COME FROM AWAY, CONSTELLATIONS, 'AMERICAN PROBLEM' & More Set for Seattle Rep's 2015-16 Season

Seattle Repertory Theatre's 2015-2016 season was announced today by Acting Artistic Director Braden Abraham. The season is headlined by the new musical Come from Away, Ayad Akhtar's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Disgraced and the world premiere of R. Hamilton Wright's Sherlock Holmes and the American Problem. The season runs from September 2015 through May 2016, and subscriptions are available now through the Seattle Rep Box Office at 206-443-2222 as well as online at www.seattlerep.org. Single tickets will go on sale in September 2015.

Speaking of the 2015-2016 season, Abraham states: "This season reaffirms our ongoing commitment to producing new work, including two world premieres: a boisterous, original Sherlock Holmes adventure written by Seattle artist R. Hamilton Wright, and an affecting new musical we are launching in conjunction with La Jolla Playhouse, Come from Away.

"In addition, we will feature five exciting new plays not yet seen in Seattle, all of which have received premieres within the last five years. Audiences will have the chance to see Pulitzer Prize-winning Disgraced; Jonathan Tolins' smart comedy Buyer & Cellar; and Seattle native Kimber Lee's gorgeous, lyrical brownsville song (b-side for tray). We'll also be one of the first theatres outside of New York and London to produce Nick Payne's innovative romance Constellations, and we'll welcome back Rebecca Gilman with her absorbing drama Luna Gale.

"Finally, 2015 marks the centennial of Arthur Miller's birth, and we will celebrate that milestone with a production of his great American classic A View from the Bridge. The Rep has a strong history of presenting heavyweight classics, and this play feels particularly relevant to contemporary audiences."

The Bagley Wright Theatre Season

The season opens with Braden Abraham's new staging of A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller. One family's dark secret is exposed when they agree to harbor two family members illegally in their home. This American tragedy remains topical and thought-provoking 60 years after its 1955 Broadway premiere.

In November 2015, the Rep will present Come from Away, a new musical by husband-and-wife team Irene Sankoff and David Hein (My Mother's Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding). When 38 planes are diverted to Gander, Newfoundland on Sept. 11, 2001, a small town unexpectedly plays host to an international community. Seattle favorites Eric Ankrim and Kendra Kassebaum will make their Seattle Rep debuts in the cast of 12.

Ayad Akhtar's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Disgraced comes to the Bagley in January 2016, directed by the original Broadway director Kimberly Senior. Amir, a successful Muslim American lawyer, and his wife Emily host a dinner party which devolves into a fiery debate on prejudice and faith. Akhtar uses his experiences as a Pakistani American to probe themes of cultural identity, assimilation and race in the post-9/11 world. In a Wall Street Journal interview, Akhtar stated: "The ideas that unfold on that stage are not about the news cycle for me. They're about the world we're living in every day" (Nov. 7, 2014).

Playwright Rebecca Gilman's lauded new play Luna Gale takes the Bagley Stage in March 2016. When veteran social worker Caroline becomes involved in one family's bitter custody dispute, her well-intentioned mission is swayed by hidden motives and buried secrets. The New York Times calls the play "an engrossing exploration of tough choices" (Feb. 10, 2014). Gilman recently won the 2015 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award for Luna Gale.

The season concludes with the world premiere of a Seattle Rep commission by R. Hamilton Wright, Sherlock Holmes and the American Problem. The Rep reunites the creative team that brought Seattle audiences 2013's The Hound of the Baskervilles, with director Allison Narver (Dear Elizabeth, Boeing Boeing) returning to the helm. Seattle actors Darragh Kennan and Andrew McGinn will reprise their roles as Holmes and Watson, respectively.

The Leo K. Theatre Season

In October 2015, the Leo K. season will kick off with Jonathan Tolins' one-man comedy Buyer & Cellar. Alex More is an out-of-work actor who becomes the sole employee of the "shopping mall" in Barbra Streisand's basement. In this 90 minute romp full of pop culture references and campy humor, New York-based actor Scott Drummond embodies a range of characters, from James Brolin to Bea Arthur to the diva herself. Director David Bennett (The 5th Avenue Theatre's A Chorus Line, Village Theatre's The Tutor) will make his Rep debut.

In the spring, Abraham will direct Nick Payne's international hit Constellations. A romance for two actors who defy space and time as they explore their love, Constellations enjoyed wildly successful runs in London's West End and off-Broadway in New York, with The New Yorker calling it "a singular astonishment...a wholly satisfying and complete emotional journey" (Feb. 15, 2012).

Concluding the Leo K. season is the West Coast premiere of Kimber Lee's brownsville song (b-side for tray). Set in the impoverished Brownsville borough of Brooklyn, Lee presents a moving and lyrical portrait of a young man and his family's resilience when a senseless act of gang violence alters his future. Juliette Carrillo (The Brothers Size, The Cook) returns to the Rep to direct.

