Performance Network Theatre Announces its 2010-2011 Season

Performance Network, Michigan's most award-winning theatre, is proud to announce its 2010-2011 season. The year will feature seven shows beginning September 16, 2010 and running through August 28, 2011. Hot off the heels of the season that has garnered Performance Network 21 Wilde Award nominations, the theatre gears up for another stellar season of premieres, award-winners and comedies that offers something for everyone.

Several highlights from the upcoming season include the Michigan Premiere of Obie Award-winner, "Circle Mirror Transformation," which enjoyed two runs at New York's Playwright's Horizons theatre due to its great popularity with audiences. Michigan playwright Kim Carney returns to the PNT stage with her World Premiere of "The War Since Eve." No stranger to great success, Carney's play "Moonglow," which was also premiered at PNT, was recently optioned for a Broadway run. Another feature of the 2010-2011 season is the return of the musical to PNT's holiday slot. "The Drowsy Chaperone," which is crammed full of every cliche, gag and gimmick from the golden age of Broadway, was a seven time Drama Desk Award and five time Tony Award-winner during its New York run in 2006. PNT is happy to have secured the performance rights which have just been released for regional theatres.

One particularly noteworthy feature of the 2010-2011 season is its theme of theatrical journeys, with widely varied settings and time periods for each play. Executive Director Carla Milarch said "Especially in tough economic times, people need to get away from the daily grind - to refresh themselves and keep a positive outlook. So, we've programmed a season that takes audiences on seven amazing journeys - each one completely different from the next. We've got hot shows from New York back to back with World Premieres, musicals and Pulitzer prize winning dramas - award-winning theatre at affordable prices. Whether it's Cuba, the French Revolution, 1928 on the Great White Way, or Pittsburgh in the 1930s... people can still step out of the ordinary - right here in Ann Arbor!"

Discounted season ticket packages are available now starting at $105 for the five-show package (Sept-May) and beginning at $138 for the full seven-show package. Season ticket-holders also receive special perks including no-hassle ticket exchanges, discounts at other area theatres and special coupons redeemable at many restaurants in Downtown Ann Arbor.

"Mark Twain once challenged his readers with this thought: 'Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.' Each year at Performance Network, we strive to put together a season of plays that has a rich, diverse and adventuresome appeal. I am especially thrilled with our 2010-11 Season and the journey that each show will take us on. It contains a full compliment of intellectual exploration, dreams of the past and the future, and discoveries of what is funny, entertaining, sexy and important about the human condition. I encourage you to take Mark Twain's challenge to heart and join us in our travels - think of a subscription as your passport, with exotic and wonderful destinations eagerly waiting for you to explore, dream and discover." said Artistic Director David Wolber.

The 2010-2011 Professional Season will include:

SONIA FLEW by Melinda Lopez
MICHIGAN PREMIERE!
A Co-production with the Jewish Ensemble Theatre
Sept. 16 through Oct. 17
In the turmoil of revolutionary Cuba, a young girl's parents struggle to keep their family safe. When the father is wrongly implicated as a detractor of Castro, they must make the shattering decision to send her to the US and a better future. Based on the true story of operation Pedro Pan that transported 14,000 children out of Cuba, Sonia Flew chronicles one girl's life from her departure in 1960, through her adulthood in America in 2001. Featuring Mila Govich ("The Clean House"), Sarab Kamoo ("9 Parts of Desire"), Jon Bennett ("Doubt"), Will Young ("Moonglow"), Christina Flynn and Russ Schwartz. Directed by Artistic Director, David Wolber ("The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead").

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison
TONY AWARD-WINNING MUSICAL COMEDY!
Nov. 11 through Dec. 26
A lollapalooza of a musical to take you back to the dazzling fantasy of the 1920's - when stars had charisma, Broadway had romance and audiences had the time of their lives. You know the one... where the Broadway star wants to leave the show because she's fallen for an oil-rich lummox, so the producer hires a gigolo to woo the girl and put the kaibosh on the nuptials? Winner of Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score, it's guaranteed to put a song in your heart! Starring Naz Edwards ("Little Shop of Horrors"). Directed by Executive Director, Carla Milarch ("Little Shop of Horrors").

