Intiman Continues '09 Season With OTHELLO, Previews Begin 7/2

Intiman Theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Director Bartlett Sher and Managing Director Brian Colburn, continues its 2009 Season with three productions that carry forward Intiman's mission to produce provocative theatre and programs that encourage audiences to talk, think, laugh, argue and stay connected.

Intiman presents the highly acclaimed Theatre for a New Audience production of Othello, directed by Arin Arbus. Originally produced in New York last February, the sold-out production was brought back in April due to overwhelming demand for tickets and played a limited-engagement remount.

It now comes to Seattle with Sean PatRick Thomas as Othello, John Campion as Iago and Elisabeth Waterston as Desdemona. Previews begin tonight, Thursday July 2nd.

The season will continue in the fall with Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking, starring Judith Roberts and directed by Sarna Lapine, and Robert E. Sherwood's Abe Lincoln in Illinois, which will launch Intiman's new American Cycle. The production, directed by Sheila Daniels, will feature Erik Lochtefeld in the title role and Mary Jane Gibson as Mary Todd Lincoln. The full cast of 19 includes actors from every generation of the Seattle theatre community.

Tickets are available from www.intiman.org or 206.269.1900. Tickets range in price from $40 to $55. To support patrons in the current economy, throughout the season all adult tickets on Tuesday nights will be on sale for $25 and Intiman will offer floating pay-what-you-can performances. Intiman has also created a new "Friends Four Pack" for the remainder of this season: buy four adult tickets for any production and save $50 off your total order. Patrons 25 and under can purchase tickets to any performance for $10, and discounts are available for groups, seniors and members of the military (those on active duty and veterans). Pending availability, rush tickets will be sold 15 minutes before curtain for $20.

Intiman Theatre performs at 201 Mercer Street at Seattle Center. Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings at 7:30 pm; Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 pm; and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 pm.

Theatre for a New Audience's production of

OTHELLO

By Shakespeare

Directed by Arin Arbus

Previews: July 2, July 3, July 5 and July 7

Opening: July 8 at 7:30 pm

Close: August 2 at 2 pm

When Othello and Desdemona elope to consummate their undeniable passion, Iago sees his chance to destroy the Moor he secretly hates. Iago convinces Othello his bride is having a tawdry affair with Lieutenant Cassio. Othello becomes enraged, Iago fuels the scandal and Othello's world comes crashing down. And a handkerchief undoes them all.

Director Arin Arbus ignites Seattle's summer with one of the most acclaimed stagings of a Shakespeare play in a decade, the Theatre for a New Audience production of Othello. The production will feature Sean PatRick Thomas (a star of the films Save the Last Dance, Barbershop and Barbershop 2 and the recent television adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun) as Othello and Elisabeth Waterston (The Tempest opposite Mandy Patinkin at Classic Stage Company) as Desdemona. Thomas and Waterston previously appeared on stage together in Much Ado About Nothing for the New York Shakespeare Festival. John Campion has appeared in productions at theatres across the country including American Repertory Theatre, The Guthrie Theater, The Public Theater and Seattle Rep, as well as in the London premiere of Wallace Shawn's Aunt Dan and Lemon at the Royal Court.

THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING

A play by Joan Didion based on her memoir

Directed by Sarna Lapine

Previews: August 21, August 22, August 23 and August 25

Opening: August 26 at 7:30 pm

Close: Sept. 20 at 2 pm

Hailed by critics as honest, exhilarating, compassionate and unexpectedly funny, Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking looks at how grief can make you crazy, and what it means to come out on the other side. Judith Roberts, previously seen at Intiman as Arkadina in The Seagull under the direction of founder Margaret Booker, brings the voice of one of America's greatest writers to the stage.

ABE LINCOLN IN ILLINOIS

By Robert E. Sherwood

Directed by Sheila Daniels

Previews: October 2, October 3, October 4, October 6, October 7 and October 8

Opening: October 9 at 8 pm

Close: November 15 at 2 pm

In the 1830s, a quietly charismatic young man, acclaimed by those who knew him for his powerful combination of pragmatism and vision, entered politics and changed the course of the nation. Spanning 20 years, the period of Lincoln's maturation before he became president, Abe Lincoln in Illinois is an epic play about the making of an American hero - and the shaping of our history. The story of how Lincoln forged his conscience, his ideals and his actions amid personal struggles and troubled years for our country launches Intiman's second American Cycle under the direction of Intiman Associate Director Sheila Daniels.

Erik Lochtefeld, who is making his Intiman debut as Abe Lincoln, has appeared on Broadway as Orpheus in Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses and at Seattle Repertory Theatre in Metamorphoses and The Secret in the Wings. Former Seattleite Mary Jane Gibson, an actor and writer, will play Mary Todd Lincoln. The company will feature actors from every generation of Seattle's theatre community, including Hans Altwies, Clayton Corzatte, Susan Corzatte, Philip Davidson, Angela DiMarco, Russell Hodgkinson, Reginald André Jackson, Peter Dylan O'Connor, Jose Rufino, Matt Shimkus, Richard Nguyen Sloniker, Adam Standley, Kate Wisniewski and R. Hamilton Wright.

Intiman's American Cycle programs include Front Porch Theater, a county-wide series that brings the stories on the Intiman stage to life in gathering spots and unexpected venues that encourage spontaneous participation; Rough Eagles, the groundbreaking partnership of students from Cleveland and Roosevelt High Schools who come together each year to develop, write and then perform an original play on the Intiman stage; Writers & Artists, a speaker series in which contemporary artists and scholars share personal reflections and insights into the work of America's great writers.

BLACK NATIVITY

By Langston Hughes

Music Direction and Arrangements by Pastor Patrinell Wright

Choreography by Kabby Mitchell III

Directed by Jacqueline Moscou

Previews: December 1, December 2 and December 3

Opening: December 4 at 8 pm

Close: December 27 at 7:30 pm

Like nothing else on stage in Seattle, Black Nativity embraces a celebration of faith, a generosity of spirit, and the infectious joy of a rousing gospel songfest. It brings together diverse performers from across the Puget Sound region: Pastor Patrinell Wright, Gospel Queen and music director, and members of her Total Experience Gospel Choir; Black Nativity Choir members and musicians who have sung, shouted, soared and stomped with the sounds of gospel, opera, jazz and blues; and gifted dancers, many of them teens. Intiman's holiday celebration embraces both change and tradition, with new artists, songs and poems joining beloved favorites each season.

Seasonal support for Intiman Theatre is provided by ArtsFund; Intiman Theatre Foundation; Kreielsheimer Remainder Foundation; The Leading National Theatres Program, a joint initiative of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; The Shubert Foundation; and Washington State Arts Commission.

 

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