11th Hour Theatre Company Announces 13th Season
By: BWW News Desk Jul. 14, 2017
11th Hour Theatre Company's has announced its 13th Season. The city's only company dedicated to musical theatre has put together an ambitious season. The season is anchored by a Mainstage World Premiere, Big Red Sun, by John Jiler and Georgia Stitt. The Next Step Concert Series will include concert performances of Hair, Company, and Jane Eyre. The Spotlight Series returns with two new cabarets and one to be announced. Tickets, Society XI Memberships, and more information are available online at www.11thhourtheatrecompany.org or by phone 267-987-9865.
"We are so excited about our 2017-2018 season, which will feature a diverse array of musical theatre genres and events culminating in 11th Hour's second World Premiere musical, Big Red Sun. We are honored to be developing this new musical with the talented writing team of John Jiler and Georgia Stitt, and are delighted to bring their thrilling musical to Philadelphia," said Michael Philip O'Brien, 11th Hour Theatre's Producing Artistic Director.
Near the end of its 13th season, 11th Hour Theatre Company presents the second World Premiere of a musical the company has helped develop. Jiler had been following 11th Hour since they produced his show Avenue X in 2009, and in 2015 he approached the company about continuing to develop Big Red Sun, a musical he co-wrote with Georgia Stitt. 11th Hour helped to develop this work over the last few years and it is now ready for its World Premiere. One of the most ambitious projects the company has undertaken, Big Red Sun, centers on a young musician named Harry Daimler and his search for a father he never knew. As he begins to uncover his father's story, it leads him on an emotional journey of self-discovery. With a beautiful score that weaves from Klezmer, through 1940's swing, to 1960's jazz and then on to rock and roll, Big Red Sun illustrates that in order to know who you truly are, you must first understand where you came from. This new musical will run May 31-June 17 at Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 North American Street. Opening Night is June 4th.
11th Hour Theatre Company Resident Director and Co-Founder Megan Nicole O'Brien directs Big Red Sun. Daniel Kazemi is the Musical Director. Already cast in the show is 11th Hour Producing Artistic Director and Co-Founder Michael Phillip O'Brien, 11th Hour Associate Artistic Director and co-founder Steve Pacek, and 11th Hour favorites Marybeth Gorman and Rob Tucker. The rest of the cast will be announced at a later date.
Next Step Concert Series
The Next Step Concert Series is innovative, inspiring, and intimate. New and seldom seen musicals are stripped down to their very essence...good storytelling and incredible music. This season, 11th Hour is showcasing three iconic musicals including the first rock musical to hit Broadway, one of Sondheim's most sophisticated works, and a Broadway showstopper about one of literature's most iconic female characters. All of the Next Step Concert Series performances will be at The Drake Theater, 302 Hicks Street.
Hair
book & lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni
music by Galt MacDermot
directed by Steve Pacek
October 13-15, 2017
11th Hour celebrates the 50th Anniversary of The Original American Rock Musical. Opening Off-Broadway in October 1967, Hair broke all the rules and laid the groundwork for a new style of musical theater. Exploring issues of identity, community and global responsibility, Hair remains as relevant today as it ever was and illustrates that by speaking out for what you believe, you truly can change the world.
Company
music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
book by George Furth
directed by Matthew Decker
December 1-3, 2017
On the eve of his 35th Birthday, Bobby, a self-proclaimed bachelor for life, is facing a crisis. His bachelor days have quickly started to lose their excitement and the idea of always being alone has crept in. One of Sondheim's most sophisticated and honest musicals, Company examines both the beauty and challenges that come from making a lifelong commitment to the person you love. 11th Hour Co-Founder and Producing Artistic Director Michael Phillip O'Brien will take on the iconic leading role.
Jane Eyre
music and lyrics by Paul Gordon
book and additional lyrics by John Caird
directed by Kate Galvin
March 9-11, 2018
With a haunting, Tony-nominated score, this thrilling musical adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's classic novel brings this iconic heroine's story vividly to life. Orphaned in childhood, Jane Eyre struggles to find her place in the world as a fiercely independent woman trapped by the strictures of class. Jane's indomitable spirit will touch audience members who know what it means to risk everything for love and for liberty.
The Spotlight Series
Designed to put Philadelphia's favorite musical theatre performers front and center, The Spotlight Series features unforgettable, one-night-only concerts in an intimate setting. Spend a social evening with
11th Hour, order some excellent food and drinks, and get treated to a cabaret unlike anything else in town!
Backwards And In Heels!
"Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but she did it backwards...and in high heels!" - We're turning the spotlight on two of 11th Hour's most beloved female powerhouses, Alex Keiper and Cara Noel Antosca, to tell the extraordinary story of women throughout musical theatre history. Featuring the unique perspectives and "blow-you-away" vocals that Alex and Cara bring to the stage, this cabaret is sure to be both an eye-opening and jaw-dropping experience! Co-conceived with 11th Hour co-founder and resident director, Megan Nicole O'Brien.
Steve Pacek's Untitled Concert #5
Join 11th Hour co-founder Steve Pacek as he takes the stage to share a journey of love, loss and celebration. A follow up to his 2010 Fringe hit, Untitled Project #213, Steve will share his heart with you through a beautiful night of song and stories as he turns the spotlight back on a very special person whose light went out far too soon.
This cabaret dedicated in loving memory of Jorge E. Maldonado, an original member of the 11th Hour family.
One More Spotlight Cabaret will be announced. 10513979
About 11th Hour Theatre Company
11th Hour Theatre Company is the only company in Philadelphia dedicated to producing all musicals, all the time. Intimate by design, 11th Hour creates a lasting experience with the audience by producing character-driven musical theatre.
11th Hour produces a broad spectrum of musicals that fill a niche in the diverse Philadelphia theatre landscape: musicals that spark the creativity of artists and the imaginations of audiences. Over the past eleven seasons, they have produced seventeen full-scale musicals, nine of which were Philadelphia premieres. In addition to the World Premiere of their first commission, Field Hockey Hot, the company has contributed to the development of several new musicals beginning with Angst, a ten-minute musical that premiered in the Spark Festival of 2005. 11th Hour produced the American premiere of Austentatious that went on to success at the New York Musical Theatre Festival; and a 29-hour reading of Fantasy Football, the Musical? before its production at New York University. Both Austentatious and Fantasy Football have since been published and are now professionally licensed. In the fall of 2014, 11th Hour partnered with University of the Arts to workshop Persephone Unplugged, a new twist on the classic Greek myth. With support from the Independence Foundation, 11th Hour recently commissioned their second musical from a local writing team, a Civil War-themed project currently titled Something Like a War.
11th Hour has received a total of forty-six Barrymore Award nominations. Their work has been recognized with eight awards, including two consecutive awards for "Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical" (The Bomb-itty of Errors, The World Goes 'Round), and several individual awards for their artists. Founding member Steve Pacek was also the proud recipient of the 2012 F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Philadelphia Theatre Artist. In 2013, 11th Hour became the first-ever recipient of the June and StEve Wolfson Award for an Evolving Theater.
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