---

About the 2015-2016 season plays (in chronological order)*

A View from the Bridge/Bagley Wright Theatre
by Arthur Miller
directed by Braden Abraham
Sept. 25-Oct. 18, 2015

An American Classic. A longshoreman by trade, Eddie Carbone is confident of his place in the working-class neighborhood he calls home. That life changes when he agrees to harbor his immigrant cousins. A love affair exposes a dark family secret, and suspicion, jealousy and betrayal soon follow in this passionate drama by one of America's greatest playwrights.

Buyer & Cellar/Leo K. Theatre
by Jonathan Tolins
directed by David Bennett
Oct. 23-Nov. 22, 2015

Comedy. An actor's life is never easy. One day you're the Mayor of Disney's Toontown, the next you're the resident shopkeeper for Barbra Streisand's basement mall. Turns out it's lonely at the top (and the bottom) of the Hollywood food chain. This outrageous comedy takes an insider's look at fame and friendship and pushes it to the limit.

Come from Away/Bagley Wright Theatre
WORLD PREMIERE
book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein
directed by Christopher Ashley
presented in association with La Jolla Playhouse
Nov. 13-Dec. 13, 2015

Musical. Based on an inspiring true story. September 11, 2001 was an ordinary day in isolated Gander, Newfoundland-until it wasn't. Thirty-eight planes were diverted to its doorstep on that fateful day, making this small town unexpected hosts to an international community. The camaraderie that followed reminds us all of the power that comes from opening up your heart and your home.

Disgraced/Bagley Wright Theatre
by Ayad Akhtar
directed by Kimberly Senior
presented in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Jan. 8-31, 2016

Pulitzer Prize-winner. Pakistani-born Amir seems to be living the American Dream. A successful New York lawyer, he enjoys a comfortable life with his American wife, a talented artist influenced by Islamic imagery. But when his Muslim heritage is questioned, his life begins to unravel and a celebratory dinner with friends leads to a fiery debate on prejudice, identity and faith.

Constellations/Leo K. Theatre
by Nick Payne
directed by Braden Abraham
Jan. 22-Feb. 21, 2016

International Hit. Can one word alter the course of your life? Through a dizzying fugue of vignettes, audiences watch as Marianne and Roland's relationship unfolds across time and space, with each variation sending their relationship on an entirely new trajectory. Science and romance collide in this unusual love story that's delighted audiences in New York and London.

Luna Gale/Bagley Wright Theatre
by Rebecca Gilman
directed by Braden Abraham
March 4-27, 2016

New play. Who decides who is capable of raising a child? Veteran social worker Caroline will do whatever it takes to protect baby Luna Gale, but her well-intentioned mission is swayed by hidden motives, buried secrets and moral ambiguity. Powerful and arresting, Luna grapples with the age-old question of whether the end justifies the means.

brownsville song (b-side for tray)/Leo K. Theatre
by Kimber Lee
directed by Juliette Carrillo
Mar. 25-Apr. 24, 2016

New play. "My name is Tramaine Berry Thompson and I am more than meets the eye..." A senseless act of gang violence alters a high school senior's dreams, leaving his family to pick up the pieces and find hope and resilience within their tight-knit Brooklyn borough.

Sherlock Holmes and the American Problem/Bagley Wright Theatre
WORLD PREMIERE AND SEATTLE REP COMMISSION
by R. Hamilton Wright
directed by Allison Narver
Apr. 22-May 22, 2016

World premiere. The American Wild West and Victorian England collide in this original adventure tale. The year is 1887, the occasion is the Queen Victoria's Jubilee, and the coincidences are suspiciously piling up. The creative team behind 2013's hit The Hound of the Baskervilles is at it again with more thrills, more laughs and more unbelievable deductions.

---

Seattle Repertory Theatre is located at Seattle Center at the corner of Second Ave. and Mercer St., Seattle, Washington. Patrons can purchase subscriptions starting today, Apr. 17, 2015; single tickets go on sale in September 2015. Packages range from $90-$525. Tickets can be ordered online (www.seattlerep.org), by phone (206-443-2222), or in person at the Seattle Repertory Theatre Box Office.

Seattle Repertory Theatre was founded in 1963 and is currently led by Acting Artistic Director Braden Abraham and Managing Director Jeffrey Herrmann. One of America's premier non-profit resident theatres, Seattle Repertory Theatre has achieved international renown for its consistently high production and artistic standards, and was awarded the 1990 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. With an emphasis on entertaining plays of true dramatic and literary worth, Seattle Rep produces a season of plays along with educational programs, new play workshops and special presentations.

*Plays, dates and artists subject to change.

To post a comment, you must register and login.