Berkeley Rep to Present West Coast Premiere of Zimmerman's TREASURE ISLAND

Berkeley Repertory Theatre today announced the West Coast premiere of Treasure Island by Tony Award-winning director Mary Zimmerman. Critically praised as "nothing short of sublime" (Chicago-Sun Times), and "Zimmerman remains a superior storyteller " (Chicago Tribune), Treasure Island, a co-production with Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre Company, is a glorious adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's most beloved novel. Previews begin Friday, April 22, and the show runs through Sunday, June 5, 2016. Press night for Treasure Island will be held on Friday, April 29. Individual tickets start at $29 and can be purchased online at berkeleyrep.org or by phone, 510 647-2949.

Mary Zimmerman has enchanted audiences with her exquisite adaptations of classic tales from the spellbinding Arabian Nights to the hypnotic White Snake. In Treasure Island, Zimmerman takes us aboard the Hispaniola for a heart-pounding voyage filled with tales of swashbuckling gentlemen o' fortune, a malicious mutiny led by infamous Long John Silver, and a deadly quest for fabled buried booty. Caught in the middle is cabin boy Jim Hawkins, who must find uncommon courage as he faces a murderous plot and navigates the ambiguous tides of morality.

"Treasure Island is one of my favorite books," says Michael Leibert Artistic Director Tony Taccone. "And Mary is one of my favorite storytellers. Since 1996, she has been mesmerizing Berkeley Rep audiences with her singular theatrical vision. I, for one, can't wait to see this great adventure story through Mary's graceful and imaginative eye."

"The moment I started reading Treasure Island, I was completely smitten and saw it on the stage - in a room, in a theatre," explains Mary Zimmerman. "I'm so excited to share this adventure, which is the story that gave rise to all pirate lore as we know it, with the Berkeley Rep audience."

Treasure Island will mark the return of local Bay Area favorite Steven Epp as Long John Silver. Epp performed last year in Berkeley Rep's Tartuffe and has appeared in 12 other Berkeley Rep productions. Other cast members include John Babbo (Jim Hawkins), Matt DeCaro (Squire Trelawny), Travis Delgado (Ensemble), Christopher Donahue (Billy Bones), Kasey Foster (Mrs. Hawkins/Musician), Greg Hirte (Musician), Anthony Irons (Ensemble), Alex Moggridge (Dr. Livesey), Steve Pickering (Black Dog), L.J. Slavin (Musician), Philip R. Smith (Captain Smollett), Demetrios Troy (Israel Hands), and Matthew C. Yee (Ensemble).

Mary Zimmerman (Adaptor/Director)

Mary received the 2002 Tony Award for Best Director and a 1998 MacArthur Fellowship. This is her eighth show for Berkeley Rep, following acclaimed productions of The Arabian Nights, Argonautika, Journey to the West, Metamorphoses, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, The Secret in the Wings, and The White Snake. These plays - and others that she's adapted and directed such as The Jungle Book, Eleven Rooms of Proust, The Odyssey, Silk, and S/M - have enjoyed celebrated runs at Brooklyn Academy of Music, Goodman Theatre, the Huntington Theatre Company, Lookingglass Theatre Company, the Mark Taper Forum, McCarter Theatre Center, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and Second Stage Theatre. She also directed All's Well That Ends Well and Pericles for the Goodman, Henry VIII and Measure for Measure for the New York Shakespeare Festival, A Midsummer Night's Dream for the Huntington, and Guys and Dolls for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and at L.A.'s Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. In 2002, Mary created a new opera with Philip Glass called Galileo Galilei, which was presented at BAM, the Goodman, and the Barbican in London. In recent years, she has staged Armida, and La Sonnambula for the Metropolitan Opera in New York and Lucia di Lammermoor at the Met and at La Scala, Milan. Based in Chicago, Mary has won numerous Joseph Jefferson Awards - the city's top theatrical honors - including prizes for best production and best direction. She is a member of Lookingglass, an artistic associate of the Goodman, and she holds the Jaharis Family Foundation Chair in Performance Studies at Northwestern University.

The creative team includes: Todd Rosenthal (scenic designer), Ana Kuzmanic (costume designer),

T.J. Gerckens (lighting designer), and Andre Pluess (original music/sound designer). The stage manager is Megan McClintock.

For the 2015-16 season, Berkeley Rep recognizes the generosity of season sponsors BART, KPIX-TV (Channel 5), Peet's Coffee, and Wells Fargo. Treasure Island is also made possible by the support of season sponsors Jack and Betty Schafer, Michael and Sue Steinberg, and the Strauch Kulhanjian Family. Additional support was provided by lead sponsors Martha Ehmann Conte, Bruce Golden and Michelle Mercer, and Helen and John Meyer/Meyer Sound, as well as executive sponsors Pam and Mitch Nichter.

ABOUT BERKELEY REP

Berkeley Repertory Theatre has grown from a storefront stage to an international leader in innovative theatre. Known for its core values of imagination and excellence, as well as its educated and adventurous audience, the nonprofit has provided a welcoming home for emerging and established artists since 1968. In four decades, four million people have enjoyed nearly 400 shows at Berkeley Rep. These shows have gone on to win five Tony Awards, seven Obie Awards, nine Drama Desk Awards, one Grammy Award, and many other honors. In recognition of its place on the national stage, Berkeley Rep received the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in 1997. Its bustling facilities - which include the 400-seat Peet's Theatre, the 600-seat Roda Theatre, the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, the Osher Studio, and a spacious new campus in West Berkeley - are helping revitalize a renowned city. Learn more at berkeleyrep.org

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