BECKY SHAW Announced As 4th Play Of Wilma Theatre 2009-10 Season, 12/30-1/31/10

The Wilma Theater announced the Philadelphia Premiere of Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo as the fourth play selected for its 2009-2010 Season at the theater's 30th Anniversary Gala Celebration on Friday night. The Gala celebrated co-Artistic Directors Blanka Zizka and Jiri Zizka's 30th Year at the Wilma and honored board chair Peggy Greenawalt with the "Wilma Star Award" for her service to the Wilma Board, including four years as Chair.

"We are thrilled to present a surprising collection of comedy and drama from both celebrated playwrights and fresh new talent," said Blanka Zizka. "The plays we have chosen, all written in the past three years, explore with immediacy, great originality, humor and poignancy the dilemmas facing people caught in our chaotic modern world."

The 2009-2010 Season will open with Coming Home, the latest play by internationally acclaimed playwright Athol Fugard, directed by Blanka Zizka. The Wilma has previously produced four of Fugard's plays, most recently My Children! My Africa!, directed by Blanka Zizka in the 2006-2007 Season.

Following will be Becky Shaw, a Pulitzer Prize finalist fresh from a hit Off-Broadway premiere earlier this year, written by Obie Award-winner Gina Gionfriddo (After Ashley, writer/producer of "Law & Order") and directed by Jiri Zizka.

Blanka Zizka will direct the World Premiere of Language Rooms, a subversive dark comedy about two Arab-American interrogators, by Egyptian-born playwright Yussef El Guindi, who was recently recognized by The American Theatre Critics Association with its 2009 Osborn New Play Award for an emerging playwright.

Closing the season will be the U.S. Premiere of Leaving by Václav Havel. Renowned playwright and former President of the Czech Republic, Havel crafts his first play in 20 years. An epic production, Leaving will be directed by Jiri Zizka, also from Prague, who previously directed the Off-Broadway production of Havel's Temptation and the feature film of Havel's Largo Desolato.

2009-2010 SEASON

Coming Home
October 14 - November 15, 2009 (press opening: Oct. 21)
By Athol Fugard
Directed by Blanka Zizka

Veronika Jonkers left her cherished grandfather's farm in South Africa to pursue her dream of becoming a cabaret singer in Cape Town. Years later, she returns to her hometown with broken dreams, a painful secret, and the unflinching hope of building a new life for her young son. The latest play from master playwright Athol Fugard - hailed by Time magazine as "the greatest active playwright in the English-speaking world" - Coming Home is a soaring emotional experience.

Becky Shaw (Philadelphia Premiere)
December 30, 2009 - January 31, 2010 (press opening: Jan. 6)
By Gina Gionfriddo
Directed by Jiri Zizka

A Pulitzer Prize finalist and smash hit that premiered Off-Broadway earlier this year, Becky Shaw is the latest comedy from Obie Award-winner Gina Gionfriddo (After Ashley, writer/producer of "Law & Order"). When Suzanna decides to set her best friend Max up on a blind date with her husband's mysterious co-worker, Becky Shaw, she sets into motion a series of cataclysmic events forever changing all of their lives. Mixing sharp wit and humor with the taut suspense of a psychological thriller, Becky Shaw is a comedy of romantic errors that The New York Times called "as engrossing as it is ferociously funny, like a big box of fireworks fizzing and crackling across the stage from its first moments to its last!"

Language Rooms (World Premiere)
March 3 - April 4, 2010 (press opening: Mar. 10)
By Yussef El Guindi
Directed by Blanka Zizka

The World Premiere of Language Rooms is a subversive dark comedy about two Arab-American interrogators at an undisclosed American facility somewhere in the world. They strive to prove themselves the best at their jobs in the midst of absurd office politics and management constantly questioning their loyalties and dedication to "the company." From an exciting new playwright, Yussef El Guindi, this play will spark debate about family relationships, identity, the War on Terror, and the corruption of the American Dream. Shifting between comedy and political suspense, the play conjures up a surprising twist not to be given away.

Leaving (U.S. Premiere)
May 19 - June 20, 2010 (press opening: May 26)
By Václav Havel
Translated by Paul Wilson
Directed by Jiri Zizka

Václav Havel, renowned playwright and former President of the Czech Republic, crafts his first play in 20 years, and Wilma audiences will be the first to see it in the U.S. Leaving is an inventive story of a recently retired Chancellor who struggles with his family and functionaries over questions of truth and power. Allusions from Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard and Shakespeare's King Lear invade the Chancellor's consciousness in this wry political tragicomedy that The Sunday Times (London) called "deeply serious and thrillingly funny." An epic production, Leaving will be directed by Jiri Zizka, also from Prague, who previously directed the Off-Broadway production of Havel's Temptation and the feature film of Havel's Largo Desolato.

Special Events
Throughout the season, the Wilma will announce free readings which offer audiences previews of plays, chosen from the best new writing from the U.S. and abroad. Audience members will also have opportunities to attend special chats with members of the artistic team and symposia on themes related to the season's plays. The Wilma's symposia are supported by a grant from The Wallace Foundation Excellence Awards. Pre-show wine tastings with Tria are held in the Wilma's lobby on the fifth Friday of each play's run from 7-8pm.

Subscriptions & Tickets
Subscription prices range from $32-$210, with Flex Subscriptions available that give subscribers the flexibility to choose performance dates over the season. Special discounts are available on single tickets for seniors, students, educators, and groups of 10 or more. Subscriptions and tickets are available by calling (215) 546-7824, visiting The Wilma Theater box office located at 265 South Broad Street in Philadelphia, or online at www.wilmatheater.org. Single tickets for the 2009-2010 Season go on sale July 1st.

 

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