A Drama with Infinite Possibilities: TheatreWorks presents CONSTELLATIONS

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley continues its 2017/2018 season with the regional premiere of the London and Broadway hit, Constellations. This unconventional drama explores the infinite possibilities of "boy meets girl" with intelligence, heart, and humor as it follows a charming beekeeper and a Cambridge cosmologist, nerds in love for better and for worse, and the ever-changing mystery of "what ifs."

Constellations opened at London's Royal Court Theatre in 2012 and then transferred to the West End, where it was greeted as "truly stellar" (Evening Standard), "beautiful and brilliant. Seldom has a play felt so exhilarating" (Mail on Sunday). The play made its US premiere on Broadway in January 2015, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Wilson, and was hailed by The New York Times as "the most sophisticated date play Broadway has seen. Supremely articulate. Gorgeous." Directed by TheatreWorks Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley, the regional premiere of Constellations will be presenTed August 23 - September 17, 2017 (press opening: August 26) at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro Street, Mountain View. For tickets ($40-$100) and more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.

A love-story breaking the barriers of time, Constellations illustrates the immeasurable possibilities of finding and losing love. When theoretical physicist Marianne and beekeeper Roland attend the same barbecue, anything can happen - they meet and fall in love; they barely speak to one another; or they flirt and nothing comes of it. Constellations dives into the multiverse: the hypothetical collection of infinite alternate universes existing alongside the one perceived as reality. It explores the boundless potential of a first encounter, free will, and friendship.

Award-winning playwright Nick Payne has received critical acclaim for his plays including If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet, Wanderlust, and Constellations. Payne debuted at The Royal Court Theatre in 2010 with his comedy Wanderlust, which is currently in development as an original piece for Drama Republic and the BBC. Constellations received universally glowing reviews and won the Evening Standard Best Play Award, making Payne, at age 29, the youngest playwright ever to receive the award. After a spectacular run on the West End, Constellations went to Broadway in 2015 with the New York Daily Times praising it "as brainy as it is sweet-hearted" and Timeout New York calling it "smart, wonderfully multiversatile."

RoBert Gilbert will be making his TheatreWorks debut with Constellations as the laid-back and earthy beekeeper Roland. He has performed in theatres such as The National Theatre, Complicite, Royal Shakespeare Company, and Delacorte Theatre in New York.

Playing the quick-witted and fiercely intelligent quantum physicist Marianne is Carie Kawa. She is returning to TheatreWorks where she was last seen as Viola in Twelfth Night and as Kitty Verdun in Charley's Aunt. Kawa has also performed with Center REPetory Company, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Great Lakes Theatre Festival, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Boise Contemporary Theater, and the Guthrie Theater in New York.

Director Robert Kelley is TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's Founder and Artistic Director and has served as artistic head of the company since its inception in 1970. He has directed more than 170 TheatreWorks productions, including many world and regional premieres. In 2003 he was honored with the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle (SFBATCC) Paine Knickerbocker Award for Lifetime Achievement, and in 2016 was awarded the Jerry Friedman Lifetime Achievement Award from the SFBATCC. He received SFBATCC Awards for Outstanding Direction for his productions of Into the Woods, Pacific Overtures, Rags, Sweeney Todd, Another Midsummer Night, Sunday in the Park with George, Jane Eyre, and Caroline, or Change. He more recently directed the record-setting production of Jane Austen's EMMA, as well as The Country House, Fallen Angels, Sweeney Todd, Marry Me a Little, Cyrano, Outside Mullingar, Daddy Long Legs, and Rags.

With some 100,000 patrons per year, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley has captured a national reputation for artistic innovation and integrity, often presenting Bay Area theatregoers with their first look at acclaimed musicals, comedies, and dramas, directed by award-winning local and guest directors, and performed by professional actors cast locally and from across the country.

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