Wilbury Group Opens Season 5 with New England Premiere of THIS BEAUTIFUL CITY, Now thru 10/12
By: BWW News Desk Sep. 18, 2014
The Wilbury Theatre Group opens Season 5 with the New England premiere of This Beautiful City, written by Steven Cosson and Jim Lewis, with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman. Wilbury Group Founding Artistic Director Josh Short directs with music direction by the team of Brien Lang and Milly Romanzi, this fascinating a new documentary-style play with music that details the explosion of America's evangelical Christian movement. This Beautiful City runs tonight, September 18 through October 12 at The Wilbury Theatre Group, 393 Broad Street, Providence RI.
Set in Colorado Springs at the base of the majestic Pike's Peak, This Beautiful City was originally developed by Cosson and Lewis with the acclaimed investigative-theatre troupe The Civilians from fascinating and revealing interviews with church members, civic leaders, progressive activists and individuals from all walks of life in the Rocky Mountain town that has rapidly become the epicenter of the Evangelical movement.
This Beautiful City was presented at the Humana Festival of New Plays and received subsequent runs at the Studio Theatre in Washington D.C., the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles, and in New York where This Beautiful City enjoyed a critically-acclaimed Off-Broadway run at the Vineyard Theater in 2009 receiving Lucille Lortel, Drama League, and Drama Desk nominations.
"I'd heard of the investigative-theatre work that Steve Cosson and The Civilians were doing a few years ago and had always thought that it was in so many ways so different than anything being done in the Providence area," said Wilbury Artistic Director Josh Short. "And not only the investigative work, but the ensemble-focused style has created some of the most honest, affecting storytelling in the theatre today around the most pressing issues of our time. With This Beautiful City they start by looking at how faith effects the American landscape, and the question soon becomes what it means to create and belong to a community in flux. We're privileged to be able to share this with New England audiences as the kick-off to what promises to be and incredibly exciting fifth season."ABOUT THIS BEAUTIFUL CITY - The award-winning* documentary-musical by acclaimed New York investigative theatre troupe The Civilians, This Beautiful City investigates the growth of the evangelical movement in Colorado Springs. While The Civilians were conducting interviews with people involved with or affected by the mega-church movement and the battle raging over gay marriage, the scandal broke about New Life Church pastor Ted Haggard, which shook the entire city of Colorado Springs, providing the play's creators with an unprecedented opportunity to capture an important event as it was taking place, and providing the people of Colorado Springs with the opportunity to express their opinions and concerns as those events unfolded. *Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical / Drama League Award for Distinguished Production of a Musical.
Julia Bartoletti
Mycah Hogan
Andrew Iacovelli
Melissa Penick
Jo-an Peralta
Siobhan Reddy-Best
Patrick Saunders
Clara Weishahn
Creative Team
Katryne Hecht, Scenic Design
Adam O'Brien & Mike Commendatore, Video/Projection Design
Sylvi Re, Costume Design
Gerritt Turner, Light Design
Seth Finkle, Production Stage Management
Assistant Director, Kate Kataja; Assistant Stage Manager,Natalie Brough; Production Photography, Brian Gagnon.
Thursday, Sept 18 7:30pm preview
Friday, Sept 19 7:30pm preview
Saturday, Sept 20 7:30pm preview
Sunday, Sept 21 2:00pm Pay-What-You-Can
Monday, Sept 22 7:30pm press/opening
Thursday, Sept 25 7:30pm*
Friday, Sept 26 7:30pm
Saturday, Sept 27 7:30pm
Sunday, Sept 28 2:00pm
Thursday, October 2 7:30pm*
Friday, October 3 7:30pm
Saturday, October 4 7:30pm
Sunday, October 5 2:00pm
Thursday, October 9 7:30pm*
Friday, October 10 7:30pm
Saturday, October 11 7:30pm
Sunday, October 12 2:00pm *Post-show talkbacks free and open to the public ABOUT THE WILBURY THEATRE GROUP - Founded in 2010, The Wilbury Group is an ever-evolving collaboration of artists committed to presenting the public with the highest quality professional theatre. Founded on the belief that quality theatre should be an affordable and accessible means of enrichment to the community; The Wilburys present contemporary, experiential theatre that simultaneously engages, inspires, and provokes thought among audiences. As the official resident theatre company in the historic Trinity Square Theater at the Southside Cultural Center, The Wilbury Theatre Group is committed to providing our diverse and evolving community with affordable access to the performing arts through our Education program, public outreach programs, and professional productions of cutting-edge theatre from around the world. The Wilbury Theatre Group's 2014-15 season is supported in part by The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, Revival Brewing Company, and the City of Providence Dept. of Art, Culture, & Tourism. More at www.thewilburygroup.org.
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