on hand as Mr. Mamet’s 2008 Tony Award-winning comedy NOVEMBER was announced as the offering for the fall. NOVEMBER is a scathingly hilarious tale set just days before a presidential election where incumbent Charles Smith's chances for re-election are looking grim. As per White House tradition, President Smith pardons a couple turkeys before Thanksgiving, and it is this simple PR event that inspires Smith to risk it all in a hilarious attempt to make an eleventh-hour comeback.

Wrapping up the season is A ROLLER-DISCO MUSICAL COMEDY. Due to rights issues, the play cannot be mentioned by name until the fall, but the musical comedy is based on a classic cult movie from 1980 which starred Gene Kelly and Olivia Newton-John. Full of 70s and 80s pop and rock hits, it's hilarity on wheels for adults, children, and anyone who has ever wanted to feel inspired. During its run on Broadway in 2008, it earned an Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical and a Drama Desk Award for Best Book.
The TheatreWorks Kids’ shows announced for 2012 include the original BROADWAY BEDLAM!, ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, JR., and THE WIZARD OF OZ. For high school-aged students, GODSPELL is planned for the Stage 2 program in the summer.

TheatreWorks also continues its "Page to Stage" series of free staged readings in 2012 with four selections: THE TALE OF THE ALLERGIST’S WIFE by Charles Busch, THE NORMAL HEART by Larry Kramer, THE LETTER by W. Somerset Maugham, and BORN YESTERDAY by Garson Kanin.

For more information, tickets, and subscriptions, visit WWW.THEATREWORKS.US or call the box office at (860) 350-6863.

TheatreWorks is an award-winning, regional theatre company located on 5 Brookside Avenue, just off Route 202 (next to the CVS), in New Milford, Conn.

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