NWA's Regional Theatre Announces 2011/12 Lineup
By: Gabrielle Sierra Apr. 14, 2011
TheatreSquared (T2) Artistic Director Robert Ford and Managing Director Martin Miller today announced TheatreSquared Season 6, the 2011/12 lineup of intimate, professional works at Northwest Arkansas's regional theatre. The four-play season includes 2008 Tony Award-winner Boeing-Boeing, Marc Camoletti's "non-stop comedy;" a new adaptation of Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life created for the stage by TheatreSquared artists; Kim Rosenstock's Tigers Be Still, a wry suburban comedy critically acclaimed in its 2010 off-Broadway debut; and the Arkansas premiere of Robert Ford's The Fall of the House, recently nominated for the 2011 Edgar Award for Best New Play. Subscriptions, starting at just $74, are on sale beginning today at the Walton Arts Center Box Office (479.443.5600).
"Season selection is comparable to alchemy," said Ford. "It's not really a science, and there's certainly no formula. But every so often, you finish the process, and you realize you're looking at gold. We're thrilled by this season lineup, and we can't stop talking about these plays. It is truly exciting to be able to say-okay, let's share them with 10,000 of our closest friends."
For the second consecutive year, TheatreSquared's audience has more than doubled during the current season. "After three extensions this year," said Miller, "we're expanding to offer 95 performances next season-an increase of 30-while keeping our lowest subscription and single ticket prices the same. And, keeping it local, we're thrilled to announce a new 'garden-to-table' T2 Sunday Dinner Series in partnership with BHK Kafé."
The 2011/12 season will launch with BOEING-BOEING, Marc Camoletti's fast-paced comedy set in 1960s Paris. The play's recent Broadway production, translated from the French by Beverly Cross and Francis Evans, won the 2008 Tony Award for Best Revival amidst widespread critical acclaim from the national press. In Boeing-Boeing, Bernard, a successful architect living abroad, has mastered the art of juggling his three flight attendant fiancées-who are quite unaware of each other-on their international "layovers." When a new jet shortens travel times, Bernard's careful scheduling is thrown into disarray-and all three show up at once. The Arkansas premiere of Boeing-Boeing will run September 1-25, 2011 (recommended rating: "PG," for adult humor).
In time for the holiday season, TheatreSquared is creating an entirely new stage adaptation of Frank Capra's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, named by the American Film Institute the most inspirational film ever made. After a life of sacrifices, George Bailey finds himself drunk and despondent on Christmas Eve, 1946, staring into the swirling waters off a highway bridge. What follows is a remarkable tale of redemption and old-fashioned holiday magic, reminding even the cynics among us that there's much to be treasured in life. T2 artists will re-imagine Capra's classic with theatrical invention, while holding true to the story that has brought audiences together for generations. It's a Wonderful Life, in a World Premiere stage adaptation, runs December 8, 2011-January 1, 2012 and is recommended for all audiences.
"This is the story of how I stopped being a total disaster," announces the heroine of TIGERS BE STILL, the darkly funny and moving new comedy opening at TheatreSquared in February 2012. Sherry Wickman, who had expected the perfect life to fall into place after earning her degree, instead finds herself underemployed, overwhelmed and back home in her twin-sized childhood bed. Her mother refuses to emerge from the bedroom, her sister claims drunken sovereignty over the couch, and a tiger has escaped from the local zoo. With the 2010 off-Broadway hit that The New York Times called "piercing, ferocious and devastatingly hilarious," TheatreSquared brings a bold new work by an emerging playwright to Northwest Arkansas. Tigers Be Still will run February 9-March 4, 2012 (recommended rating: PG-13, for occasional adult language).
The 2011/12 subscription season will conclude with THE FALL OF THE HOUSE, a new theatrical mystery in which T2 Artistic Director Robert Ford ('Twas the Night, My Father's War) explores the desperate bargains we make for love. Nominated for the 2011 Edgar Award for Best New Play, The Fall of the House premiered in a critically acclaimed production at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in 2010, and was previewed for Northwest Arkansas audiences at the 2010 Arkansas New Play Fest. In this "haunting dreamscape of a play" (Theatre Montgomery), an escaped slave risks her freedom for an illegal rendezvous with Edgar Allen Poe, and-two centuries later-a celebrated architect, standing trial for a fatal beach house fire, finds she possesses an undiscovered manuscript of Poe's final work. The Arkansas premiere of The Fall of the House will run April 12-May 6, 2012 (recommended rating: PG-13, for occasional adult language).
Offered separately from the theatre's subscription season, TheatreSquared will present the fourth annual ARKANSAS NEW PLAY FEST in June of 2012, with dates and titles for the celebration of new works to be announced early that year. The Festival will unite promising voices in American playwriting in a three-day celebration of dramatic storytelling, both at T2's home theatre in Fayetteville and on tour to the Arkansas Repertory Theatre in Little Rock.
Subscriptions for TheatreSquared's four-play season are available in five packages. Performances run Thursdays through Sundays of each week, with all evening performances scheduled for 7:30pm (Sundays at 7pm), and matinees for 2pm. Subscriptions start at $74 for the new T2 Preview Saver Series, including a general admission ticket to the final Thursday evening dress rehearsal of each new production. T2's popular Opening Night Series, including prime reserved seats for the Friday night opening, a catered reception with cast members after the show, and an intermission champagne toast, is priced at $110. The T2 Prime Weekend Series, with reserved seating for either Friday and Saturday evening performances (excluding Opening), is available for $92. The T2 Weeknight/Matinee Series, in which subscribers can choose seats for either Thursday or Sunday evenings, or Saturday and Sunday afternoons, is priced at $82. Click to download subscription pricing overview >
The new T2 Sunday Dinner Series will include: complimentary parking at BHK Kafé; prime seats at the new Sunday evening performance of each TheatreSquared production; and a three-course, seasonal dinner-with opener, entrée, dessert and beverage-prepared by Chef David Lewis using locally-produced "garden-to-table" ingredients. Dinner is served at BHK Kafé 5:30pm, and the performance begins at Walton Arts Center's Nadine Baum Studios at 7:00pm. The full package, available in limited quantity, is priced at just $168.
T2 subscriptions are packaged with an array of benefits, including a 15% discount off of single ticket prices, prime reserved seating, free unlimited exchanges, and pre-show dining discounts at T2 Partner Restaurants (subscribers only). T2 Restaurant Partners include: BHK Kafé, 25% off full menu; Bordinos, $20 3-course meal with wine pairing; Ella's Restaurant, 30% off full menu; Greenhouse Grille, 25% off full menu; The Wine Cellar, 25% off full menu. Current subscribers who renew by May 30 will be entered for a chance to win a $300 gift card at Bordinos Restaurant.
Subscriptions are on sale beginning today at the Walton Arts Center Box Office, and can be reserved by calling (479) 443-5600. TheatreSquared is Northwest Arkansas's regional theatre, dedicated to creating exceptional theatrical works and innovative educational programs. For further information, contact TheatreSquared at 479.445.6333 or visit the Theatre's website at theatre2.org/subscribe.
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