THE WAR SINCE EVE by Kim Carney
WORLD PREMIERE COMEDY!
Jan. 13 through Feb. 13
Another knockout comedy from the playwright of Moonglow and The Home Team! On the eve of receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, women's rights pioneer and bawdy, oustpoken feminist Roxie Firestone has a dilemma. As the mother of two grown daughters - Milty, her put-upon assistant, and the estranged Tara - she wouldn't win any Mother of the Year awards. When Tara returns and Milty threatens to jump ship, she must decide which is more important, sisterhood or motherhood? Starring Henrietta Hermelin. Directed by Artistic Director, David Wolber ("The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead").

THE PIANO LESSON by August Wilson (Rights Pending)
PULITZER PRIZE AND TONY AWARD-WINNING DRAMA!
Mar. 3 through Apr. 3
A powerful drama from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Fences. Set in 1936 in the home of an African American family from Mississippi, the story centers around a piano that was once traded for two of their slave ancestors. Boy Willie wants to sell the piano and make a new future, while Berniece clings tightly to the memories it engenders. In this American masterpiece, Wilson gives us a haunting and mythic tale of a family at war with the past. Featuring James Bowen ("Fences"), Connell Brown Jr., Casaundra Freeman ("Moonglow"), Lynch Travis ("Fences"), Nelson Jones, Alex West, Diviin Huff ("Little Shop of Horrors") and Lexa Bauer ("Fences"). Directed by Tim Rhoze ("Fences").

CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION by Annie Baker
OBIE AWARD-WINNING MICHIGAN PREMIERE!
Apr. 21 through May 22
Fresh from a hugely successful run Off-Broadway, this Obie Award-winning comedy is a beautifully crafted story about love, relationships and raising the stakes. In a community center drama class, four New Englanders experiment with theatre games and learn about more than just acting. Under the misguided tutelage of their ditzy instructor Marty, romance blossoms, secrets are revealed, and tiny wars of epic proportions are waged and won. Starring Terry Heck ("A Feminine Ending") as Marty and featuring Mark Rademacher ("The White Rose," "...and Associates") and Sarah Leahy. Directed by John Seibert ("Doubt").

TBA - BUT WORTH THE WAIT!
Jun. 2 through Jul. 3
Everybody knows the early bird gets the worm, right? Wrong! At least when it comes to licensing hot plays straight from New York, sometimes waiting can have its rewards! As Michigan theatres select their seasons in May and earlier, a whole crop of plays that don't close until after the Tony Awards goes untouched. Until now! PNT is proud to announce its TBA slot - a slot reserved for the hottest show available from New York as of April 2011 - so we can bring you the very top properties as they become available!

MARIE ANTOINETTE, THE COLOR OF FLESH by Joel Gross
MICHIGAN PREMIERE!
Jul. 28 through Aug. 28
"A touching story of love." -New York Times. History gets a refreshingly sexy face in this detailed and sumptuous study of an imagined love triangle between Marie Antoinette; her portrait painter, Elisabeth Vigée - Lebrun; and a fictitious aristocrat lover to both, Count Alexis de Ligne. Spanning two politically explosive decades surrounding the French Revolution, this elegant boudoir drama weaves politics, history, romance and art. Starring Chelsea Sadler ("The Little Dog Laughed") as Marie Antoinette and featuring Jill Dion. Directed by Shannon Ferrante.

Subscription information is available online at www.performancenetwork.org, where order forms can be downloaded. Purchases can also be made by calling 734-663-0681 during box office hours, 11am-6pm, Monday through Thursday.

Founded in 1981, Performance Network Theatre has grown from a fledgling company to Ann Arbor's only resident, professional theatre. The Network reaches 40,000 theatre patrons and children each year through the year-round Professional Series and the Children's Theatre Network. Performance Network also presents the Fireside Festival of New Works and a series of classes on theatre-related topics. The Network provides uncompromising artistic leadership in the region and produces works that engage, challenge and inspire audiences and artists.

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