VENUS IN FUR, GROUNDED, BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK and More Set for Unicorn Theatre's 2013-14 Season

Unicorn Theatre announces its 40th season of BoldNewPlays. Forty seasons is a milestone few theatres achieve. The theatre plans to present seven shows that will sweep up audiences on an audacious journey through cutting-edge, provocative and original entertainment. Prepare to experience dramatic highs, shocking revelations and plenty of laughs during seven unique evenings of live theatre.

Producing Artistic Director Cynthia Levin will begin her 35th season with Unicorn Theatre where she has served as a director, actor, designer or producer for over 260 productions. "This might be the best season I've ever assembled in our 40 years. Every play I really wanted will appear on our stage this coming season," Cynthia said just after locking down the rights to the final show.

The season kicks off with the sexy thriller, Venus in Fur, by David Ives. Based on the classic erotic novel, this new, 2012 Tony-nominated play portrays an emotionally charged audition that becomes an electrifying game of cat and mouse that blurs the lines between fantasy and reality, seduction and power, love and sex. Watch out for the whip!

September 4-29, 2013 on the Jerome Stage.

Next is Seminar, by Theresa Rebeck, a biting new comedy with vicious wordplay about four writing students who get the schooling of their lives while taking private classes from a reckless and unorthodox international literary figure. Co-produced with UMKC Theatre.

October 16-November 10, 2013 on the Mainstage.

All the buzz in New York has been about Clybourne Park, by Bruce Norris. It's a fiercely provocative new play about race, real estate, and the volatile values of each. Inspired by events from the Lorraine Hansberry classic A Raisin in the Sun, this play has won every honor in the theatre world, including the 2012 Tony Award for Best Play, the Pulitzer Prize and the Olivier (London's version of the Tony). The Unicorn will co-produce this play with UMKC Theatre.

December 4-29, 2013 on the Mainstage.

Then enjoy the World Premiere of Grounded, by George Brant. It is a National New Play Network Smith Prize winner and this production will be part of an NNPN Rolling World Premiere. This one-woman show features a female fighter pilot who ends up "flying" drones in Afghanistan while stationed stateside because of an unexpected pregnancy. She struggles with surreal 12-hour shifts far from the battlefield, hunting terrorists by day and being a wife and mother by night.

January 22-February 9, 2014 on the Jerome Stage.

The fifth show of the season is Other Desert Cities, by Jon Robin Baitz, and this too is a Tony Award nominee for Best Play. Secrets are currency and everyone is rich in this family confrontation that takes place in Palm Springs during a holiday reunion. And you thought your family had drama!

March 5-30, 2014 on the Mainstage.

Water By The Spoonful is a timely and urgent new play by Quiara Alegría Hudes. An Iraqi war veteran comes home to Philadelphia to reconnect with his Puerto Rican family, but he finds them in crisis mode. This lyrical, uplifting play touches on redemption and self-discovery - and won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. This playwright also wrote the 2008 Tony Award-winning book for the musical In the Heights.

April 23-May 18, 2014 on the Jerome Stage.

Our 40th anniversary season closes with light-hearted laughter. By The Way, Meet Vera Stark, by Lynn Nottage, is an irreverent look at Hollywood's racial stereotypes. It features an African-American maid who auditions for the same 1930's movie as her employer, a white starlet. This hilarious comedy is a change from the serious themes in previous Lynn Nottage works like Ruined, seen here in 2011... and it's winning rave reviews.

June 4-29, 2014 on the Mainstage.

Current subscribers can now renew their tickets for next season. Subscriptions can be purchased at 816-531-PLAY, online at www.UnicornTheatre.org or in person at 3828 Main Street, Kansas City, Mo.

Regular performances take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 pm, Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm, and Sunday at 3:00 pm. During Clybourne Park, there will be no performances on Dec. 24 or 25 due to Christmas, but we will have performances at 3pm and 8pm on both Dec. 28 & 29.

In addition to a full line-up of productions new to Kansas City, the Unicorn will also continue the In-Progress New Play Reading Series which brings scripts in development to be read that are being considered for production in upcoming seasons.

Also, Unicorn Theatre will throw two big parties to celebrate its 40th season. The first takes place August 11, 2013. More information about this event, as well as the spring fundraiser, will be announced soon.

Founded in 1974, Unicorn Theatre exists to enhance the cultural life of Kansas City by producing professional contemporary, thought-provoking theater, which inspires emotional response and stimulates discussion. Unicorn Theatre is under the artistic and executive leadership of Producing Artistic Director Cynthia Levin, who joined the company in 1980. From a newly expanded home in the Midtown neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri, the Unicorn houses two stages--The Mainstage and The Jerome Stage (added 2007). A fully professional not-for-profit theatre, the theatre operates under agreement with Actor's Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. The Unicorn is a founding member of the National New Play Network, an alliance of not-for-profit professional theatres that champions the development, production and continued life of new plays for the American theatre; and is a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group, Inc., the national service organization for the not-for-profit professional theatre. Financial assistance for this theatre has been provided by The National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency; corporate and foundation gifts; and the generous individuals throughout the community we serve.

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