Denver Center Theater Announces 2009-2010 Season Line-up

With the announcement of the Denver Center Theatre Company's 2009/10 Season, Artistic Director Kent Thompson continues his company's mission of new play development by selecting three world premieres - including two Denver Center commissions - while sending a resounding message to Colorado and the nation that uncertain economic times call for new and classic plays that hold a special relevance for us. "The best way to overcome fear and uncertainty is to stir people's thoughts and hearts with stimulating ideas, different cultures, and imaginative stories," said Thompson.

Denver Center Theatre Company
2009.10 Season
The National Tour debut of Steppenwolf's 2008 Pulitzer Prize-Winner
The 2008 Tony Award-Winner for Best Play
August: Osage County
by Tracy Letts
Directed by Anna D. Shapiro
July 24 - August 8, 2009 (Opening Tuesday, July 28) The Ellie Caulkins Opera House
In Association with Denver Center Attractions

Steppenwolf's August: Osage County is a grand, gripping new play that tells the story of the Westons, a large extended clan that comes together at their rural Oklahoma homestead when the alcoholic patriarch disappears. Forced to confront unspoken truths and astonishing secrets, the family must also contend with Violet (played by Academy Award-winner Estelle Parsons), a pill-popping, deeply unsettled woman at the center of this storm. August: Osage County is a rare theatrical event - a large-scale work filled with unforgettable characters, a powerful tale told with unflinching honesty. The New York Times cheers, "August: Osage County is flat-out, without qualification, the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years," and Time Magazine named August: Osage County the "#1 Show of the Year!"

Contains adult language and situations.

The Voysey Inheritance
by Harvey Granville-Barker
Adapted by David Mamet
Directed by Bruce K. Sevy
September 18 - October 24, 2009 (Opening Thursday, September 24) The Space Theatre

Before his father's death, Edward Voysey, a third-generation member of the family firm, discovers that their blue-chip business is a pyramid scheme. Does he keep the fraud going and make partial restitution or bring it all crashing down? David Mamet's lean adaptation brings a contemporary velocity to this trenchant 1905 play about greed, guilt and high-level financial corruption.

A Raisin in the Sun
by Lorraine Hansberry
Directed by Israel Hicks
October 2 - 31, 2009 (Opening Thursday, October 8) The Stage Theatre
An insurance settlement could change the lives of three generations of the inner-city Younger family, but Mama's dream of living in a better neighborhood and her daughter's plans for medical school clash with her son's wish to buy into a liquor store. Pride and aspirations, but at what cost? Lorraine Hansberry's breakthrough drama resonates loudly with its fearless look at ways to keep the American dream alive.

Well
by Lisa Kron
November 6 - December 19, 2009 (Opening Thursday, November 12)
The Ricketson Theatre
Lisa Kron wants to share the details of her 30-something life, but the details are sometimes exaggerated and improvised. Fortunately for the audience, Lisa's mother, Ann, is on hand to correct her daughter when she strays from the truth. That Ann is an invalid only adds to the captivating tension and love between mother and daughter. This inventive autobiographical play explores the power of illness, family and community with humor, poignancy and honest emotion.

Absurd Person Singular
by Alan Ayckbourn
Directed by Sabin Epstein
November 13 - December 19, 2009 (Opening Thursday, November 19)
The Space Theatre
Over the span of three Christmases, three English couples struggle to achieve and maintain their sought-after place on the social ladder. But marital woes and interpersonal turmoil among all six people threaten their relationships and their success. Outlandish behavior and dark humor light up the stage in this adult Christmas tale from Britain's acclaimed comic playwright who brought us Season's Greetings, Alan Ayckbourn.

A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens
Adapted for the stage by Richard Hellesen
Music by David de Berry
Directed By Bruce K. Sevy
November 27 - December 26, 2009 (Opening Thursday, December 3) The Stage Theatre

Winter seems to melt away when this holiday tradition returns, with its timeless tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, his ghosts of past, present and future and the redemption he finds as he discovers the true meaning of Christmas. Original songs, enchanting sets and opulent costumes make this an annual treat for the entire family.

