Third Rail Announces 2019-2020 Season

Third Rail Repertory Theatre announces its 14th Season. This is the Third Rail you know and love... and Third Rail like you've never seen it before.

"This season is an exciting season, with everything from longtime Core Company Member Jenn Lin's innovative idea for Third Rail's first-ever adaptation, to playwrights we have an established history in producing," says Third Rail's Managing Artistic Director Maureen Porter. "This constellation of productions takes us on a gorgeous journey through the landscape of the human heart, mind, body, and soul. Third Rail's company of artists will join with new partners and old friends as we continue to push against the boundaries of theatrical style. These exceptional stories will be brought to life with our signature commitment to excellence and craft." Mother, Come Home

Adapted for the Stage and Based on the Graphic Novel by Paul Hornschemeier
For a Limited Run at CoHo Theatre:
October 5, 2019 at 7:30pm
October 6, 2019 at 2pm
October 8 - October 12, 2019
Tuesday - Saturday at 2pm and 7:30pm

Widower David and his young son Thomas each have their own methods for dealing with grief. For David it's the abstractions of symbolic logic; for Thomas it's his essential role as "The Groundskeeper," a masked defender of the household. Mother, Come Home is the quietly stunning tale of a family struggling to adapt to their new reality. The story from the critically-acclaimed graphic novel will be produced by Third Rail in a new, multi-media format.

"I have been coming to find you for, as far as I can tell, eighteen days.
Are you hiding? You were always playful."

Melancholy Play: a chamber musical

By Sarah Ruhl
November 30 - December 22, 2019 at CoHo Theatre
Wednesday - Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2pm

Tilly is consumed by a melancholy so exquisite that no one can resist her. Her tailor, her hairdresser, and even her therapist succumb to the allure of her perpetual sadness. But when Tilly inexplicably discovers happiness, her joy wreaks havoc on the lives of her paramours. Contrary to its title, this whimsical comedy by award-winning playwright Sarah Ruhl will make you fall in love with love.

Incognito

By Nick Payne
March 20 - April 11, 2020 at CoHo Theatre
Thursday - Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2pm

Four actors play a combined 21 characters within Incognito's three interwoven stories. A pathologist steals the brain of Albert Einstein; a neuropsychologist embarks on her first romance with another woman; a seizure patient forgets everything but how much he loves his girlfriend. Incognito braids these mysterious stories into one breathtaking whole that asks whether memory and identity are nothing but illusions.

Mary Jane

By Amy Herzog
June 5 - 27, 2020 at CoHo Theatre
Thursday - Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2pm

As Mary Jane navigates the mundane, the shattering, and the sublime realities of caring for Alex (her chronically ill young son,) she finds herself building a community of women from many walks of life. Mary Jane is Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Herzog's remarkably powerful and compassionate portrait of a contemporary American woman striving for grace.

This will mark Third Rail's 14th full season of plays and 2nd season producing at the CoHo Theatre, where Third Rail debuted in 2004 with Recent Tragic Events.

Nick Payne has consistently remained high on the list of playwrights Third Rail has been eager to produce. Maureen Porter (Managing Artistic Director) and Scott Yarbrough (Founding Artistic Director) met Payne in London during Third Rail's annual Loose in London tour several years ago and spoke with him after seeing his production of Elegy at Donmar Warehouse.

This is Third Rail's second time producing work by Amy Herzog, following the 2015 production of Belleville.

The season highlights cross-disciplinary work. Mother, Come Home will be staged as a live graphic novel, making use of actors' voices along with projected images and animation. The novel's author, Paul Hornschemeier, looks forward to the collaboration, noting that "the core of Mother, Come Home, of my work in general is the floating space between objective reality and our memories, perceptions, and emotions that process that reality. The book lives in a suspension between the textual and pictorial just as its characters move in and out of knowing what is real and not. I have always felt that this 'floating space' could be explored through the amalgamation of other media, and I think that with this production we have the opportunity to explore just that."

-Another interdisciplinary opportunity comes with Melancholy Play: a chamber musical, which features a string quartet and pianist who are not only accompanists for the actors, but also become part of the action.

-The 2019-20 Season showcases the creative work of women as playwrights and artists. For the three scripted shows, women make up two out of three playwrights and ten out of fifteen roles on stage. Female directors and designers will be prominently featured throughout the season in bringing the works to life.

2019-2020 Main Stage Flexible Subscriptions and Memberships On Sale Now Flexible subscriptions include four discounted tickets to Third Rail's Main Stage productions and can be applied in a variety of ways, priced at $100-Student; $138-Under 30; $138-Seniors; $153-Adult. Membership includes access to all Third Rail Main Stage productions, National Theatre Live Presentations, Sunday Salon Series Readings and other Member-only events for under $30 a month or one $349 upfront payment.

To purchase, call 503-235-1101 or visit thirdrailrep.org About Third Rail Repertory Theatre: Third Rail is an artist-driven theatre company whose vitality is defined by its audience's sharp appetite for groundbreaking, innovative work. We promote new plays while exploring the edges of theatrical style. Third Rail exists to provide a home for artists and theatergoers alike, offering a range of experiences to be shared by the audience and the community.

More information about Third Rail can be found at thirdrailrep.org.

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