Antaeus Theater Co Announces Their 2012 Season

The Antaeus Company, L.A.'s classical theater ensemble, has announced a three play season for 2012.

Productions will include The Seagull by Anton Chekhov (March 1-April 15), Macbeth by William Shakespeare (July 12-August 26), and You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (October 11-November 25).

The first season under the leadership of newly appointed interim artistic directors Tony Amendola, Rob Nagle and John Sloan will continue the company's focus on great ensemble pieces. "With the 2012 season, the Antaeus ensemble will explore anew three pillars of the classical repertory," they said in a joint statement. "With The Seagull, we return to Chekhov, where we began 20 years ago with our inaugural production, Chekhov's The Wood Demon. Macbeth represents one of the Bard's most enticing challenges, and You Can't Take it With You is a true ensemble piece, full of interesting characters that mirror the unique family that is Antaeus."

The Seagull, Anton Chekhov's classic tale of love and longing, opens the season on March 1. Set on a country estate by a lake in 19th century Russia, this idyllic locale belies the turbulent passions of its inhabitants. The famous actress, Irina Arkadina, returns home with her lover to find a household overflowing with creativity, fantasies of celebrity, jealousy and unrequited love.

Jessica Kubzansky is set to direct Macbeth, opening on July 12. Shakespeare's bloodiest couple do battle with their own consciences in the compelling psychological and political thriller that follows Macbeth's transformation from battlefield hero to bloody tyrant.

Find out who's really crazy when a pair of lovebirds bring their mismatched families together in Kaufman and Hart's Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy, You Can't Take It With You. The delightfully mad Sycamores celebrate independence, freedom from convention, and merry mayhem. The exacting Kirbys believe in rules, hard work, and rigid organization. When young Alice Sycamore falls in love with Tony Kirby, the two families are forced to sort out their differences and ultimately determine what's really important in life. Performances begin October 11 with Gigi Bermingham at the helm.

The Antaeus Company strives to keep classical theater vibrantly alive by presenting professional productions with a top-flight ensemble company of actors. Taking their company name from the Titan who gained strength by touching the Earth, Antaeus members - many of whom are familiar to film and television audiences - gain creative strength by returning to the wellspring of their craft: live theater performances of great classical plays.

All Antaeus productions are double cast, with two equally talented actors sharing every role. This means that audiences never see an understudy and frequently come back to see shows a second time in order to see the same play in the hands of a different set of actors. Members of the company and its board span a wide range of age, ethnicity and experience; they have performed on Broadway, at major regional theaters across the country, in film and television, and on local stages, and are the recipients of multiple accolades including Tony, Los Angeles and New York Drama Critics Circle, Ovation, LA Weekly, and Back Stage Garland nominations and awards.

The company's current production, the critically acclaimed world premiere of Barry Creyton's adaption of Noel Coward's Peace In Our Time, continues through December 18.

For more information about The Antaeus Company and the 2012 Season, call 818-506-5436 or visit online at www.antaeus.org.

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