A Denver Center Commissioned World Premiere
When Tang Met Laika
by Rogelio Martinez
Directed by Terry Nolen
January 22 - February 27, 2010 (Opening Thursday, January 28) The Space Theatre

Heavy issues confront weightlessness when Soviets and Americans join together to establish the International Space Station. Playwright Rogelio Martinez explores the 1990's Cold War thaw as two intensely driven people find love in space, a breakfast drink, a stray dog and a ghost named Yuri. Commissioned by the Denver Center Theatre Company and Magic Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation New Science & Technology Plays Initiative.
A Denver Center Commissioned World Premiere

Eventide
by Eric Schmiedl
From the novel by Kent Haruf
Directed by Kent Thompson
January 29 - February 27, 2010 (Opening Thursday, February 4) The Stage Theatre

Eric Schmiedl's companion piece to last season's adaptation of Kent Haruf's Plainsong finds the McPheron brothers getting older while their maturing "adopted" daughter Victoria navigates college, romance and motherhood. This is a family forged from necessity in rural Holt, Colorado, where everyone does what it takes to overcome loss, survive harsh winters and find that love is never out of reach. Commissioned by the Denver Center Theatre Company.

A Denver Center World Premiere
Mama Hated Diesels
by Randal Myler and Dan Wheetman
Directed by Randal Myler
Musical Direction by Dan Wheetman
March 19 - May 9, 2010 (Opening Thursday, March 25)

The Stage Theatre
Randal Myler and Dan Wheetman, co-authors of the Denver Center hits Fire on the Mountain and It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues, create a rambunctious musical portrait of America's long-distance truckers. Drawn from interviews with the men and women who criss-cross the country in their 18-wheelers, the musical marries Myler's gift for real-life grit and high-rolling entertainment with Wheetman's ear for the midnight jukebox sounds of a truck stop café.

Othello

by William Shakespeare

Directed by Kent Thompson

March 26 - May 1, 2010 (Opening Thursday, April 1)

The Space Theatre
When the Moor Othello weds the beautiful Desdemona in 16th-century Venice, he does not bargain for the invidious betrayal of his aide Iago. Power plays and poisonous gossip come to a terrible end in this Shakespearian tragedy as Othello is consumed by love, rumor, deception and a fatal desire for revenge.

Winner of the National Latino Playwriting Award

Mariela in the Desert

by Karen Zacarias

Directed By Bruce K. Sevy

April 2 - May 15, 2010 (Opening Thursday, April 8)

The Ricketson Theatre
In the desert of Northern Mexico, in 1950, a daughter returns home to make peace with her dying father. Her mother, Mariela, must navigate the thorny relationships she has with her daughter and husband, both accomplished painters. What is the shrouded painting that is the only artwork in their house? Why does the ghost of Mariela's other child keep coming back to visit her? This play, full of passionate emotions and familial drama, looks at what it takes to be an artist.

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Thompson also announced that theatre professionals and press representatives from across the nation will be invited to Denver February 11 -13, 2010 for the Fifth Annual Colorado New Play Summit.

Performance Schedule

Stage, Space and Ricketson Theatres

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday performances at 6:30pm

Friday and Saturday evening performances at 7:30pm

Saturday and Sunday matinees at 1:30pm
The Ellie Caulkins Opera House

August: Osage County

Evening performances at 7:30pm

Saturday and Sunday matinees at 1:00pm

Tickets and Subscriptions

New and renewing subscribers may reserve their subscriptions now by calling 303.893.6030. TTY (303) 893-9582.

Single ticket on-sale dates will be announced at a later time. No children under six.

Producing Partners for the 2009 and 2010 Colorado New Play Summits are Daniel L. Ritchie and Leo & Susan Kiely.

Special thanks to The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust for supporting new American plays at the Denver Center Theatre Company.

Note: Plans for the new season are subject to change.

 

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