BWW Previews: Actors Theatre, Theatre [502], Savage Rose Announce 2014-2015 Seasons

The theater season is like a good sports season, defying traditional calendar logic. January 1? That's halftime. As the 2013-2014 year draws to a close for most companies doing year-round work, several have already announced their 2014-2015 season, generating excitement and bringing actors all over town to brush up on their audition material.

Here are a few recent 2014-2015 season announcements from some of Louisville's most popular theater companies.

Actors Theatre of Louisville

"Love's Labours Lost" by William Shakespeare, Sept. 2-21, 2014. A king and his men sequester themselves from the world for scholarly pursuits - but the arrival of a lovely princess and her companions make the mens' oath difficult to keep. A world-premiere reimagining of a classic Shakespeare comedy.

"Fifth Third Bank's Dracula" adapted by William McNulty, Sept. 12-Oct. 31. Actors' perennial Halloween favorite returns for its 20th annual production. The lord of the undead battles Van Helsing and the humans who mean to put an end to him.

"The Last Five Years" by Jason Robert Brown, directed by Meredith McDonough, October 7-26. A powerful musical examination of love from beginning to end - and end to beginning - as two lovers share their tale while on alternate timelines: one going forward, the other in reverse.

"Tribes" by Nina Raine, Nov. 11-Dec. 7. A powerful drama about communication in which a boy born deaf who has never really been heard meets a girl losing her hearing.

"Fifth Third Bank's A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, Nov. 25-Dec. 23. Louisville's biggest holiday tradition gets a makeover as the classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge is completely reimagined and redesigned.

"The Brothers Size" by Tareil Alvin McCraney, Jan. 6-Feb. 1, 2015. A post-prison drama rife with the rhythms of the Bayou, as Oshoosi struggles to stay on the right path and avoid the temptations and conflicts that could ruin his new life.

"At The Vanishing Point" by Naomi Iizuki, Jan. 27-Feb. 15. A revival of the 2004 Humana Festival entry, once again directed by now-Actors Artistic Director Les Waters, that paints a mythic portrait of Louisville's historic Butchertown. Featuring original music by Ben Sollee.

The 39th Annual Humana Festival of New American Plays, March 4-April 12. A selection of the best new voices in American theater, given premieres right here in Louisville.

Theatre [502]

"The 13th of Paris" by Mat Smart, June 20-28. A young man travels to Paris to discover the kind of epic love his grandparents enjoyed. Directed by Gil Reyes.

"Red Speedo" by Lucas Hnath, Sept. 5-13. A look at doping in competitive swimming as an Olympic hopeful has to decide how far he'll go to win. Directed by Amy Attaway.

"Mr. Burns, a post-electric play" by Anne Washburn, Feb. 20-28, 2015. In the wake of an apocalyptic event, survivors use an episode of "The Simpsons" to hold onto hope. Directed by Mike Brooks.

THEATRE [502] Small Batch Series

"Bull" by Mike Bartlett, Nov. 13-23. Three employees negotiate their distance from the axe in a modern satire of survival. Part of the Slant Culture Theatre Festival.

"Ludlow Quinn Presents: Untold Stories of Baron's Theatre" by Diana Grisanti and Steve Moulds, first Fridays. The creators of Theatre [502]'s smash serial theater experiment present new tales of the magic of Baron's Theatre.

Savage Rose Classical Theatre Company

King Lear" by William Shakespeare, Aug. 12-17. The company's latest smash success, the epic tragedy of the downfall of a king and his family, receives a three-performance remount as part of Kentucky Shakespeare's Community Partners series this summer in Central Park.

"The Bald Soprano" by Eugene Ionesco, August 22-23. The company brings back last year's absurdist triumph for another two-night, eight-performance run.

"The Maids" by Jean Genet, November. A pair of maids engage in bizarre roleplaying games enacting the murder of "Madame," their employer, when she is not at home. Part of the Slant Culture Theatre Festival.

"The Blind Beggar of Alexandria" by George Chapman, December. An outrageous Elizabethan comedy drawing on commedia dell'arte conventions featuring Cleanthes, a swindler who woos Queen Aegiale, leaving misunderstandings and comedy in his wake.

"Pride & Prejudice" from the novel Jane Austen, February 13-21 2015. Jane Austen's classic tale of the perilous path to love, adapted for the stage by Christina Calvit.

"Titus Andronicus" by William Shakespeare, April 17-25. Shakespeare's earliest and most legendarily bloody revenge tragedy featuring a Roman general versus Tamora, Queen of the Goths.

"The Sea" by Edward Bond, June 17-20. A lyrical exploration of the reactions of villagers to a tragic loss at sea and the attempts of two young lovers to break away from their oppressive society.

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