TheatreWorks New Milford Sets 2016 Season

TheatreWorks recently announced its 2016 line-up of theatrical productions to a sold-out house of donors, patrons, and friends of the Theatre, located at 5 Brookside Avenue, in New Milford.

The event, hosted in part by NeJaime's Wine & Spirits of New Milford, gave all attendees the chance to partake in hors d'oeuvres and cocktails. After which, the audience was treated to a short scene from TheatreWorks' upcoming Page2Stage Staged reading of The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, being performed for FREE at TheatreWorks on December 23 at 8:00 p.m.

President Glenn R. Couture then announced the initiative to place an upstairs bathroom in the facility. The theater has raised nearly $20,000 on its own and is in need of $90,000 in order to have one built on the same level as the Hope Meinhardt auditorium upstairs.

"Right now we have two bathrooms downstairs, and those stairs are very difficult for our elderly and handicapped patrons to navigate," Couture said. "While the cost is high, we've been hearing of the need for an upstairs bathroom ever since our front parking disappeared in 2006 due to the opening of the CVS. This caused our back door to become our front door. We must be able to give our patrons the comfort and safety they need with a single upstairs bathroom." Couture then asked the audience for any leads on grants for such a project.

The evening culminated with a presentation of TheatreWorks' 2016 season, which includes five mainstage shows, six free staged readings, and the ongoing TheatreWorks Kids program.

Couture announced that the company's 49th season will kick off in February with Seminar by Theresa Rebeck. The play is a razor-sharp comedy surrounding a discredited, cantankerous, yet brilliant writer, who takes on four graduate students in a very intimate teaching arrangement. The play is under the direction of Alicia Dempster of Danbury.

In April comes The Tale of the Allergist's Wife by Charles Busch, an off-beat, hilarious comedy centering on a contemporary New York sophisticate who's going through a mid-life crisis of Medea-like proportions. The show is under the direction of Debbie Levin of Brewster, N.Y.

In July comes iconic American playwright Tennessee Williams' The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore, a rarely-seen dreamlike gem of a play set against the backdrop of the Italian mountains. Joseph Russo of New Milford will be helming the show.

September brings the U.S. premiere of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance by Jethro Compton. This classic western, based on Dorothy M. Johnson's short story, was the inspiration for the hit 1962 film starring John Wayne and James Stewart. Richard Pettibone of New Milford is directing.

Wrapping up the season in December is the classic Noël Coward chestnut Private Lives, a sophisticated comedy of manners by one of the greatest English playwrights of the 20th Century. Frank Arcaro of Roxbury will be directing.

For more information on the 2016 Mainstage Season, the Page2Stage Staged Reading Series, the new Play in Progress Series, the TheatreWorks Kids' program, and to purchase tickets and subscriptions, visit theatreworks.us or call the box office at (860) 350-6863.

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