The Jungle Theater Announces 2012 Season Line-up

Nearing the conclusion of a banner 2011 season, Jungle Theater Artistic Director Bain Boehlke today announced plans for 2012. "The Jungle is blooming-both literally and figuratively," Boehlke said. "We have had one of our best seasons ever at the box office, we just unveiled a beautiful and amazing floral mural that wraps around the building, and we are now planning our assorted bouquet of five plays for 2012."

On the heels of his Ivey Lifetime Achievement Award, Boehlke opens the season February 3, 2012, directing DIAL M FOR MURDER. Frederick Knott's classic mystery thriller features Cheryl Willis (Shirley Valentine) and Michael Booth (Blythe Spirit, The Glass Menagerie).

THE PAIN AND THE ITCH, directed by Joel Sass, is on stage April 6-May 13. Bruce Norris' vicious comedy, which premiered at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater in 2005, is a scathing social satire of the politics of class and race, and a controversial, painfully human examination of denial and its consequences.

Last summer, the Jungle staged A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, billed as the "funniest Broadway musical ever" (Entertainment Weekly); this coming summer, the company continues the superlative trend with NOISES OFF!, "the funniest farce ever written" (NY Post). Joel Sass directs the Tony-nominated play by Michael Frayn, playing June 8-July 29.

Samuel Beckett's hilarious, profound and moving tale, WAITING FOR GODOT, comes to the Jungle stage August 24-September 30. Boehlke directs two of the Twin Cities' top comedic actors, Nathan Keepers and Jim Lichtscheidl, as the two old friends who talk, joke and argue as they wait for the mysterious Mr. Godot. Alan Hamilton and Charles Schuminski complete the cast.

The season closes with IN THE NEXT ROOM (Nov 2-Dec 16), Sarah Ruhl's 2010 Tony-nominated comedy about marriage, intimacy and electricity. One of Broadway's latest mega-hits, In the Next Room is directed by Sarah Rasmussen, who was assistant director for the Broadway run, and is making her Jungle debut. Featuring Sarah Agnew, Christiana Clark, Christina Baldwin, Anna Einkening, Bradley Greenwald and John Middleton, this funny, provocative, tender and marvelously entertaining play has generated excitement from coast to coast.

Ticket information
All performances are at the Jungle Theater, 2951 Lyndale Ave. So., Minneapolis. Season tickets go on sale to the public on November 15 and are available at (612) 822-7063 or online at www.jungletheater.com

About the Jungle
Entering its 22nd season as one of the region's most dynamic theaters, the Jungle is renowned for its definitive productions of plays drawn from our rich theatrical heritage as well as from the body of work written in our own time. The intimate 150-seat theater, located at the vibrant intersection of Lyndale and Lake, ensures that audiences catch every nuance of a show, making the theater-going experience profoundly compelling and entertaining. Since founding the Jungle in 1991, Artistic Director Bain Boehlke has won award after award for his exquisite design, brilliant casting, and razor-sharp direction. A flagship example of the transformative power of the performing arts, the Jungle Theater plays a vital, continuing role in the economic, social and cultural life of its Minneapolis neighborhood.

JUNGLE THEATER 2012 SEASON

February 3-March 18, 2012
Dial M for Murder
By Frederick Knott
Directed by Bain Boehlke

Tony Wendice has married his wife, Margot, for her money and now plans to murder her for the same reason. He arranges the perfect murder in this skillfully written psychological tale that's guaranteed to thrill!

April 6-May 13, 2012
The Pain and the Itch
By Bruce Norris
Directed by Joel Sass

With a young daughter in serious need of attention and a ravenous creature possibly prowling the upstairs bedrooms, what begins as an average Thanksgiving for one privileged family unravels into an exposé of disastrous choices and less-than-altruistic motives. The Pain and the Itch is a scathing satire of the politics of class and race-a controversial, painfully human examination of denial and its consequences.

June 8-July 29, 2012
Noises Off!
By Michael Frayn
Directed by Joel Sass

Noises Off follows the on and off stage antics of an acting troupe as they stumble from bumbling dress rehearsal to disastrous closing night. Everything that can go wrong does, as actors desperately try to hang on to their lines, their performances and the furniture.

August 24-September 30, 2012
Waiting for Godot
By Samuel Beckett
Directed by Bain Boehlke

Two old friends talk, joke and argue as they wait for the mysterious Mr. Godot. A marriage of the poetic, the comic and the tragic...a redefinition of what is possible in theatre.

November 2-December 16, 2012
In the Next Room
By Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Sarah Rasmussen

This 2010 Tony-nominated comedy about marriage, intimacy and electricity is one of Broadway's latest mega-hits. Set in the Victorian era, just before corseted women shed their inhibitions, this funny, provocative, tender and marvelously entertaining play has generated excitement from coast to coast.

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